Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access and becomes free-to-play on December 11, 2026 (PST, exact hour not announced yet). At ExileCon, Grinding Gear Games confirmed two classes to pick from on day one besides the existing roster: the new Shadow (daggers, traps, Shades and a new Stealth mechanic, with the Assassin and Infiltrator Ascendancies) and the Duelist, whose Knight Ascendancy fights with a Squire, War Banners and a Mounted Charge. The Infernalist, Blood Mage, Acolyte of Chayula and Mercenary are also reworked. So, what are you starting with?
Video: "Path of Exile 2: The Shadow Trailer", official Path of Exile YouTube channel, November 6, 2026 (1 min 24 s). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD-lo79LtAM
- First character: Shadow, Duelist Knight, or one of the reworked classes (Infernalist with up to three Infernal Hounds, Blood Mage, Acolyte of Chayula, Mercenary)?
- Shadow players: will you build around Stealth and dagger ambushes, or around chained traps that explode in the order you threw them?
- Knight: does fighting alongside a Squire you equip yourself sound fun, or too close to a minion build?
- Conquerors of Wraeclast adds troops, castles, three factions and faction-wide castle conquest against other players: will you play the league, or stay in Standard?
- Early Access players: are you rerolling from scratch on December 11, and does going free-to-play mean you will bring friends in?
Note: GGG's Steam announcement lists two Duelist Ascendancies in 1.0 (Knight and Master-at-Arms), while its press release says Master of Arms comes later. If you see an official clarification, please share the link.
Release date, platforms, Acts 5 and 6, uniques and every confirmed change in our article: https://tricknfix.com/articles/path-of-exile-2-1-0-full-release-december-11-2026-free-to-play-shadow-knight-conquerors-of-wraeclast/
FR version: https://tricknfix.com/fr/sujet/path-of-exile-2-gratuit-le-11-decembre-avec-le-shadow-et-le-knight-quel-premier-perso-en-1-0-et-jouerez-vous-la-ligue-conquerors-of-wraeclas-1a3774ba29/