PoE Sanity

WTF Did PoE 2 Just Drop?? (0.5 Return of the Ancients)

By Talkative TriWatch videoDuration: PT14M11S

Summary

  • Campaign Philosophy: Grinding Gear Games (GGG) is officially moving away from a campaign skip option, opting instead for environmental “clues” and layout reorientations to speed up leveling.
  • New Support Uniques: Introduction of the Revery body armor and Hollow Mask, both designed to facilitate support-heavy or minion-based playstyles through specialized skills.
  • Vaal Temple Core Integration: The “Fate of the Vaal” mechanic becomes core in 0.5, featuring a dedicated Atlas passive tree, Tier 4 temple rooms, and jewelry-compatible Vaal Infusers.
  • Co-op Mechanics: Improvements to Atlas progression allow players to complete static nodes together in a shared session.
  • Act 3 Overhaul: Significant layout changes and orientation fixes aim to smooth out the transition through Act 3.

The Stance on Campaign Skips

Grinding Gear Games has effectively outlawed the idea of a campaign skip. Instead of a “skip button,” the 0.5 Return of the Ancients update introduces environmental clues to streamline the process. These clues are designed to reward active engagement and immersion rather than providing a low-effort bypass.

  • Environmental Navigation: Following the flow of a river will always lead to the Red Veil; looking for runic wood will lead directly to the tree.
  • Ritual Improvements: Upon completing a Ritual altar, locusts fly from the current altar to the next nearest one. This applies to both the campaign and the endgame.
  • Act 1 and 2 Skips: In the Valley of the Ancients, players can now teleport back to the “Big Head” (located at the start) immediately after activating a rune.
  • Act 3 Rework: Act 3 has been reoriented. The layout changes how players access various sub-areas to remove friction and iron out the experience.

New Support-Oriented Uniques

Two reworked uniques, Revery and Hollow Mask, highlight a design shift toward items that define builds or provide massive utility for allies.

Revery (Body Armor)

  • Life Flask Interaction: Your life flask applies to you constantly, but you lose the ability to use the flask manually.
  • New Skill: Rite of Restoration: Creates a massive field that grants 56% more Armor, Evasion, and Energy Shield while spending mana inside it. This is highly effective for “aurabots,” minion builds, or mana-heavy “blood mages.”

Hollow Mask

  • Remnant Interaction: “Remnants you create affect allies in your presence as well as you when collected.” This allows players to buff minions or party members with chaos damage and defenses.
  • Efficiency: Provides high reservation efficiency for remnant skills (showcased at 94%).
  • New Skill: Wildwood’s Gift: Increases the effect of remnants by 95%, assisting with mana/life flask and charm replenishment.
  • Potential Synergy: There is likely high synergy between Hollow Mask and the upcoming Mageblood, depending on how Mageblood interacts with flasks or charms in PoE 2.

Fate of the Vaal Core Implementation

The Vaal Temple is moving into the core game for 0.5 with several quality-of-life adjustments and rewards.

  1. Atlas Passive Tree: Includes nodes like “Atziri’s Considerable Assets” and “Transcendent Progress.”
  2. Tier 4 Rooms: “Transcendent Progress” allows temple rooms to be upgraded to Tier 4.
  3. Vaal Infusers: These now work on jewelry and can be used in conjunction with Catalysts to significantly buff items.
  4. Temple Building: Players will begin finding beacon encounters to build the temple starting in Act 3.
  5. No “Snaking”: GGG has removed “snaking” (the strategy of manipulating room connections) in favor of higher baseline rewards for individual rooms.
  6. Progression Caps: The maximum crystal cap is set to 60, and there is no meta-progression beyond the current league’s scope.

Community Design Concepts

Recent community suggestions for unique items include:

  • A quiver for throwing weapons that disables melee spears/axes but buffs projectiles.
  • A two-handed spear with increased melee reach.
  • A one-handed crossbow that disables grenades but allows the use of quivers, scepters, or shields.

Act 1 Speedrunning and Gameplay

Act 1 in PoE 2 remains a significant challenge, particularly when under-leveled. Boss fights like Ginnor feel more akin to the difficulty found in the 0.1 version of the game.

  • Speedrun Goal: Mastering boss mechanics and movement allows for Act 1 completion times under 54 minutes.
  • Key Strategy: Focus on positioning rather than relying solely on the dodge roll, as over-rolling can often be a “bait” that leads to taking more damage.

Key References