A massive content update is coming to Path of Exile 2 soon, as Dawn of the Hunt adds a new class, new maps, dozens of endgame encounters, and over one hundred new unique items. With new crafting tools, including over 20 runes, the additions that this patch will be adding should offer lots of new ways to customize your experience with more thrilling gameplay. Of course, the new Huntress class could certainly prove to be the star of Dawn of the Hunt, with her hybrid of melee and ranged mechanics.

Path of Exile 2 is currently in its Early Access period, having released as such in December 2024, and the developers for the game have a lot of things they still hope to add before it's fully launched. While the story itself is there, and overall feels more like a complete game than most Early Access titles do, the game has been lacking endgame content. This is one of the items being addressed with Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, which will go live on April 4, 2025.

Path of Exile 2's Game Director, Jonathan Rogers of Grinding Gear Games, sat down with ScreenRant and other press outlets to talk about everything Dawn of the Hunt will bring to the game.

The Huntress s As A New Character Class For Path Of Exile 2

Hybrid Of Melee And Ranged Attacks

As the title, Dawn of the Hunt, suggests, spearheading the content drop is the dexterous and multi-talented Huntress. Wielding a spear, she can brutally strike in melee range or throw spears for ranged hits. The Huntress is also able to Parry attacks from opponents, thereby stunning them before using a counterattack of her own. Due to her adeptness with spears and bucklers, these are the newest weapon types to be added in Path of Exile 2. However, when asked about other weapon types, Game Director Jonathan Rogers added that swords will be coming in the future, when they add a class that wields swords.

Additionally, she features the ability to tame beasts to fight by her side. There will be a strategic element to what beast a player may choose to focus on, because, as Rogers stated: "You can only have one companion at a time, so you have to choose what beast you want."

One of the new creatures being added to the game is the Rhoa. This bird will have the ability to either fight by your side or players can use it as a mount to move full speed while attacking, although they can get knocked off the Rhoa if too much damage is taken. Rather than a traditional beast in the wild, the Rhoa is tied to a gem. Rogers explained that this is because mounts are not something they want every player to use all the time, so it is limited to certain classes at certain times as part of a skillset.

Other Classes Are Getting Some Love Too With Fresh Ascendancy Classes

Warrior, Mercenary, And Witch Can Ascend To New Heights

The Huntress isn't the only class getting some special attention with Dawn of the Hunt, however. Five ascendancy classes are added with this update, with only two of those going to the Huntress. The Warrior, Mercenary, and the fan-favorite Witch Class are each getting a new ascendancy class.

Because of the extent of these changes and additions, Rogers does recommend players start over with a new character, although this is optional. The balance changes in the characters as well as structural changes to the skill tree, economy and currency exchanges, and more could make it easier to simply start a fresh character. This will not necessarily have to happen with each content update, and even now is not required. As Rogers explained: "Every release up to the full release of the game will have new Ascensions for classes, but not necessarily new classes."

He went on to clarify that due to the rate they plan on putting out new updates and content, it's simply not feasible to be able to offer a new class each time, but more new classes are coming to the game in the future, although Rogers would not give hints yet as to what those would be.

Devs Hear The Players - New Endgame Encounters, Maps, And More

Along With Several Mechanical Overhauls

The lack of endgame content for Path of Exile 2 has been one of the biggest issues players have come up against with this Early Access build. Developers have listened and, with Dawn of the Hunt, they are adding eight new maps with fresh challenges and rewards, as well as what Rogers says is "more than 40 new types of encounters." Among these maps is The Phaaryl Megaliths, where rune-carved stones surge with energy as the storm-fueled gauntlet throws waves of deadly bosses at players.

To rebalance some of the endgame content, the number of Towers has been significantly reduced as well. This doesn't necessarily mean it will be suddenly easy, however, as the remaining Towers have been made much more powerful. Tablets can affect twice as many areas and each Tower will be able to use up to three tablets at once.

Over One Hundred New Unique Items, Focusing On Mid And Endgame

As Well As 100 New Gems To Modify Existing Skills

Another frequent bit of that developers have been seeing is the lack of mid and endgame Unique items for players to find. With this content update, there are over 100 of these Unique items for high-level characters to chase, as well as over 20 new runes to modify gear. Further power customizations for player characters can be found in the more than 100 gems being introduced, which will give a more diverse range of build possibilities.

The Dawn of the Hunt content update will go live in Path of Exile 2 on April 4, 2025, at 12:00 pm PDT for all platforms. This update will also be made available in existing EA leagues for anyone wishing to continue playing their current existing characters, although it is recommended to start fresh to get the full experience for Dawn of the Hunt leagues.

ScreenRant attended a hands-off preview event for the purposes of this article.