Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra and Path of Exile 2: Conquerors of Wraeclast Revealed

Grinding Gear Games has announced two major additions to its action RPG universe at ExileCon 2026: Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra and Path of Exile 2: Conquerors of Wraeclast. The two releases are set to arrive within a month of one another, with the original game receiving a substantial new expansion first, followed by Path of Exile 2's stated full release.

Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra is scheduled to launch on November 13, 2026 PST. It will be available on PC through Steam and Epic Games, as well as PlayStation and Xbox. Path of Exile 2: Conquerors of Wraeclast, meanwhile, is due on December 11, 2026 PST for PC, Mac, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox.

While Covens of Umbra is positioned as a sweeping overhaul of endgame play for the long-running original game, Conquerors of Wraeclast represents a much broader milestone. The Path of Exile 2 release will bring together the complete campaign, expand the available character roster and systems, and introduce a league based around recruiting forces, constructing fortifications, and attacking enemy-held strongholds.

Path of Exile 2 heads toward full release

Conquerors of Wraeclast is described as Path of Exile 2's full-release version. At launch, it is expected to include the completed campaign alongside 10 playable classes, 26 Ascendancy classes, and more than 320 skills. The game's item pool will include more than 400 Unique Items, while its endgame offering is planned to feature over 150 maps.

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For an action RPG built around repeatable endgame progression and highly specialized character builds, those totals underline the scale of the intended package. Path of Exile has long treated its campaign as an entry point into a much larger item, skill, crafting, and mapping ecosystem. The announced map count and broad Ascendancy lineup suggest that Path of Exile 2's full release is aiming to establish a similarly expansive base for experimentation.

Among the biggest additions are Acts 5 and 6. Together, these chapters will add 24 new areas, 18 new unique bosses, and more than 20 special encounters. Those additions complete the campaign structure referenced in the announcement, giving players further locations to explore before their focus shifts to the endgame map system.

The release will also introduce a new playable Shadow class. The announcement did not detail the full mechanical identity or skill selection for the class, but Shadow has traditionally occupied a dexterity-and-intelligence-oriented role in the wider Path of Exile universe. Its arrival adds another foundation for build planning at the point of full release.

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Existing class options are receiving attention as well. The Duelist will gain access to the Knight Ascendancy, creating a new advanced specialization within that class. Grinding Gear Games has also announced extensive changes to skills and Ascendancies across the game, alongside a reworked passive skill tree. Since the passive tree is central to Path of Exile's character progression, a redesign could have meaningful effects on both newly created characters and established approaches to build crafting.

Items, skills, and character systems are being updated

Conquerors of Wraeclast will add more than 40 new Unique Items and revise over 70 existing Unique Items. Unique gear often acts as a cornerstone for unconventional or highly focused builds, offering effects that can reshape a character's defensive setup, resource management, damage output, or interaction with individual skills. New additions and revisions therefore have the potential to affect the game's meta well beyond the launch league itself.

The announced skill changes, Ascendancy changes, and passive-tree rework point to a release that is not solely about adding more content. It is also an opportunity to rebalance the underlying systems through which players develop their characters. Exactly how far-reaching those changes will be remains to be seen, but the scope presented makes Conquerors of Wraeclast sound like a major transition point for Path of Exile 2 rather than a conventional seasonal update.

Players who enjoy testing interactions between equipment, passive nodes, class specializations, and active abilities will have a large pool of systems to investigate. At the same time, the completed campaign and additional bosses should give returning players more direct progression content before the game opens into its extensive map-based endgame.

Faction warfare drives the Conquerors of Wraeclast league

The accompanying Conquerors of Wraeclast league is centered on faction warfare. Rather than restricting the league concept to isolated encounters, the system is intended to let players recruit armies, establish fortresses, and command soldiers during large-scale sieges.

The stated goal is the conquest of strongholds. That premise gives the league a more strategic and territorial flavor than a straightforward monster-slaying mechanic, at least in concept. Players will be building up their side of the conflict while taking part in assaults against opposing positions. Further details on how armies are recruited, what fortresses can provide, or how command functions moment to moment have not been outlined here.

Even so, the league's structure indicates an attempt to pair Path of Exile 2's usual fast-paced combat and loot chase with a wider campaign of expansion and conflict. The stronghold-conquest framework could make the league's progression feel more tangible, as players work toward capturing enemy territory instead of simply completing disconnected events.

Covens of Umbra targets Path of Exile endgame

Before Path of Exile 2 reaches its full-release milestone, the original Path of Exile will receive Covens of Umbra. The November expansion is focused heavily on its endgame, with reworked systems, a redesigned Atlas Passive Tree, refreshed league mechanics, and changes intended to improve drops and rewards.

One of the most notable new elements is the Wickerman system. This feature allows players to construct effigies using defeated bosses. The announcement does not yet spell out every possible result or reward attached to the system, but tying effigy creation to slain bosses gives players another way to turn encounters with major enemies into a longer-term source of progression.

The Atlas Passive Tree is also being redesigned. For Path of Exile players, the Atlas is a crucial tool for tailoring endgame mapping sessions around desired activities, reward types, and league mechanics. A redesign may change the decisions involved in preparing an atlas strategy, especially for players who prefer to repeatedly target a particular type of content.

Covens of Umbra will additionally replace scarabs with a new framework called Threads of Creation. Threads of Creation are intended to provide greater control over league mechanics inside maps. Scarabs have served as a familiar way for players to influence the content and rewards found during endgame mapping, so replacing them is one of the expansion's clearest structural changes.

The shift could be particularly important for players who want to focus their mapping around a chosen mechanic. Greater control can make it easier to pursue specific reward loops, though the exact limitations, acquisition methods, and combinations for Threads of Creation have not been detailed in the announcement.

Two different paths for Wraeclast players

The paired announcements show Grinding Gear Games supporting both branches of the franchise with distinct priorities. Covens of Umbra is built around refining the original Path of Exile's mature endgame framework. Its systems are directed at mapping, rewards, boss-related progression, and player control over the mechanics that appear in maps.

Conquerors of Wraeclast, in contrast, brings Path of Exile 2 to a major release point. It combines campaign completion with new classes, an additional Ascendancy, item updates, broad mechanical changes, and an endgame league built around armies and sieges. Players following both games will have a busy late 2026, beginning with Covens of Umbra on November 13 PST and continuing with Path of Exile 2's full release on December 11 PST.

• Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra: November 13, 2026 PST; PC, Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation, and Xbox.
• Path of Exile 2: Conquerors of Wraeclast: December 11, 2026 PST; PC, Mac, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox.
• Path of Exile 2 full-release features: Complete campaign, 10 classes, 26 Ascendancies, 320-plus skills, 400-plus Unique Items, and more than 150 endgame maps.
• Major new content: Acts 5 and 6, the Shadow class, the Duelist's Knight Ascendancy, and faction-warfare stronghold sieges.
• Covens of Umbra highlights: Wickerman effigies, a redesigned Atlas Passive Tree, Threads of Creation, and revamped endgame rewards and league mechanics.