Embark on a perilous voyage and prepare to brave the unforgiving waters of Wraeclast with Path of Exile: Curse of the Allflame launching on July 24 PDT. Guided by the formidable corsair captain Valerie and her cursed navigator Vesper, piece together scattered treasure charts, board the legendary vessel, The Sovereign, and chart a course into the abyss. Descend into the depths and uncover valuable relics while surviving the dangers lurking beneath the waves.
Survive the Depths
Each expedition begins with a descent inside the Bathysphere, an Allflame-powered vessel capable of reaching the sea floor. Survival beneath the waves depends on strategically deploying Allflame Lanterns, which force back the surrounding waters and create temporary pockets of safety.
Hidden within the depths lie forgotten treasures, terrifying sea creatures and strange coral formations that can be harvested for Dead Man’s Sulphur, a valuable resource that fuels both the expedition and Vesper’s curse. Each encounter must be completed before the lantern’s light begins to fade. Once darkness closes in, the creatures lurking beyond the light descend upon the expedition, leaving the Bathysphere as the only means of escape.
Plan Lucrative Voyages
Every completed expedition records a new Chart within Valerie’s journal. These Charts can then be arranged on the Voyage Board to create a single interconnected expedition spanning the ocean floor. Each Chart contributes its own modifier, affecting either adjacent Charts or the Voyage as a whole. Some transform equipment drops into Gold, while others summon friendly jellyfish, empower monsters with Wildwood Wisps, unleash Tormented Spirits or introduce entirely new encounters. With up to nine Charts forming a single Voyage, carefully planned combinations can dramatically increase both danger and reward.
The Voyage Board adds another strategic layer through shifting Corruption Currents. These randomised effects alter adjacent Charts with every new Voyage, encouraging experimentation with different layouts to maximise rewards.
Special Charts can also reveal unique destinations beneath the sea, including abandoned anchor fields overflowing with treasure, lost Kalguuran shipments, sunken Abyssal pits and other forgotten locations waiting to be reclaimed.
The Allflame Reveals All
The Dead Man’s Sulphur also powers an entirely new crafting system hidden within The Sovereign. By combining an item, a crafting currency and Dead Man’s Sulphur, Vesper splits the chosen item into multiple ghostly possibilities, each representing a different crafting outcome. Inspect each result, and upon choosing the desired single outcome, the remaining possibilities will vanish forever.
Most forms of currency crafting can be used through this system, offering greater control over expensive or high-risk crafting decisions. Each use of Allflame Crafting leaves an item increasingly intangible, gradually reducing the number of possible outcomes that Vesper can create in future attempts and adding meaningful long-term considerations to the crafting process.
Harness the Power of Ancient Ducats
Hidden within the deepest reaches of the ocean are rare Ducats, relics left behind by the pirate lords who once ruled Wraeclast’s seas. These powerful artefacts unlock unique crafting effects unavailable through any other system. Among them are:
- Kishara’s Ducat: Creates multiple ghostly copies of an item while preserving individual modifiers
- Genteel’s Ducat: Capable of transforming one attribute requirement into another;
- Brinehook’s Ducat: Grants mysterious Aspects inspired by the ancient gods of Wraeclast.
These coveted Ducats are found only within specialised Charts, rewarding those willing to brave the most dangerous waters and uncover the greatest treasures hidden beneath the sea.
Mercenaries of Trarthus Return
The Mercenaries of Trarthus return as a permanent core mechanic, appearing from Act 3 onwards, where honour-bound warriors can be challenged to duels in exchange for gold and the chance to claim their equipment. Victorious duels also earn the temporary service of the defeated Mercenary, who will fight alongside you without increasing monster life or item rewards.
Mercenaries encountered in Maps can also grant Warrants, allowing that same warrior to be summoned again in a future Map with their signature skills and a fresh set of equipment, or even traded to other exiles. Supporting their return is full Atlas Passive Tree and Scarab integration, offering greater control over Mercenary encounters and rewards.
The Scion also receives a brand new Ascendancy Class, the Luminary, becoming a true commander capable of permanently recruiting, equipping and customising Mercenaries, opening up entirely new build possibilities centred around powerful companions. Curse of the Allflame also introduces several new Mercenary types, including an elusive warrior found only in rare encounters deep beneath the sea.
Major Endgame Improvements – the Abyss and Legion
Abyss has been comprehensively reworked, bringing many of the gameplay improvements introduced in Path of Exile 2 back to Path of Exile. Rather than chasing winding cracks across an area, Abyss encounters now begin from already-open pits that corrupt nearby enemies. Defeating these foes feeds their souls into the Abyss, eventually unleashing Kulemak’s legion in a faster-paced encounter with improved visual and audio feedback, eliminating the need for backtracking. Abyss also becomes the exclusive source of Abyssal Jewels and Stygian Vises, alongside a refreshed Atlas Passive Tree, new Scarabs, and an all-new Pinnacle Boss featuring exclusive Unique rewards and a mysterious new method of discovery.
Legion has also received a major overhaul, introducing Vestigial Unique Items as its new signature reward. Legion Generals can now drop Enshrouding Crystals, which transform Unique Armour within the Domain of Timeless Conflict, allowing powerful modifiers from one Unique to be transferred to another. Alongside this new reward system, Legion encounters have been streamlined with combat automatically beginning after enough key enemies have been freed, larger Splinter stack sizes to reduce clicking, a rebalanced Domain of Timeless Conflict, and a redesigned reward tracker that provides clearer progression throughout each encounter.
Talismans have also been revitalized as Bestiary-exclusive rewards, featuring powerful enchantment-based modifiers, new crafting potential and updated Unique Items.
Explore Mysterious Atlas Anomalies
As Zana’s actions continue to destabilise the Atlas, strange new locations known as Atlas Anomalies have begun appearing throughout its regions. These can manifest after completing Maps influenced by Voidstones, and offer unique experiences that require no Map to enter, unlike traditional Atlas content, and can often be revisited until their rewards have been claimed.
Each Anomaly presents its own distinct opportunity, from bargaining with Cadiro Perandus for valuable items using Gold, to encountering dedicated versions of mechanics such as Reflecting Mists, the Nameless Seer, Heist, Expedition, and the Sacred Grove. Atlas Anomalies are designed as self-contained encounters that can be tackled at any time, with many more hidden discoveries waiting to be uncovered.
Character Balance and Spellcasting Improvements
Curse of the Allflame also includes one of the most significant improvements to spellcasting and early-game character progression.
Socket colours have been fundamentally redesigned after close to twenty years (since Path of Exile 1 was launched), allowing players to freely socket any coloured skill gem into linked equipment while preserving coloured sockets as meaningful progression through quality bonuses.
Spellcasting has received a comprehensive balance pass, differentiating elemental archetypes, improving Intelligence Ascendancies, significantly strengthening caster staves, and introducing an entirely new class of Exceptional Skill Gems known as Pacts.
Each Pact grants dramatic new behaviours to self-cast spells in exchange for powerful demonic afflictions, opening new build possibilities for dedicated spellcasters.
Become the Plague or a Remidus Knight – New Supporter Packs
Launching alongside Curse of the Allflame are two new Supporter Pack series: The Plague and Remidus. Each pack includes its full value in points alongside an exclusive collection of cosmetic microtransactions inspired by two opposing forces – one embracing corruption and disease, the other devoted to purification. Featuring Armour Sets, Weapon Skins, Pets, Weapon Effects, Hideouts, Portals, Map Devices, Stash cosmetics and more, every cosmetic is purely visual and does not affect gameplay or character progression. All microtransactions included in these Supporter Packs are also fully compatible with Path of Exile 2.
