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In early April 2025, Grinding Gear Games launched Patch 0.2.0—dubbed “Dawn of the Hunt”—for Path of Exile 2, marking the game’s first major content update since its December 2024 Early Access debut. This update introduced a brand-new playable class (the Huntress), five additional Ascendancy classes, over 25 new skills (primarily spear-based), and more than 100 unique items alongside fresh endgame maps and challenges. For many players, this also meant a renewed interest in optimizing builds and gearing efficiently—sparking increased demand to buy PoE 2 currency and explore cheap PoE 2 currency deals through the community marketplace.

New Content Overview

Huntress Class and Ascendancies

• Huntress Playable Class: “Dawn of the Hunt” adds the Huntress, a dexterity-focused hybrid combatant capable of deadly ranged and close-quarters combat.
• Five New Ascendancies: Alongside the Huntress’s two specializations (Amazon and Ritualist), the update grants each existing base class a new Ascendancy: Smith of Kitava for the Warrior, Tactician for the Mercenary, and Lich for the Witch. IGN highlighted these new Ascendancies as key to fresh playstyles and synergies within Path of Exile 2’s evolving meta.

Skills, Items, and Endgame Expansions

• Skill and Support Gems: More than 25 new skills—chiefly spear-based—and over 100 support gems give players novel build options.
• Item Classes and Uniques: Two new item classes (Spears and Bucklers) broaden equipment diversity, accompanied by over 100 new unique items to discover.
• Endgame Maps and Encounters: Eight brand-new endgame maps feature unique encounters and rewards, including Unique Strongboxes and Rogue Exiles—challenging AI enemies with valuable loot drops. For those grinding the new content, the PoE 2 currency sale period that followed the patch was a welcome opportunity to prepare for these tougher challenges.

Balance Changes and Community Reaction

Ascendancy Buffs & Nerfs

Mobalytics’ analysis underscores that while the five new Ascendancies invigorated class variety, they also necessitated buffs and nerfs across older specializations to maintain balance. For example, several Witch and Warrior Ascendancies saw numerical adjustments to skill damage and resource costs mere days after release.

Player Backlash and Hotfixes

Shortly after launch, players reported steep spikes in difficulty, especially in the early campaign, and underwhelming power curves for new Ascendancies—fueling frustration on social media and forums. In response, Grinding Gear Games issued hotfixes addressing enemy health, skill scaling, and crafting mechanics within a week of the update. Many veteran players used the opportunity to adjust their builds and reallocate resources, often turning to reliable vendors to buy PoE 2 currency for reforging gear and testing new combos.

Impact on Gameplay

Early-Game Difficulty Spike

Community posts on Reddit and Polygon noted that new monsters in Dawn of the Hunt maps felt disproportionately tanky, leading to pushback from players accustomed to smoother progression. While some praised the renewed challenge, others argued it disrupted campaign pacing.

Enhanced Endgame Variety

Conversely, endgame enthusiasts lauded the fresh Map diversity and Rogue Exile encounters, which injected unpredictability into Atlas progression and loot farming. The Expanded Atlas passive tree and new crafting tools, such as the recombinator previewed in Q&A sessions, hint at deeper long-term engagement.

Grinding Gear Games has signaled continued post-update support, with Patch 0.2.0f already live and plans for 0.2.0g underway. Director Jonathan Rogers has tempered expectations for a 2025 full release, emphasizing quality and iterative balance over strict timelines. As the team iterates on community feedback, “Dawn of the Hunt” and the surrounding economy—including evolving PoE 2 currency markets—stand as a pivotal step toward realizing Path of Exile 2’s ambitious vision.

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