u/Potatolemono

1. Massive Endgame & Atlas Overhaul

• Physical World Exploration: The endgame is no longer just a UI menu; it is a physical map of the continent that you actively explore. You can even travel across the ocean to find "Grand Expeditions" (which replace the old logbook system).
• The "Fortress" Progression: To prevent players from feeling lost or burned out, there is a clear main questline focused on completing the "Fortress," which takes about 40-50 maps. This provides a definitive, satisfying stopping point for players, after which they can choose to engage with the "infinite" endgame.
• Fully Allocatable Atlas Tree: The new Atlas passive tree features over 300 nodes, and you can now fully allocate the entire tree without needing to constantly spend currency to respec your choices.
• Atlas Masters: Since the tree is fully unlocked, the strategic choice has been moved to "Atlas Masters." You can easily swap between different Masters before running a map to quickly change your targeted mechanics and rewards.

2. "Runes of Aldur" League & Insane Crafting

• Massive Arsenal of Runes: This Kalguuran-themed league introduces 160 new runes into the game.
• Transformative Rune Forging: You can drastically alter item bases. For example, a hybrid unique shield (Armor/Evasion) can be completely converted into a pure Evasion or pure Strength base.
• Stealing Unique Modifiers: A new item called Olroth's Legacy is a special rune that you can insert into Calguuran unique items. When applied, it completely destroys the unique item and extracts one of its modifiers, turning that modifier into a brand-new, unique socketable rune

3. Major Balance Changes: Defenses & Recovery

• The Leech Nerf/Rework: The life leech system is now limited to a "single source," meaning it only calculates healing from your biggest hit. To prevent players from becoming effectively immortal via millions of DPS, there is now a hard cap on the damage calculated for leech. Extra damage beyond that cap won't grant more healing.
• Base Defenses Buffed: The developers noticed players were dying too easily in the mid-game, so they significantly increased the base armor and evasion stats on gear leading up to the late endgame.
• Runic Ward: A brand-new defensive layer that works independently of energy shield, allowing you to trade life for powerful, cross-class Kalguuran abilities.

4. Quality of Life (QoL) & Campaign Improvements

• In-Game Build Planner: A robust build planner is being added that features a one-click import function from community websites directly into your account, which is a massive upgrade for both PC and console players.
• Smart Campaign Signposting: To help players navigate levels faster without shrinking the map sizes, developers added subtle visual cues. For example, if you are looking for the Venom Crypts, all the neutral snake critters in the area will physically slither in that exact direction.
• "Temple Snaking" Exploit Fixed: The highly abused strategy of manipulating temple layouts to generate absurd amounts of loot has been completely removed from the game.

5. What is NOT Included in Patch 0.5

• There will be no new classes or new weapon types in this update, as creating an entire class takes longer than a single development cycle.
• The final acts of the campaign (Acts 5 and 6) are also being held back and will be released alongside the official 1.0 launch.

6. Infinite Pinnacle Boss Attempts & Epic New Bosses

• Infinite Attempts: Once you farm the necessary keys and unlock a pinnacle boss, you now have infinite attempts to defeat them. You can die as many times as you need while the instance is open, removing the fear of wasting an expensive run.
• New Pinnacle Bosses: Old mechanics have received incredible new capstone bosses. This includes a terrifying massive underground beast for Ritual and the return of Tangmazu for Delirium.
• Boss fight duration: Players often feel that bosses are too easy because top streamers kill them in 8 seconds. However, developer statistics show that for the average player, a boss fight lasts around 119 seconds (2 minutes), which they consider the ideal pace. At the same time, your first encounter with a Pinnacle boss is intended to be a very tough, uphill battle.

7. Map Portals and Improved Co-op Progression

• Dynamic Portals: The number of portals available for a map now scales with its difficulty: you lose one portal for every two map modifiers applied. However, you can gain extra revives via Atlas nodes and Masters.
• Co-op Progression: Progressing through the fixed "Fortress" endgame maps grants completion for the entire party simultaneously. However, random infinite maps or specific map-altering rewards (like applying a Delirium mirror to the Atlas) remain individual so players do not accidentally rob each other of rewards.

8. Global Buffs for Summoners (Spirit Walker)

• Massive Pet Buffs: The damage of tamed beast companions for the Spirit Walker ascendancy has been roughly tripled.
• Upgraded AI & Investment: These pets aren't just following you; they actively utilize the boss mechanics, stuns, and freezes they had before being tamed. Because of their massive power, their revive times were increased, forcing players to actively invest in keeping their companions alive.

9. Focused League Farming and Economy Tweaks

• Targeted Farming (League Blocking): Players now have total control over what spawns. If you apply three Delirium tablets to an area, the game will prevent any other leagues (like Breach) from spawning, allowing you 100% focused farming on Delirium.
• Desire to remove Rarity: The developers confirmed they are still eager to completely remove or replace the "Rarity" stat in the game. However, this is currently delayed because they haven't found a perfect replacement for it yet.
• The economy problem: The main issue with the current Rarity system in PoE 2 is that it linearly boosts the drop rates of absolutely everything. In the first game, if currency became more valuable on the market, players would respond by farming currency-rewarding leagues; if uniques were valuable, they targeted those. In PoE 2, Rarity prevents this natural market regulation, so the developers are now focusing on enabling targeted farming through specific leagues and Atlas Masters