Path of Exile 2's Forbidden Rites League

Path of Exile 2's first event league, Forbidden Rites, begins on September 4. Developer Grinding Gear Games is launching this mini-league as a stopgap before the game's full 1.0 release on December 11.

The league is not a major update with sweeping balance changes. Instead, it introduces a small twist to the campaign and a significant rework to a divisive endgame activity. The planned balance changes have been postponed until the December launch.

Campaign Twist and Endgame Speed

During the campaign, players will encounter Ritual altars. These spawn waves of monsters and reward loot. Some altars will spawn bosses on top of other bosses. Surviving these gauntlets rewards powerful unique items. This mechanic already existed in the endgame, but is now part of the leveling experience.

Forbidden Rites will also speed up endgame progression. This allows players to access the endless world map earlier than in a normal league. There, they will find glowing green ravines hosting maps filled with Abyss monsters. Additionally, the previous league mechanic, Expedition, becomes a core part of the game.

Trial of Chaos Rework

The league's headline change is a complete rework of the Trial of Chaos. This endgame mode was widely disliked. It involved killing monsters across stages while choosing deadly modifiers that made the experience punishing. Effects included a 40% reduction to player defenses or tendrils that held players in place while monsters swarmed.

In the reworked version, those modifiers will not start out as severe. They will also offer a compensation: a small boost to the quality of dropped loot. Other improvements include faster door openings and quicker round transitions. The goal is to make the Trial of Chaos a tolerable, even fun, way to unlock ascendancy classes.

Developer Strategy and Player Reaction

Grinding Gear Games acknowledges that delaying balance changes until December is a risky move for a game with many interlocking systems. The static balance means there will be little mystery about the best endgame builds and mapping strategies. If a build works in the current patch, it will keep working in Forbidden Rites.

Some players are reportedly so disappointed by the lack of balance changes they plan to skip the league. Others see it as an opportunity to experiment with new classes, like the duelist, before the 1.0 launch. The article's author, Tyler from PC Gamer, states he will use the league to try a melee character for a change.