Path of Exile 1 News

The various updates and fixes of POE 2 by the developer made many old players who were addicted to POE feel dissatisfied. They thought that they were all fans of POE, so why could POE 2 Early Access be constantly updated and fixed, while the updates of POE could only be delayed blindly?

Developer's Response

The various dissatisfactions of the players gradually grew, and the developers had to respond. They said that they really couldn't take into account the updates and fixes of the two games at the same time, and it was indeed POE 2 that hindered the progress of POE.

In order to alleviate the various dissatisfactions of the players, the developer said that it would bring a one-month event to the players, allowing the players to forget this unpleasant thing for a short time by actively participating in various events during the event, and it also cleverly consolidated the interests of the old player group. However, unfortunately, there is still no clear indication of the official launch time of POE 3.26. Perhaps this is just a delaying tactic taken by the developer to win over the players for a short time?

Developers' Actions

Settlers of Kalguur (3.25) held a long time ago was a great success, even more popular than the game itself, but it has lasted for more than seven months. As a league, it should only last three to four months, but it lasted so long, which is also related to the developers' investment of all their time and resources in POE 2.

In order to better compensate the players, the developers brought 19 fresh event-exclusive Ascendancy classes for this one-month event. These new Ascendancy classes will break the inherent experience of players before and bring new challenges to players. When players play as Witch and ascend to Harbingers, what a brand new experience! But players still need to pay attention. If you want to successfully transform from the basic class to Ascendancy class, you need to successfully defeat the boss, so that you can get additional POE Currency and dropped loot and upgrade weapons and equipment.

Therefore, the developers strongly believe that this event can not only temporarily shut up the players, but also provide an excellent opportunity to change the game mechanism, and these new contents may also become part of POE 2.

But in any case, these actions do appease the players' psychology to a certain extent, allowing them to have other things to do while waiting for POE 3.26 to appear, and the developers clearly stated that they hope players will be prepared to accept weird things, which satisfies the players' desire for new content. Indeed, their actions can be said to be an excellent public relations template, which not only solves the problem but also wins over the players, killing two birds with one stone.

POE players are not whining without illness, but just postponing blindly, consuming the players' patience and expectations. If the developers cannot make a reasonable solution, these fan groups can only gradually shift their direction and give up POE.

In fact, no matter what kind of speeches and complaints the players make, they just hope that their opinions can be heard, so as to make changes to the existing game mechanisms and content and develop games that cater to players more.

I don’t know if you are currently playing POE 2 or returning to the first game because of Legacy of Phrecia, but I believe you should have noticed that the first game has not been updated for a long time, which has to disappoint many loyal fans of the first game, even though Legacy of Phrecia has great content.

Previously, the 3.25 league Settlers of Kalguur update was launched in July 2024, 3.24 in March 2024, and 3.23 in December 2023. It can be seen that the normal interval between league updates for Path of Exile is about 4 months, so 3.26 was supposed to be launched at the end of 2024, but now it is March 2025!

Based on this, we will analyze the reasons behind the delay of 3.26 based on the recent POE dynamics.

The Popularity Of POE 2

Although it is still in the early access stage, the popularity of Path of Exile 2 is still very hot, so it is not surprising that GGG chose to focus on the development of this sequel. Therefore, many staff members of the first game were absorbed into the development team of POE 2, which led to the postponement of the update of POE 1.

It Is Difficult To Balance Between Two Games

You may wonder why other game series can achieve multi-line parallel development, such as Diablo 3 and Diablo 4-in fact, to do this, it is related to the scale of the game company. At least, the current scale of GGG makes it difficult for it to have the energy to continue to update POE 1 league while maintaining and developing POE 2.

When Will 3.26 League Be Launched?

In the best case, 3.26 should be developed and released in time after the official version of Path of Exile 2 is launched, and it is expected to meet you in June-July 2025. However, since the sequel is not perfect in all aspects and still needs to be continuously updated and maintained, the launch time of the official version should be postponed, which will lead to the arrival of 3.26 later.

In short, the good news is that the duration of the new event Legacy of Phrecia in POE 1 has been extended, and you can enjoy it to your heart’s content. The bad news is that the launch time of 3.26 league has not been determined. But please relax anyway, after all, the ultimate purpose of playing games is to have fun!

