Path of Exile 2’s free-to-play full release on December 11 (Pacific time) adds a second new class, the Shadow, alongside the already announced Duelist, Grinding Gear Games revealed at its ExileCon 2026 keynote on Friday, November 6. The studio’s ExileCon 2026 announcements post confirms both classes, the final Acts 5 and 6, and a new challenge league, Conquerors of Wraeclast.
The Details
GGG’s full release announcement on Steam spells out what Path of Exile 2 1.0 brings:
- Acts 5 and 6: 24 new areas and 18 new unique bosses, plus more than 20 new Champion Rare encounters, completing the six-act campaign.
- The Shadow: a dagger class built on Stealth, a new mechanic. While in Stealth, monsters cannot see you until you get close, and your dagger skills gain bonuses. The Shadow also uses Traps, a second new weapon type: you prepare them while hidden, they trigger as you strike, and they explode in the order you threw them. Its Ascendancies at launch are the Assassin and the Infiltrator.
- The Duelist: a swordsman built on Stances. Ready Stance empowers sword skills and can be upgraded to Sand or Blood Stances. Its Ascendancies are the Knight and the Master-at-Arms.
- Conquerors of Wraeclast: a league where you join Varek and his mercenaries to stop the ancient Blood Lord from awakening. You recruit troops, conquer castles for a new crafting material that reforges gear, and build an endgame stronghold for one of three factions, whose players work together across the league to take castles from the others.
GGG also lists more than 40 new Unique items, new skills for the Warrior and the Witch, a large Support Gem rebalance, a Passive Skill Tree with hundreds of new stats, and reworks to the Mercenary, Infernalist, Blood Mage and Acolyte of Chayula.
What This Means for Players
Existing builds will need a rethink. With a reworked tree and rebalanced Support Gems, plan to respec your skill tree at launch, and our guide to changing your Ascendancy covers how switching works if a rework tempts you.
New players get the whole story at once. Our guide to how long Path of Exile 2 is and how many acts there are breaks down the campaign that Acts 5 and 6 complete, and playing with friends covers grouping up for a fresh start. Our full release guide explains what happens to Early Access characters, and the sign-up rewards guide covers the free cosmetics for registering before launch. Every guide is on our Path of Exile hub.
When and Where
Path of Exile 2 goes free-to-play on December 11 (PST) on PC through its own client, Steam and the Epic Games Store, and on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. GGG’s announcement does not give a launch hour yet.
Source: Grinding Gear Games, ExileCon 2026 Announcements and “Path of Exile 2 Full Release on December 11 PST” on Steam, November 6, 2026.