This comprehensive Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt Overview will provide you with all important information about the upcoming Patch 0.2.0. Here you will learn what class will be added to the game, which new ascendancies to await, and who we will encounter in Wraeclast. Additionally, we will tell you about new mechanics and endgame changes in PoE 2.
4.9Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt Updates
Path of Exile 2 finally receives its first major content update — Dawn of the Hunt. Patch 0.2.0 introduces a wide variety of new features and significant changes that, according to developers, will alter the gameplay experience. The update is scheduled for release on April 4, 2025. You can learn about the release date and time for each particular region in our PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0 Teaser article.
PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt new content includes a new class, additional Ascendancy classes, new skills, mechanics, new gems, unique items, maps, encounters, and substantial endgame enhancements. The time until the patch release is the best time to Level Up your character. With the help of our pro team, you’ll get a high-level exile, ready to explore new maps and fully prepared for new challenging content.
Path of Exile 2 New Class
With the release of the PoE 2 Dawn of the Hunt, we receive one of the previously unavailable classes — The Huntress. This character wields Spears — a new type of weapon with 22 brand-new skills, which can be used for both melee range and ranged combat. Additionally, the Huntress can equip a Buckler as an off-hand, which allows her to parry attacks and hunt more efficiently with an array of elemental spear attacks.
The Huntress is expected to be a fast and mobile hero thanks to her Rake skill, which allows her to dash and wound the target, causing it to bleed. Parrying an attack with a Buckler will allow you to disengage and do a leap backward. If you want to try this new class, you will need a fine Custom Build, and our pro players can assist you with this uneasy task.
📖 “The Huntress is a spear wielding Azmeri warrior. Born into a society with strict traditions, she was exiled from her homeland after using the power of a skill gem to defend her village. As a dexterous spear user, she specializes in both melee and ranged combat, dashing in and out of battle”.
— Path of Exile 2
All in all, the Huntress will have 20 new Skills, among which you can find the following outstanding abilities:
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
| Hit and Run | The Huntress specializes in getting into and out of combat. Dash forwards and slash at your enemies’ weak points before jumping backwards and throwing spears from afar. |
| Savage Counterattacks | Using her buckler, the Huntress can parry any attack before following up with deadly counterattacks that give her major advantages in both ranged and melee combat. |
| Primal Fury | Harness the ferocity of the wilds. Tame beasts, whip up storms, and throw elemental fury at your enemies. |
The Huntress Ascendancies
On the release, the Huntress will receive 2 ascendancy classes:
- Ritualist — embraces the darker side of Azmeri traditions with ritualistic sacrifice;
- Amazon — an elite guard to the Azmeri Elders, the Amazon has mastered her fighting techniques to perfection.
Path of Exile 2 New Ascendancies
In the PoE 2 Patch 0.2.0, several classes receive new Ascendancy options. They are the Warrior, the Mercenary, and the Witch. All of the new ascendancies received new skills and also new splash arts. However, if you’ve been following the PoE 2 updates since the pre-release stage, you’ll recognize the Tactivian (Mercenary) art — previously, it was assigned to the class itself, not the ascendancy.
All Path of Exile 2 new ascendancies in Dawn of the Hunt:
- Warrior — Smith of Kitava: Utilizes smithing techniques to forge weapons during combat, creating replicas as allies;
- Mercenary — Tactician: Employs strategic military tactics, coordinating minions and ballistae to control the battlefield;
- Witch — Lich: Specializes in necromancy, raising an undead army while embracing undeath herself.
However, you don’t have to spend all of your free time unlocking these ascensions on each class, including the new one. Complete Ascension Trials with the help of our team to avoid lengthy encounters and tough challenges.
Path of Exile 2 New Skills
With the new patch, PoE 2 brings two new skills:
- Raise Spectre — Captures and summons the souls of fallen monsters, allowing you to command a diverse array of spectral allies;
- Summon Rhoa — Summon your mount to assist you in combat as a minion. You can also mount your Rhoa and move at full speed even while shooting arrows or throwing spears.
Path of Exile 2 New Uniques
Over 100 new Unique items will be added to the Path of Exile 2 with the release of the Dawn of the Hunt. Among them, for instance, the following game-changing uniques:
| Item Name | Requires | Notable Stats & Effects | Special Mechanic |
|---|---|---|---|
 Nocturne Wooden Buckler | Level 5, 11 Dex | Grants Skill: Parry +69 to Maximum Mana +13% to All Elemental Resistances 20% Increased Accuracy Rating | Parried enemies take more Spell Damage instead of more Attack Damage |
 Mjölner Torment Club (One-Handed Mace) | Level 78, 248 Str, 200 Int | Grants Skill: Level 18 Lightning Spell on Melee Hit +200 Intelligence Requirement +100 Strength Requirement 180% Increased Physical Damage 14% Increased Attack Speed +1 to Level of All Lightning Skills | Casts Lightning Spell automatically on melee hit |
 Zerphi’s Serape Scalper’s Jacket (Body Armour) | Level 39, 67 Dex, 67 Int | 73% Increased Evasion and Energy Shield +59 to Maximum Mana 50% Increased Attribute Requirements | Grants Soul Eater buff |
 The Fall of the Axe Silver Charm | Level 10 | Lasts 3 Seconds, Uses 40 of 80 Charges Triggers when affected by a Slow Grants Onslaught during effect Your speed is unaffected by Slows | Auto-triggers when slowed, grants speed burst, and Onslaught |
On your way to all these uniques you will encounter hundreds of enemies, which makes the process of leveling hard. If you want to find an easy route but still experience all the challenges, ask our team to supply you with Leveling Gear and continue playing like a pro.
