Short answer: returning to Path of Exile 2 in October 2026? You’re playing the final months of Early Access. Update 0.5.0 (May 29, 2026) introduced the Runes of Aldur league, two Ascendancies and an extensive Atlas overhaul; September’s 0.5.5 update (September 4, 2026) launched the separate Forbidden Rites event league with Ritual encounters throughout the campaign. Choose your league based on where your existing characters are and whether you want a new economy. Then check your skills, passive tree and defences against the latest patch notes before spending currency. Version 1.0 is currently scheduled for December 11, 2026 (Pacific time); this guide will need updating at launch.
Last updated: October 26, 2026. Version stamp: Path of Exile 2 Early Access 0.5.0 + 0.5.5 and their hotfixes. Sources are Grinding Gear Games’ patch notes and announcements, plus patch coverage listed below.
Which league to play
Forbidden Rites (0.5.5)
Runes of Aldur (0.5.0)
Standard
Started
September 4, 2026
May 29, 2026
Permanent
Ends
Currently scheduled to conclude alongside 1.0
Currently scheduled to conclude alongside 1.0
Doesn’t end
Economy
Separate economy that started fresh on September 4; seven weeks in by late October
Almost five months old
The oldest and largest
League twist
A Ritual encounter in every campaign area; special boss-Ritual chains can reward Unique items
Remnant crafting with Runic Recipes and Verisium
Runes of Aldur content has moved into the core game in a reduced form (see below)
Your existing characters
Not here: they don’t automatically enter it
Wherever you created them this league
Wherever GGG’s realm rules put them
Best for
Players who want a separate economy and the campaign Rituals
Finishing challenges on an existing character
Testing builds without league pressure
Forbidden Rites is a separate fresh-start event league. Your existing characters do not automatically enter it. Before selecting a league, check where each character is currently stored and consult GGG’s current league-migration FAQ; Early Access characters and event-league characters may follow different realm rules. Both Runes of Aldur and Forbidden Rites are currently scheduled to conclude alongside the 1.0 release.
Sources: GGG: 0.5.0 patch notes · GGG: 0.5.5 announcement · 0.5.5 patch summary · PCGamesN on Forbidden Rites
Watch the character screen: both leagues have been shown as “the default challenge league” on the selection banner, so check which one is selected before you create a character.
Is it worth returning six weeks before 1.0? If you want to relearn the game, test a build and try the Ritual campaign, yes. If you mainly want long-term progress, keep 1.0 in mind: GGG has scheduled version 1.0 for December 11, 2026 (Pacific time), when PoE 2 is expected to leave Early Access and become free-to-play. The Duelist has been announced for launch; check the latest official 1.0 announcements for the final campaign scope and migration rules.
Patch changes: what changed and what to check
Comparison against 0.4 “The Last of the Druids” (December 2025 – May 2026), the league most returning players last saw.
Area
What changed (0.5.0 / 0.5.5)
What to check
Ascendancies
Two new ones: Martial Artist (Monk) and Spirit Walker (Huntress); six existing Ascendancies rebalanced, Chronomancer most heavily
Read your Ascendancy’s current notables before reusing an old plan
Skills
Buffs to Cull the Weak, Tempest Bell, Rolling Magma, Earthquake, Barkskin; nerfs to Comet, Ghost Dance, Feral Invocation, Lightning Arrow, Pounce. The 0.5.5 launch patch did not introduce a broad skill/Ascendancy balance pass; check subsequent hotfixes
If your build used a nerfed skill, compare it with a dated 0.5 guide and the latest hotfix notes
Leech
Only the highest active Leech instance applies per resource (Life, Mana or Energy Shield); hits above 40,000 damage are capped for Leech calculation
Life- or mana-leech builds may need another sustain layer
Defences
New Runic Ward layer on armor through Verisium Runeforging, a system unlocked through Farrow’s Act 1 questline (unlocking it doesn’t guarantee the item you want); Armour and Evasion scale more strongly at higher item levels
Whether Runic Ward fits your defences
Passives
Patch coverage reports a free passive refund for existing characters on login
Re-plan the tree before re-allocating
Atlas
Origins of Divinity storyline with six questlines, Fortresses that award Atlas Passive points, an Atlas tree of 300+ nodes and three Masters of the Atlas
Expect to learn a new endgame flow, not the old map system
League mechanics
Delirium, Breach and Ritual moved to hubs; Fate of the Vaal (Atziri’s Temple, Infusers) is now permanent
Where each mechanic now lives
Trial of Chaos (0.5.5)
Runs can be paused and resumed; every room ends with a reward chest; full-run rewards are now Currency and Soul Cores only
Whether the Trial now suits your build
Pinnacle bosses (0.5.5)
Several lost blanket “All Elemental Resistances” and gained specific weaknesses, for example Arbiter of Ash: Fire Resistance, Cold Vulnerability
Your damage type against the boss you’re farming
Sources: GGG: 0.5.0 patch notes · 0.5.5 patch summary · KeenGamer: 0.5.0 summary · AllThings.How: 0.5.5
Runes of Aldur content outside its own league: with 0.5.5 the Runes of Aldur content moved into the core game in a reduced form: it no longer appears in every zone, but Expeditions show up from Act Four onward in Standard and seasonal leagues, including Forbidden Rites, and endgame Expedition Tablets can add it to the Atlas (PCGamesN). Don’t assume Verisium and Runic Ward are as easy to obtain in Forbidden Rites as they were in Runes of Aldur; check the current sources in your league.
Check your build
Before you level or spend currency, run a quick diagnostic on your returning character:
- Passive tree: open it and check for a refund notice; re-plan before re-allocating.
