PoE: Keepers of the Flame comes with lots of changes. Breach 2.0 and the option to get a hand or two is just the beginning

During yesterday's stream, Grinding Gear Games revealed the full content of the new Path of Exile update titled Keepers of the Flame. Its release is scheduled for October 31 at 11:00 am PT. Below you can watch the official trailer.

Keepers of the Flame – key new features

Breach 2.0

The main feature of the new league is the popular Breach mechanic, which has gotten a fresh update. It has been tied to the main storyline of the expansion, where the character Ailith, a member of the Order of the Keepers of the Flame, must stop the conquest of the Breachlords.

The update will expand the mechanics with a new type of encounter. During the game, we will come across strange structures that Ailith can destroy, but she needs time to do so. Our goal will be to protect her. Of course, the current type of combat—which involves killing monsters as quickly as possible—will still be there.

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On top of that, in the final phase of the game, we'll be able to find structures called Breach Hives. The player's task will be to conquer them along with Ailith, which will not always be easy, as one of the Breachlords may be waiting there.

Tree within a tree

As we progress in the game, Ailith will lead us to the Monastery of the Keepers. There, we can access the Genesis Tree, which can grow all sorts of rewards for us, like currency or powerful items. We can tweak them to fit our needs using the built-in tree, which you can see below.

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Get a new hand... or two

With the Genesis Tree, we will primarily be able to get Grafts, basically special arms you can attach to your character to score some extra perks. Their range is quite broad – from powerful offensive abilities to defense enhancements and crowd control effects.

In the game, we will find 16 different types of hands, each offering a unique skill. As our character develops, we will be able to unlock a second slot for a Graft, which will provide even more customization options. You'll also be able to tweak their modifiers using a special currency you get from the Genesis Tree.

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New Ascendancy classes

The Keepers of the Flame update will introduce 10 new Ascendancy classes, but in a slightly different form. We will acquire them by defeating specific bosses, and they will work alongside our primary Ascendancy, not as its replacement. Furthermore, we won't get any extra points to spend – it's up to us to decide how many of our existing points we want to use for the original class and how many for the new one.

Notably, the Bloodline Ascendancy – as they have been named – are not assigned to specific characters. This means that regardless of who you play as, all ten will be available to you.

Asynchronous trading

The asynchronous trading feature known from Path of Exile 2 will also be coming to the first installment. It lets you buy stuff from other players even if they're not online. Items can be listed for sale with an NPC named Faustus – but remember, you need a special tab called the Merchant Stash Tab for this.

Along with the new trading system, an integrated item search engine will also be introduced to Path of Exile.

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Other changes

The new update will bring many more changes and new features, the full list of which has already been made available on the game's website. Among the more important ones, it's worth mentioning:

1. new active and support skills;
2. three additional Uber Bosses;
3. a host of Quality of Life improvements;
4. 40 new league challenges, completion of which will grant a unique armor set.

Path of Exile is available for free on PC, PS4, PS5, XOne, and XSX/S.

Path of Exile

October 23, 2013

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