I don't know if you know about POE 1's Legacy of Phrecia Event. Maybe you have not only heard of it, but also played it. Today let's explore why it is important for POE2 players.

The Path of Exile: Legacy of Phrecia event was launched on February 20, 2025, and quickly became a hot topic among fans. In just 24 hours, it had 91,977 real-time online players on Steam.

Apology Event

In fact, GGG has limited energy to develop two games at the same time. At first, in order to meet the needs of players of both games, he promised to develop them simultaneously and release the league and major patches of PoE 1 and the early access updates of PoE 2 alternately.

But the final result is seen by everyone. Jonathan Rogers, as a representative of the company, said on the public platform that it was an impossible task. At that time, POE 1 had been on Settlers of Kalguur for more than 200 days, and lasted for more than 29 weeks. It became the longest league in the history of POE 1.

Therefore, GGG, as a company that values ​​player feedback in the community, decided to hold an event for fans to apologize. So the event called Legacy of Phrecia was launched, which launched 19 new Ascendancy classes based on the game's lore and mechanics.

As we all know, PoE 1 has been around for about 12 years since its release. Even if we add the closed beta version that started in 2011, it has been 14 years. And the Ascendancy class has remained roughly the same for nearly nine years.

This undoubtedly provides players with new motivation to upgrade equipment and unlock skills for the new class by challenging enemies to obtain Path Of Exile Currency.

There is also good news. Based on the good reception and enthusiastic feedback from players to the Legacy of Phrecia event, and in response to the requests of the majority of players in the community, this event, which was originally scheduled to end at the end of March, will be extended for a full month and will now end at the end of April.

Special Rewards

We all know that the Legacy of Phrecia event is designed specifically for PoE 1, even if it is not designed for PoE 2, but it may eventually inspire some events or seasons in PoE 2.

In addition, participating in this event may get unexpected surprises. It will provide some unique rewards that make you feel that participating in this event is worthwhile. Even if you are not a PoE 1 player, but a PoE 2 player.

Of course, the most attractive of them are Autumn Knight armor set and Twitch Drops. They can be used in both PoE 1 and PoE 2 games, and can only be obtained in this event. Players can get Twitch Drops in the first week of the event.

In addition, Autumn Knight armor set is very important to increase the speed at which you farm XP and in the end-game battle. However, its acquisition requirements are relatively difficult. You need to reach level 20, 40, 60 and 80 before you have a chance to get Autumn Knight Armor Set.

Therefore, it is very necessary to use Divine Orb. It can upgrade your equipment, speed up your upgrade speed, and greatly increase your chances of obtaining Autumn Knight Armor Set.

After reading this article, you must have a general understanding of why it is important for POE 2 players. I hope this article can answer your doubts.

Generally speaking, several games in a series are connected, not only in terms of storyline but also in terms of gameplay and mechanics, so it is better to play them in order.

Based on this situation, facing the early access of POE 2 released on December 6, 2024, you may wonder if it is necessary to play the first one before playing it? Next, we will introduce you to whether this necessity exists based on the performance of the two games.

Is The Main Story Connected?

The sequel to POE introduces a new seven-act storyline (3 acts in early access) and is set 20 years after the background story in the first game. Although it is accompanied by a series of new features and mechanics, the storyline of the sequel is generally independent.

From this perspective, you don’t need to play the first version of the game to understand and enjoy the story of Path of Exile 2. This will not only allow new players to integrate into the game quickly but also provide old players with a brand new experience.

Is The Specific Game Content Connected?

In terms of other content, both Path of Exile 1 and 2 will have the same endgame content and expansions, so no matter which one you experience, your inventory or progress will eventually carry over to the comprehensive endgame. In this regard, you don’t need to play the first part before playing POE 2.

However, it is worth noting that Path of Exile series has always been known for its esoteric and complex game mechanics. So if you have played the original version before, you will adapt to the core gameplay faster in the sequel, such as the skill system and characters of each class. But if you have not played POE 1 and go directly to POE 2, it doesn’t matter, because the latter has prepared a special tutorial for novices in this regard to help you get started quickly.

Is It Necessary To Play POE 1?

Based on the above content, we can conclude that not playing the original game will not cause trouble to your POE 2 experience in terms of plot or mechanics. But if you have time, it is recommended that you also experience the first part to understand the entire storyline of Path of Exile series in depth, and at the same time, you can also have more fun!