Path of Exile 2 New Maps
Patch 0.2.0 will bring to Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt as many as 7 new endgame maps, 3 of which were already revealed:
- The Fractured Lake;
- The Ezomyte Megaliths;
- The Silent Cave;
- 4 additional new zones.
If you are brave enough to explore the whole zone of the Fractured Lake, you will be rewarded with “a broken Mirror that contains either an Amulet or a Ring that can be crafted to have additional prefixes, or suffixes, at the cost of the other”.
The Ezomyte Megaliths zone is also challenging, yet rewarding. The major challenge of this zone is to withstand dozens of waves of boss fights to prove that you are worthy to gain a reward.
A dark place full of crystallized monsters and a powerful Boss is what awaits you once you enter the Silent Cave. Fight the monsters to add the essence to the boss and be able to find out what the reward will be. “Overdo it and you might lose everything, underdo it and you might regret it! It’s your choice”.
Path of Exile 2 New Encounters
The Dawn of the Hunt in Path of Exile 2 will not only add a variety of unique weapons, but also new enemies to fight with these uniques. You will face new challenges and PoE 2 new encounters, such as:
- Azmerian Wisps;
- Rogue Exiles;
- Unique Strongboxes.
These new encounters can be tough, but so are the Boss Kills. If fighting is not your cup of tea, we can get any boss killed for you, and you’ll just enjoy effortless results.
Azmerian Wisps
Path of Exile 2 Azmerian Wisps, also known as Azmeri Spirits, can be found around Wraeclast. If you try to approach the wisp, it will flee, but if it meets a monster, it will infuse and empower them. Rare or Unique monsters can also become possessed, and in this state, they gain new skills and become even more powerful. However, the rewards will also be better.
Rogue Exiles
PoE 2 Rogue Exiles are wanderers whom you can meet in Wraeclast. They are exiled, hostile, and very dangerous. These Rogues are high-skilled and can also use Dodge Roll to avoid your attacks, so fighting them will be a challenge. Moreover, they are equipped with various unique items, and can take advantage of their usage. Kill the exile to get these powerful items.
Unique Strongboxes
In Dawn of the Hunt, Grinding Gear Games decided not only to improve strongboxes but also to add Unique Strongboxes. There will be 4 of them in total:
- The Ogham’s Legacy Strongbox — will require you to interact with the stone to activate forbidden Ezomyte magic, which revives the monster as a powerful Rare. Every time you kill the monster, it will be revived a predetermined number of times, and with each resurrection, it will be harder to kill the monster, but the rewards will be much better.
- The Ixchel’s Torment Strongbox — is infused with thaumaturgy from ancient Vaal Technology. There is a powerful artefact inside a box that is guarded by Chaos itself. Defeat the summoned monster to get a Unique Item with a specific Corrupted outcome;
- Two more Unique Strongboxes — these strongboxes are hidden, and you need to explore the Atlas to find each of them.
Path of Exile 2 Endgame Changes
The endgame system expects some improvements and reworks in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.2.0. To sum up all the revealed GGGs information, Dawn of the Hunt heavily rebalances endgame.
There will be fewer Towers, but they will be more powerful. Additionally, Tablets now impact twice as many areas, and doing higher-tier Maps in Towers doubles this number again. On top of this, each Tower will now be able to support up to three Tablets simultaneously.
While these changes aim to ease the endgame by reducing the quantity of busy work required, they also improve your ability to take advantage of them. By the way, Towers can now spawn for each possible mechanic and have their own new Bosses.
Getting access to the endgame takes time and effort, but you can skip it if you ask for a Campaign Completion with the help of our team. We will lead your character all the way to the endgame, opening new, exciting opportunities for you.
Path of Exile 2 New Mechanics
Some new PoE 2 mechanics will be added with the update for Path of Exile 2 for the Dawn of the Hunt Patch 0.2.0. Notable Path of Exile 2 mechanics that will make their way into the new patch are:
- Corrupted Essences;
- Cleanse of the Corruption.
Corrupted Essences
In Path of Exile 2 Corrupted Essences are a new spin on the traditional essence crafting mechanic. You can now apply a Vaal Orb to an Essence encounter to unleash a multitude of randomized effects. It can reroll all essences to a single category, upgrade them to Greater Essences, or even double them. If you don’t have enough Vaal Orbs, our team can get you as much as you need.
Unique essences such as Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, and Insanity receive their own special crafting outcomes when corrupted. You can even corrupt essences in the Unique Map — though it’s a risk, and results are all over the map. If you’re the type of player who enjoys high-risk, high-reward crafting, this is your playground.
Cleanse of the Corruption
The endgame also presents a new challenge: Cleansing Corruption Zones. These zones are indicated by the spread of corruption across Wraeclast, culminating in a lethal center point — the Corrupted Nexus. Inside, you will fight three separate terrifying bosses.
If you kill the bosses on the lowest level, the zone is “cleansed” and a new version of the map appears with stronger monsters, a new boss, and special modifiers and loot. The cleansed zones are great rewards but require good builds and responsive mechanics to beat.
4.9To sum up, lots of changes observed in our Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt Overview will appear and influence the game. Even being in early access, the game continues to develop and enhance the world with new encounters and mechanics. The Huntress class and new ascendancies will give you a chance to try something new, and a huge amount of new gems and uniques will add spice to the Path of Exile 2 gameplay.
