Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt Patch 0.2.0 live stream updates

Path of Exile 2 (PoE2) has been in Early Access for almost 4 months. On March 27, the developers at Grinding Gear Games (GGG) will take the world through a live stream, revealing the details of their next update. Patch 0.2.0, entitled Dawn of the Hunt, is coming on April 4, and we will be revealing all the details as they are announced.

The stream kicks off with the release trailer, delving into the new Huntress class. In the latter parts of the video, we see some of the new features coming in Patch 0.2.0, including Azmerian Wisps, Rogue Exiles, new Support Gems, new Unique items, new ascensions, changes to endgame mechanics, new maps, and a ton more.

Following the reveal video, Jonathan Rogers, Game Director of PoE2, continues to break down everything there is to know about the Huntress. Continuing, he reveals the new Parry mechanic, which works through the new Buckler items available to the Huntress.

Continuing to go deeper into the skill usage of the new class, he explains how the spears and skills can function in multiple ways.

One of the most interesting additions is that Huntress can tame a beast to work with as a companion. While only one companion can be had at a time, it keeps any modifiers that it had before being tamed – which could make for a very strong ally.

Next up, he dives into the new class Ascendancies, confirming two: Ritualist and Amazon.

Going on after this, Jonathan confirms three new Ascendancies for existing classes. These classes are The Mercenary, Warrior, and Witch. The Ascenancies for each are The Tactician, Smith of Kitava, and The Lich, respectively.

Raise Spectre is a skill previously spoken about by GGG. In Patch 0.2.0, it is finally here. The Occult Skill will allow players to trap the soul of a monster and then resummon it to fight alongside them. Depending on the player’s Spirit, they could technically have an army of summons or just a few really strong ones at their side.

The Summon Rhoa skill is another new one, which allows players to summon a Rhoa minion to aid in combat. However, this minion can also be used as a mount from which players can move and attack. Certain restrictions do exist, as players can be knocked off the mount and stunned.

Support gems are the next topic, and we already know from the video that there are over 100 new gems available in Patch 0.2.0. Jonathan begins to reveal a few of these, namely Alignment, Haemocrystals, and Caltrops. This is before name-dropping a few more, which remain a mystery for now.

Unique items come next, as we are shown a few examples of the new additions. Again, with over 100 new additions, only a few are shown before we also see a glimpse of the new Unique Charms.

As we delve into crafting, we learn of changes to Runes – which will now have multiple tiers, which will allow for higher tiers of mods. Jonathan expands by adding,

Azmerian Wisps is a new feature being introduced and can be found both during the campaign and during the Endgame. The first encounter is during Act I in the Grelwood zone. Approaching the wisps causes them to flee, and as you follow their path, monsters will become infused and empowered.

He continues to explain the mechanics surrounding the wisps before ending with the rewards, which are tied to the number of enemies defeated along the path to the final boss with the wisp. Multiple different types of wisps exist, and each has its own set of mechanics. With a new set of socketable items available from these Azmerian Wisps, players will be on the lookout for them and the Azmeri Ranges Map tied to them.

Jonathan ends his segment by mentioning that Azmerian Wisps can be further modified via the Atlas Tree and Tablets.

Mark Roberts, Game Director on PoE2, takes over, ready to discuss everything changing in the Endgame.

After explaining that player feedback was heavily taken into account, Mark began to dive into the changes, starting with Towers. With a reduction of the number of Towers, he adds that Tablets will also be changing to allow up to three to be used on a single Tower.

Next, Mark goes on to talk about respawning during Maps, which will now be allowed up to the amount of attempts you have. What this means is that players can continue from where they left off if they make an error – but at the higher tier Waystones, you will need to be much more careful. Additionally, Pinnacle content deaths will no longer cause an experience penalty but will also no longer grant experience either.

Mark continued, discussing Corrupted Nexus, Corrupted Maps, and Cleaned Maps. He goes in-depth, bringing up a new boss, Fracturing Orbs, and introducing Rogue Exiles.

A new addition coming in Patch 0.2.0 is Rogue Exile. These enemies are more similar to players, including the gear they are equipped with. The visuals of these enemies are not just to make them look better, but it is the gear they are using. This means that they could be using some very valuable Uniques. In an almost player-versus-player (PVP) style, players can defeat these Exiles to acquire their gear – or lose and watch as they teleport away, leaving you with nothing.

Mark is not done yet, as he confirms the addition of four new Unique Strongboxes. Although he reveals two of these, he adds that the final two are for players to discover for themselves.

He continues, discussing a ton of new features, including new unique maps on your Atlas, new rewards such as broken Mirrors, more Atlas Passive Points, and improvements to Essences. Furthermore, Recombination returns, which allows players to combine two items in hopes of keeping the best elements in the final version.

There is a ton more awaiting players in PoE2’s Dawn of the Hunt Patch 0.2.0, and the stream heads into a Q&A session, but not before Mark explains that all content in the update will be playable for existing characters and within new leagues.

For more PoE2 news, stay tuned to esports.gg.