Path Of Exile 2 Levels And Endgame
Path of Exile 2 will feature a fleshed-out endgame right from the start. However, you can only reach the endgame after beating the three-act campaign twice. The first time you beat it, you’ll be roughly level 45. You’re free to beat the three Acts the first time through on any difficulty level you choose. Once you’re level 45 and done with the campaign, you’ll need to beat it again, but this time on “Cruel” difficulty. Only after beating the campaign on this difficulty level will you be allowed to enter the endgame.
Once you enter the endgame, you’ll be able to explore the Atlas. This is a randomly generated map that goes on forever, giving you endless amounts of content to pursue. In the Atlas, you can discover towers that allow you to open up more of the map. You initially open up new areas by putting down Waystones, which essentially act as markers on the big Atlas map. These Waystones also allow you to select the difficulty of the enemies you’ll face in the Atlas. The Waystones have several other mechanics as well, including the ability to modify them to influence what types of drop rates you’ll receive from an area.
In each area of the Atlas, you’ll find monsters and bosses from the story, which need to be defeated to clear the different areas of corruption. Only some areas feature a major boss while all areas have plenty of monsters to kill that range in difficulty depending on the Waystone you placed.
In addition to fighting enemies and bosses, you can also discover NPCs in the Atlas that offer objectives to complete for more rewards. As you find more and more NPCs, you might eventually find a location called the Hideout. Here, you can group NPCs together to join you on your exploration of the Atlas. The Hideout serves as another hub within the Atlas that players can return to throughout the endgame.
Finally, a major element of the endgame in Path of Exile 2 is the systems in place. These systems act as events in the endgame that can be completed for rewards. Every system gives points for players to spend in the Atlas’ skill trees and as players put more points in the different sections of the tree, the systems become more difficult and offer better rewards. There are seven systems in Path of Exile 2’s endgame and each one offers different gameplay loops, pinnacle boss fights, and rewards. Here are the seven endgame systems:
- Breach
- Ritual
- Delirium
- Expedition
- Trial of the Sekhemas
- Trial of Chaos
- Pinnacle Boss
The Pinnacle Boss is the hardest piece of endgame content in Path of Exile 2 and requires some preparation before you’re able to take it on. You can only take part in the Pinnacle Boss system after finding three distinct keys that unlock a door to a fortress somewhere in the Atlas. From there, you’re faced with frequent boss fights that are more challenging than anything else in Path of Exile 2.