Path of Exile 2 will launch its full release on December 11 PST with two new classes, not one. Grinding Gear Games revealed the Shadow at ExileCon, where it joined the previously announced Duelist, and the official release notice describes a class that "lurks unseen, using daggers, traps, and shades to bring down his foes".
The release also takes the game free to play, and it adds Acts 5 and 6 to finish a six-act campaign. The Shadow is the new reveal, though, and it rests on what the studio calls "an entirely new mechanic" for the game.
What stealth actually does
Start with the definition. According to the studio, Stealth means monsters can't see you until you get within a short distance of them. Being in the shadows also empowers dagger skills, with a range of additional bonuses.
The next question is how often you get that state. PC Gamer reports that stealth runs on a cooldown, and that the cooldown resets on a kill. PC Gamer says you should be able to use it to kill quickly from the shadows and get moving again. That description suggests a loop: enter stealth, kill something, reset, move on.
Two further pieces sit on top of that loop, both from PC Gamer's report. Entering stealth leaves a shade behind, which blinds monsters and acts as a distraction, and that shade copies the melee attacks you use, doubling up on your damage. There is also a new Darkness resource, collected from skills that spread darkness, which raises the damage you deal when you come out of stealth.
How the traps fit in
Traps are the second half of the class, and the studio lists them as another new weapon type alongside daggers. The sequence runs in three steps.
First, you prepare traps while in stealth. Second, they trigger automatically as you strike. Third, they explode in the order you threw them, which the studio says lets you set up a combo. PC Gamer adds that traps thrown from stealth won't trigger until you reveal yourself.
The trap list itself is broader than one tool. PC Gamer says 1.0 will have eight trap types, all of which interact with each other in unique ways. How deep those interactions go isn't clear yet; PC Gamer says more on the classes is still to come.
Ascendancies, and what else ships
The Shadow starts with two Ascendancy classes, the Assassin and the Infiltrator. PC Gamer notes that every class is expected to reach at least three eventually, but no third option has been named for the Shadow.
The Duelist has its own new system. It uses Stances, with a Ready Stance that empowers sword skills and can be upgraded to Sand or Blood Stances. Its two Ascendancy classes at launch are the Knight and the Master-at-Arms.
Around the classes, the studio lists 24 new areas and 18 new bosses across Acts 5 and 6, over 40 new Unique Items, and a reworked Passive Skill Tree. There is also a new Challenge League, Conquerors of Wraeclast, in which players recruit troops and capture castles.
For players, the date and price are the settled parts: December 11 PST, and free. The Shadow's details are from a reveal, so numbers and interactions could still change before launch. The class trailer is out now, and PC Gamer expects more on both classes to follow.
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