Path of Exile 2 Patch Note 0.3.0: New Act, Rise of the Abyssals League and Major Updates

On August 29, the highly anticipated Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.0 will officially launch. This update is one of the largest so far, bringing a massive amount of new content, reworks, and quality-of-life changes. In this blog, I’ve highlighted the most important and interesting parts of the new PoE 2 patch notes, so you can quickly catch up on what’s coming without digging through every detail.

POE Act 4: Ngamakanui

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The long-awaited Act 4 will soon be available, continuing the storyline after the events of Act 3. This time, Doryani agrees to aid the heroes in the search for an ancient weapon — the Instrument of the Third Edict, a power strong enough to stand against corruption. The journey begins in Kingsmach, where players must find a ship and set sail on a new adventure.

The core of this act unfolds across the Ngamakanui Archipelago, homeland of the Karui tribes. Each of the eight islands presents its own challenges — from the serene beaches of Whakapanu to the dark volcanic shores of the Isle of Kin. Every location hides dangers and unique bosses that must be overcome.

What makes Act 4 stand out is its non-linear progression. Players are free to choose the order in which they explore the islands, making each playthrough unique and opening different paths through the story.

Rise of the Abyssals League

The Rise of the Abyssals League is the first full league for Path of Exile 2, launching alongside Patch 0.3.0. It introduces a fresh economy while keeping Early Access characters, who also receive a free passive tree reset to adapt builds to the new mechanics.

The league’s story dates back to the age of the Precursors. Created by forbidden necromantic magic, the Abyssals have waited underground for centuries. Now, under the command of their General, they are breaking through fissures across Wraeclast. Players must seal these breaches, battle the Abyssal hordes, and prevent their influence from spreading.

Progression follows the classic pattern — the deeper you go, the tougher the fights and the better the rewards. A key mechanic is the Well of Souls, unlocked in Act Two. It allows corrupted modifiers on items to be transformed into stronger versions in the endgame. The Well can also empower Waystones, scaling both difficulty and rewards on maps.

The league is available in Standard, Hardcore, and Solo Self-Found variations, with all mechanics and items intact. For players who prefer special rules, private leagues can also be created. The design and atmosphere aim to capture the feel of classic Abyss content from the original game, a nostalgic touch for long-time fans.

Interludes

In the Third Edict update, the developers removed the Cruel difficulty, streamlining the campaign. Instead, they introduced three temporary interludes — side stories designed to carry players smoothly to level 65 and prepare them for endgame. This makes progression more structured and logical while still adding narrative variety along the way.

Complete Support Gem System Overhaul

One of the core highlights of Patch 0.3.0 is the complete rework of the Support Gem system. Developers are removing the old restriction that allowed only one Support Gem of each type per character. With the new system, players will be able to socket multiple copies of the same Support Gem, greatly expanding build diversity.

Many gems will now feature multiple tiers, starting from a basic Tier 1 up to stronger versions with enhanced stats or altered mechanics. Some older gems are being merged together with rebalanced values. The update also introduces 11 brand-new Support Gems and 40 Lineage Supports, powerful options available only in the endgame.

To improve clarity, several simpler gems will be renamed, while outdated ones — Blood in the Eyes, Discombobulate, Unsteady Tempo, Unbating, Unbending, Untouchable, Unyielding — will be removed entirely. Any existing copies will disappear upon first login after the patch.

Descriptions are also being refined. For instance, Expanse Support will now correctly show an 8-second cooldown instead of 6. Texts for Last Gasp Support and Muster Support have been updated, and long-standing bugs involving totems and triggered skills have been fixed. Additionally, Lightning/Cold/Fire/Chaos Infusion gems are being renamed to Attunement.

Overall, these changes aim to make the Support Gem system more flexible, logical, and rewarding, creating new opportunities for build experimentation.

New Content and Features in Patch 0.3.0

Patch 0.3.0 brings a significant expansion of skills, passives, and currency options, aiming to diversify both the campaign and the endgame.

New Skill Gems:

• Fortifying Cry (Strength): Warcry that grants Guard; subsequent Shield Attacks release shockwaves. Cooldown can be bypassed with Endurance Charges.
• Forge Hammer (Strength): Fiery hammer lodges in the ground; can be recalled or shattered with a Warcry to create fissures.
• Ancestral Cry (Strength): Warcry that transforms the player into Kaom’s embodiment, triggering Volcanic Steps and Volcanic Eruption.
• Toxic Domain (Dexterity): Creates a Toxic Bloom zone; projectile attacks apply Toxic Pustules that detonate from poison.
• Ice-Tipped Arrows (Dexterity): Enhances next Bow or Spear attack, generating ice shards.
• Frost Darts (Intelligence): Icy projectiles that deal extra damage to frozen/chilled enemies, consuming Cold Infusion.

