Explained & Mechanics Predicted

Exiles, as we get closer to Path of Exile 2 Early Access launch on December 6th, we’ve had a chance to learn more about this new sequel. It looks really big, and there are a lot of changes compared to the original game. So here, we’re going to mainly talk about the possible endgame changes in PoE 2, and try to predict which mechanics are more suitable for you to farm. Let’s get straight into it!

Waystones

To get into endgame mode in PoE 2, you need to complete the first three Campaign acts twice, once on Normal difficulty and once on Cruel difficulty.

The endgame in Path of Exile 2 will once again be built around maps, but now maps are called Waystones. All Waystones will still be randomly generated based on the biomes they are in, and you can access them through Ziggurat.

What’s interesting about the new Waystones is that there are now modifiers that clearly distinguish between modifiers that increase rewards and modifiers that enhance monsters: prefixes increase rewards, while suffixes increase danger. So if your build isn’t ready to handle high-level monsters, but you still want to get some decent POE 2 Currency and loot, you can use Omens to make a map, remove the suffix and keep only the prefix.

Similar POE 1 League Mechanics

Remember that in Path of Exile 2, if your Waystone fails, you can’t retry and need to find your path on Atlas around the failed Waystone. This system has some similarities to POE 1 League mechanics.

The first is Synthesis. During Synthesis League, players can explore a fairly large map composed of nodes, and completing these nodes can gain various benefits and expand the memory network. You can modify which memories to run and how to place them.

The other is Delve. Delve is a vast area that allows you to dig underground almost endlessly. Delve also contains various league encounters and a separate boss, but you can’t modify the encounters at all. This map system can also be reminiscent of Monoliths in Last Epoch, however, they are not endless, cannot be modified, and there are no random bosses or mechanical encounters.

Special Encounters

While exploring Atlas, you may also encounter some unusual encounters, such as Cities and Unreachable Zones.

It is expected that Cities should be quite challenging and may have a higher density and more powerful monster ambushes, and of course, POE 2 Currency dropped by killing these elite enemies is also considerable. Our guess is based on the fact that this is how it was done in Delve, and since the new system is very similar to it, we expect something similar.

Although Unreachable Zones are still a mystery at the moment, it seems that specific actions in adjacent nodes will give us the opportunity to open up a path to these locations. Perhaps there will also be a mechanism similar to the fractured wall in Delve.

Tablet System

However, the most important part of making the endgame exciting is Tablet System. When exploring Atlas, you will be able to find Lost Towers and place Tablets in them. These Tablets will modify all nodes around your tower, adding special bonuses to your encounters. These Tablets will be specific to one of the 5 main endgame mechanics in POE 2: Breach, Ritual, Expedition, Delirium or Beyond.

If you are a veteran of POE, you may remember that the old Sextants used to work the same way, modifying the map within a radius to set a certain number of maps.

Regarding this mechanic, we guess that Tablets dropped from different endgame mechanics also differ in the rewards they provide. For example, Tablets obtained from Breach will only give you more breathers and bonuses. So you can completely focus on farming a specific mechanic to get some special loot the fastest.

You can also craft Tablets using POE 2 Orbs, adding modifiers and changing the rewards they provide. So Tablets are now also the main replacement for Scarabs.

Overall, this is a good thing, as it makes the endgame easier to master and inventory management less forced. But hopefully it won’t make POE 2 lose some of the depth of the farming strategy that was the core feature of the original.

All Endgame Systems Explained

As another essential part of the endgame, we have 7 endgame systems. The 5 main mechanics are Breach, Ritual, Expedition, Delirium and Beyond, and besides that, we will have 2 Trials systems, Trial of the Sekhemas and Trial of the Chaos God.

New Atlas Tree

As you would expect, in POE 2, we will still have a huge Atlas Tree to provide us with a customized endgame experience! Besides providing some basic POE 2 currency, the developers also provide separate reward trees for all 5 mechanics. When you kill Uber Bosses of each corresponding mechanic, you will get points for these special trees. Therefore, bosses will play an important role in the game.

This design is very interesting because now you don’t actually need to go through half an Atlas Tree to get to the node you need, but only need to play the game and improve your farming experience over time. This makes sense because it will make juicing more gradual and it will be easier for less experienced players to master the system.

Of course, there will definitely be a cap on the number of points you can earn, since the essence of Path of Exile is to let you choose between what you want to allocate, but making the farming strategy more diverse is definitely a good idea to take POE 2 further.

Pinnacle Bosses

For Pinnacle Bosses, as I already mentioned, once you kill them, they will provide corresponding Atlas Tree points. Interestingly, they now have 4 difficulty tiers, with the intention of making the highest level the most challenging and rewarding, so that you can naturally progress and increase the difficulty without a big jump.

But for these Atlas Pinnacle Bosses, we currently know very little about them. They are located in towers surrounded by Labyrinth. To enter, you need to kill bosses belonging to three different factions and their guardians. These bosses will be based on the campaign bosses, but will be more difficult, have different AI and more abilities.

If you die at the hands of a guardian or a boss, they will move on and occupy other places on Atlas, which you will need to discover again. How hard it is to track them down again determines whether the new system is more stringent or more forgiving.

In short, based on the current information, the endgame mode in Path Of Exile 2 looks incredibly good, whether it is the new map system, trials, or league mechanics. If you want to learn more about the game mechanics and shine in the upcoming POE 2 Early Access, be sure to continue to pay attention to the relevant guides in POECurrency.com. Looking forward to seeing you in the game!