- Gear, resistances and resource sustain: re-check them against the Leech changes and the new defence scaling.
- Gems and supports: make sure each one still exists and does what your plan expects in the current version.
- Item filter: switch to one updated for 0.5.x.
- Only then spend expensive currency.
Then run the build itself through five questions:
- Was your main skill buffed, nerfed or untouched in 0.5.0? Compare it with the list above and the full patch notes.
- Does your Ascendancy still have the notables you relied on? Six Ascendancies changed.
- Did you rely on Leech for sustain? The new single-instance rule and the 40,000-damage cap may cut it.
- Is your plan dated 0.5? A guide written for 0.4 may assume skill numbers or Atlas mechanics that no longer exist.
- Can it clear the campaign on modest gear? A build that needs specific Uniques to function is a poor fit for a fresh league six weeks before 1.0.
Example: a returning Huntress who played a Lightning Arrow build in 0.4 should know that Lightning Arrow was nerfed in 0.5.0 and that the Huntress gained a new Ascendancy, Spirit Walker. That doesn’t make the old build unplayable, but it’s a reason to compare it with a current guide before leveling.
Progression priorities: your first week back
An editorial plan for a fresh character in Forbidden Rites. Treat this as an order of priorities, not a promise that every returning player will reach the Atlas within seven days. If your time is limited, first settle into your build and the campaign Ritual mechanics; save Fortress and Atlas objectives for when your character reaches endgame.
Stage
Step
Focus
Why
First login
1
Pick the league and a build you’ve checked against 0.5
Saves a reroll later
Campaign
2
Campaign with the Rituals
Regular campaign Rituals primarily offer levelling gear and crafting currency; special boss-Ritual chains, marked by clustered effigies on the world map, can reward Unique items
Campaign
3
Unlock Verisium Runeforging in Farrow’s Act 1 questline
Runic Ward is a new defensive layer; check how you’ll source Verisium in your league
Campaign
4
Finish the campaign and Interludes
The 0.5.0 patch reduced monster density in the second half of the campaign and in Interludes
After the campaign
5
Start the Origins of Divinity storyline on the Atlas
It’s the new entry to the endgame
After the campaign
6
Complete your first Tower to raise a Fortress
Fortress maps award Atlas Passive points
After the campaign
7
Pick one league mechanic and learn its new hub
Mechanics moved to hubs in 0.5.0
If you only have a few evenings: focus on the first two stages; the Atlas can wait, and 1.0 will bring a new start anyway.
Economy overview
Forbidden Rites runs a separate economy that started on September 4; Runes of Aldur’s has been running since May. Prices and availability differ greatly between economies, and from one item to the next; check live listings rather than assuming one league is cheaper.
- Trade: Path of Exile 2 uses the official trade site and the in-game Currency Exchange. Since 0.5.0, Shift-Alt clicking an item fills in trade search filters, which helps when you’re pricing a drop. A listed price isn’t a guaranteed sale: what’s visible on the trade site doesn’t tell you how quickly an item actually sells.
- New crafting currencies: 0.5.0 added Alloy currencies (they replace an existing modifier, similar to Perfect Essences), Fluxes for converting resistances, and Verisium for Runeforging. Learn what these do before selling them cheaply.
- Catalysts no longer drop from monsters; they now come from the Genesis Tree.
- Third-party currency: Grinding Gear Games’ Terms of Use prohibit buying or selling in-game items and currency for real money. Accounts can be actioned over it, so stick to in-game trade.
Example: a Forbidden Rites player who finds an unfamiliar crafting currency should check live listings before vendoring it; its value depends on current supply and demand in that league.
Map and endgame checklist
- Origins of Divinity storyline started
- First Tower complete; Fortress raised
- Atlas Passive points spent; Masters of the Atlas understood (12 nodes each, 4 active at a time)
- One league mechanic hub found (Delirium: The Withered Willow; Breach: Monastery of the Keepers; Rite of the Nameless: Caer Tarth)
- Waystone sustain checked: if you keep running out, look at Atlas nodes that increase Waystone drops
- Trial of Chaos tried with the 0.5.5 pause-and-resume rules
- Pinnacle boss weaknesses checked against your damage type
When you want to skip the climb
Not everyone wants to replay the campaign in a fresh league weeks before 1.0. Most returning players level with a friend or follow a fast leveling guide; others look at offers to buy poe 2 boost services for the campaign or Atlas progression. These services are independent and not affiliated with Grinding Gear Games. Check exactly what an offer includes and how it’s delivered, including whether you’d play your own character or hand over account access, and read GGG’s Terms of Use first; account sharing and real-money currency trades are restricted.
FAQ
Which league should I play when returning to PoE 2? Forbidden Rites for a separate economy and a Ritual in every campaign area; Runes of Aldur if you have characters or challenges there. Both are currently scheduled to conclude alongside 1.0 on December 11, 2026 (Pacific time).
When does PoE 2 leave Early Access? GGG has scheduled version 1.0 for December 11, 2026 (Pacific time), on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, when the game is expected to become free-to-play. Check GGG’s latest 1.0 announcements for campaign scope and migration rules.
Will my old characters be in Forbidden Rites? No. Your existing characters don’t automatically enter it; you create a new character there. Check GGG’s league-migration FAQ for where your older characters are stored.
Did 0.5.5 change skill balance? The 0.5.5 launch patch did not introduce a broad skill/Ascendancy balance pass; the big changes came in 0.5.0. Check subsequent hotfix notes for smaller adjustments.
Is my 0.4 build still good? Check its main skill and Ascendancy against the 0.5.0 changes. Several skills were nerfed or buffed, and six Ascendancies were rebalanced.