New Persistent Buff Gems:

• Iron Ward (Strength): Stores prevented Physical Damage and releases it as spikes.
• Mortar Cannon (Strength/Dexterity): Totem cannon that casts socketed Grenade skills.
• Mirage Archer (Dexterity): Dodge roll creates a mirage that mimics ranged attacks.
• Ravenous Swarm (Intelligence): Untargetable insect swarms attack and poison enemies.
• Siphon Elements (Intelligence): Chance to generate an Infusion Remnant on Freeze, Shock, or Ignite.

Other Additions:

• Grim Feast reworked: now revives Minions by collecting their remnants.
• New Keystone Passives: Hollow Palm Technique, Ritual Cadence, Blackflame Covenant, Walker of the Wilds.

Currency and Items:

• New Greater and Perfect orbs (Transmutation, Augmentation, Chaos, Regal, Exalted) with higher modifier tiers.
• New currency: Hinekora’s Lock, revealing the outcome of the next currency use.
• 10+ new Uniques, 50+ new base item types, 20+ new Endgame Maps, and 15 new Omens.

Overall, this patch expands Path of Exile 2 in multiple directions — with fresh skills, currencies, and items that open up more options for both build crafting and endgame progression.

Endgame Changes in Path of Exile Patch 0.3.0

In PoE Patch 0.3.0, the developers are overhauling how players access Pinnacle content. Previously, the same key was required for both the easiest and hardest versions, making lower difficulties often not worth running. Now, instead of keys, content will drop Splinters, which can be placed into the Realmgate. This opens an interface where you can select the difficulty, each with its own entry cost. The only exception is the fight against The Arbiter of Ash.

Atlas passive trees tied to Pinnacle bosses no longer affect content difficulty and now only apply within maps. Existing Simulacrums, Breachstones, and Audience for the Kings can be right-clicked to convert into 100 Splinters.

The Arbiter of Ash encounter is now a fixed-difficulty fight with infinite portals, and its rewards match the old tier 4 version. Its Atlas passive tree has been removed, with some bonuses baked into drops. A new Uber version of the fight has also been introduced, requiring Calamity Fragments obtained from Citadel bosses once their Atlas tree is fully upgraded.

The way Atlas passive points for map bosses are earned has also changed. They are now granted for:

• Defeating a map boss in a level 79+ map with at least 6 modifiers.
• Defeating a map boss in a level 80+ map with at least 6 modifiers.
• Defeating an Anomaly map boss in a level 79+ map with at least 6 modifiers.
• Defeating a Citadel map boss in a level 79+ map with at least 6 modifiers.
• Completing the Pinnacle of Flame quest.

Additionally, Olroth, Origin of the Fall no longer appears in Logbooks.

Overall, these changes make endgame content access more flexible and structured, replacing the old single-key system with a Splinter-based progression model.

Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.0 - Atlas Changes

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In patch 0.3.0, the Waystone modifier system has been reworked. Each modifier now comes with three components: a drawback, a positive bonus, and an increased chance to drop additional Waystones. To balance the fact that more negatives can appear at once, their overall impact has been reduced.

Rules for corrupted stones were also adjusted: Unidentified Corrupted Waystones can now be used to access the Corrupted Nexus, and corrupted Waystones can no longer have more than eight modifiers.

High-level item generation has been updated as well. Items found in top-tier zones can now reach up to 30% quality, though crafting currency still caps at 20%. In rare cases, items with a maximum of two sockets may drop with three, while one-socket items can very rarely generate with two.

These changes make Waystones more balanced and add a touch of excitement to high-level item hunting by introducing rare exceptions in item generation.

Ascendancy Changes in POE Patch 0.3.0

More About New POE Patch 0.3.0

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I’ve highlighted the main patch changes that seemed the most interesting and important to me. But for a full overview, you can check the complete PoE Patch Notes 0.3.0 on the official Path of Exile website. After all, this update has a lot more to offer.

For example, the Passive Skill Tree has received major changes. Several notable keystones were reworked, including Elemental Equilibrium, Eternal Youth, Giant’s Blood, Glancing Blows, and Resolute Technique. On top of that, over a hundred new clusters have been added across different class areas, while sources of AoE, Daze, and Reservation have been adjusted. Some older nodes were removed or redesigned, which means parts of your passive tree may be automatically reset.

So don’t miss the chance to enjoy the very first league in Path of Exile 2 — the League rewards will only be available here.