We finally got a trailer for PoE2’s new class and league, and I’ve never been more excited for ARPGs

Path of Exile 0.4.0 has been revealed in great detail, with GGG particularly showcasing the upcoming Druid class and the new league, Fate of the Vaal.

And I have to say I’ve never been more excited for ARPG content than I am now.

The Druid class is a complex, meta-gameplay-oriented class that has three animal forms alongside a human spellcaster form, allowing players to branch out in any direction they wish, including hybridizing the Druid’s inner beasts or tying into the many other classes in the game.

It can turn into a giant bear, a swift and lethal wolf, or a fire-breathing wyvern, each carrying its own set of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Everything the player does as a beast interacts and ties into what they do as the human form, and the spells you cast tend to synergize heavily with your attacks and abilities in animal form.

This level of interactivity, hybridizing, and synergy between the Druid, his shapes, and even other spells and classes is unprecedented in ARPGs, signaling the birth of the most complex class in the genre’s history.

Though it’s yet to come out on the 12th, I can hardly wait to see how it works in practice, as what we’ve been shown in the trailer has hooked me on PoE2 for the foreseeable future.

But it wasn’t the only thing shown.

We also got insight into the Fate of the Vaal league that comes out alongside patch 0.4.0 and the Druid class. Like other leagues, it fundamentally alters how each map plays, with new content, loot, and story elements. But what’s most interesting about the whole league is the new Vaal Temple mechanic that is unlocked through certain quests in the overworld.

Once accessed, the temple, once housing the Queen of the Vaal herself, Atziri, is a new map to explore that changes every time you visit it. However, it is you who influences these changes, adding new rooms, connecting them with other nodes to buff the loot inside, and expanding the level as you see fit. Every time you clear the rooms, two will be randomly discarded.

Each time you visit the temple, you can add six new rooms for that run, essentially creating your own playground. Eventually, you will have reached Atziri, getting the chance to fight her and gain access to tremendous items and loot. Speaking of loot, you’ll be met with a dozen opportunities to create new and unique corrupted items, or risk losing it all in one of the many strange devices within the temple.

This create-your-own-fun approach is the best thing that I’ve ever seen in an ARPG, and it should add a ton of replayability to the league. I certainly hope a lot is learned from this mechanic and it makes its way into other games, as well as into other PoE2 leagues, at least in essence.

A lot of great stuff is coming in patch 0.4.0 alongside these groundbreaking changes. Performance improvements, tweaks to mapping, hundreds of passives and skills, and a whole lot more are on their way on Dec. 12.