Path of Exile - Content Update 2.5

Path of Exile has been updated to 2.5.0. This update includes new unique items, new challenges and rewards, adjustments to Master Missions, and a new 64-bit Path of Exile client that uses DirectX 11! Check out the full patch notes here.

Content Update 2.5.0

The Breach Challenge League:

• Challenge leagues are a great opportunity for a fresh start in a new economy. All of your old characters and items are still present in the Standard and Hardcore leagues, but you're encouraged to join the new leagues, complete challenges and demonstrate your mastery of Path of Exile!
• With 2.5.0, there are Standard and Hardcore variations of the Breach challenge league available. They have the same core mechanics and items.
• Tears in the fabric of reality have formed throughout Wraeclast. Engage them to expose an alternate realm and reveal those who dwell there. Slay monsters inside the Breach to keep it open long enough to reap your bounty.
• Deep in the Breach, you may draw the ire of horrific new bosses: Breachlords. The more damage you inflict on them, the more treasure they'll part with during their escape.
• Among the riches found in the Breach, you may also encounter Splinters. Combine 100 Splinters of the same type together to create a Breachstone. When placed in the Map Device, a Breachstone allows travel into a Breachlord's Domain, the one place where they are truly vulnerable.
• Monsters from the Breach drop new unique items that are specific to their Domain. When slain in their Domain, Breachlords are able to drop Blessings that allow these new uniques to be upgraded.
• There are a total of 35 new unique items specific to the Breach league.
• The new challenge leagues include a set of 40 new challenges. When you complete 12 challenges, you will receive the Breach Footprints Effect. At 24, you will receive the Breach Portal Effect. When you complete your 36th challenge, you will receive the Demonic Wings Back Attachment. These microtransactions are only obtainable in this league.
• From the 19th challenge onwards and for every third challenge after that, you will receive pieces of the Breach Totem Pole decoration to display in your hideout. The Totem Pole permanently showcases how many of the Breach challenges you completed during the league.

New Content:

• Added 55 new unique items, 35 of which are exclusive to the Breach challenge league.
• Added a new Intelligence/Dexterity Support Gem - Cast while Channelling: While casting supported channelling skills, trigger another linked spell at regular intervals, with a small damage penalty. This support gem is available from the Sharp and Cruel quest reward in Cruel difficulty for the Witch, Templar, Shadow and Scion. It is available for all classes from Petarus and Vanja after completing The Eternal Nightmare in Normal difficulty. There's a new Channelling tag on relevant skill gems.
• Added a new Neutral Skill Gem - Vaal Breach: Creates a Breach at your location, making you vulnerable to its powerful inhabitants.
• Before her rescue, Navali is now guarded by The Faun.
• Very early areas in Act One have been cosmetically improved.
• Hellions have had their art replaced with a new model.

New Features:

• Many of 2.5.0's features including the new renderer were deployed early with update 2.4.2. Thank you for your testing and feedback.
• The DirectX 9 renderer is still the default. You can change to the DirectX 11 renderer in the options. We will make the DirectX 11 renderer the default once we're sure there are no emaining problems.
• Melee action targeting has been greatly improved.
• The challenge and achievements panel now has progress bars for numeric challenges. Your overall challenge progress and challenge reward milestones are also shown.
• Weapons now display their range on their item descriptions.
• Improved early tutorials.
• Added support for the slash symbol in Premium Stash Tab price fields.
• Various improvements to preloading have been made

…

More information.

Another big update for the best A-rpg out there Essences from this prior league have also become a permanent part of the game.

hmm, I enjoyed the acts but was bored to death by the skill tree stuff and the maps. Everything was just random violence with nothing to motivate continued play. Is there anything to do except level up? Did they ever go back and add a story to the game? Loot is great, but not if there isn't a reason to gather it.

P.S. I never play online or trade. I'm asking from an SP standpoint.

You don't play these games for the story. This game is for power gamers and min maxers. It is a dream game for people that like to work out how to get more numbers and more power and then explode whole screens with one press of the button

Although, to GGG's credit, there's a lot of dangerous monster mechanics as well that you need to learn and pay attention to.

Originally Posted by Drithius
Although, to GGG's credit, there's a lot of dangerous monster mechanics as well that you need to learn and pay attention to.

Yes but the true fun comes from playing an screen exploding build and even more fun from making your own such build and then playing it.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
hmm, I enjoyed the acts but was bored to death by the skill tree stuff and the maps. Everything was just random violence with nothing to motivate continued play. Is there anything to do except level up? Did they ever go back and add a story to the game? Loot is great, but not if there isn't a reason to gather it.

P.S. I never play online or trade. I'm asking from an SP standpoint.

Technically there is more "story" content after finishing the Acts. They added the Shaper character, as part of the Atlas update. The idea is there is some force out there manipulating time and space and you must track him down.

However, I agree with you that the mapping system really lacks meaning. I, too, wish they'd add more meaningful story content woven into the map system. The Atlas update makes it so the Shaper speaks one line of dialogue when entering each new map…but that is so weak.

And there's the labyrinth of course. It adds quite a lot of new lore and interesting dialogue, but it's mostly a one and done affair.

Anyway, the biggest news of 2.5 is the DX11 renderer. After four years we finally have a Path of Exile that runs *almost* smoothly at all times.

Here's a poignant video showing just how much GGG and PoE have come in ten years (god, has it really been that long?).



Also, the new Breach League starts in just about 4 hours… weeee.

No, it has not been 10 years. It was released as Open Beta in 2012 I think.

GGG was formed in 2006.

Ok, but nobody cares about that. We care about when the game was playable to most players.
This is a company nobody knew about until 2011 when game first showed up in closed beta.
They got nothing to show between 2006 and 2011.

They have a success story to show - and that's what the video is there for: 10 years of continued progress, from working in a garage to continually pushing new content for millions of players.

And still better than Grim Dawn, might I add.

Originally Posted by BoboTheMighty
And still better than Grim Dawn, might I add.

Not in everything. I enjoy the loot more in GD. PoE is more fun for building characters.

PoE's skill tree is needlessly complicated. Especially as about 70% of the skills are just repeats.