Path of Exile 2's Dawn of the Hunt update will add the Huntress

Path of Exile 2 continues to make its journey through Steam Early Access. The time has arrived for the game's next substantial update, which will feature a new class, new endgame encounters, and a whole lot of additions and bug fixes. Path of Exile 2's next big update is titled Dawn of the Hunt.

Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt's biggest addition is a new playable class. The Huntress is a skilled fighter, mainly acting as a ranged fighter, but able to get up close and hold her own when under pressure. From afar, she can strike with her elemental spear, but if she has to engage from melee distance, she can use a powerful parry to open up foes to a variety of counterattacks. The Huntress will have 20 Spear Skills available to her, as well as a few other unique skills. Raise Spectre allows players to trap the souls of monsters and summon them later on to aid the Huntress in battle, while Summon Rhoa Mount is just what it sounds like, allowing the Huntress to call a Rhoa for a high-ground advantage. Of the five new Ascendancy classes coming to Dawn of the Hunt, two of them (Ritualist and Amazon) will belong to the Huntress.

Those looking for new content will find plenty of it in Dawn of the Hunt. The update will offer eight new maps, each housing their own distinct monsters, boss battles (with three bosses making their PoE 2 debut), and rare loot. Oh, and there will be quite a bit of rare loot. Over 100 Unique items, scattered across the mid and endgame areas, are being added, as are more than 20 runes. On top of that, runes will now scale across multiple tiers to help players ready up for the endgame.

Speaking of the endgame, that aspect of the game is getting significantly balanced. The number of endgame towers has been reduced, but don't expect this to be easier on the player. Towers are now a little tougher to help make up for the number reduction. The hope is that players can invest less time in their endgame journey without compromising the skill and preparation required to complete it.

There's one more item worth discussing and it's the addition of Rogue Exiles. These are CPU-controlled Exiles, who are looking to grief any players that they may encounter. Their fight patterns are meant to emulate that of the average player, which means they can use Dodge Roll and any other skill available to human Exiles. Plus, they'll also be carrying the same type of items and gear that normal players do, including Unique items. Fortunately, emulating player behavior also means that if they die, they drop all of their loot, just like players do. Overcoming Rogue Exiles won't be easy, but it'll be highly rewarding.

There's much more coming to Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt. Look for this expansion to be added to Path of Exile 2 on Friday, April 4 for no additional charge. For more details on new Corrupted Essences, the 100+ new Support Gems, other Ascendancy classes, and so everything else coming with Dawn of the Hunt, head over to the Path of Exile 2 website. Those looking to get started on Path of Exile 2 may be interested in checking out our guides, so head over to our Path of Exile 2 topic page.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?