Path of Exile 2 just added yet another skill tree, because why the heck not

A new Path of Exile 2 update just dropped, and Grinding Gear Games has outdone itself again, throwing an entire extra skill tree into the mix just for the sake of it. PoE's passive 'skill forests' have been synonymous with the action RPG since time immemorial - glimpsing its vast web of upgrade nodes was what first inspired me to install the original way back during its 2013 open beta. Since then, the introduction of ever-more paths to fill out has become a running joke of the developer, and now there's yet another, this time giving you more control over how its seasonal mechanic plays.

The new Atlas Passive tree is just one of many additions in the Path of Exile 2 0.5.4 patch notes. It's largely focused around the Expedition mechanic, as that's most closely tied to the Runes of Aldur seasonal league, and you'll earn points to unlock the various nodes by defeating the bosses along the Grand Expedition questline. As with the rest of the Atlas trees since PoE 2's latest update, you'll be able to earn the full thing, although many of them offer a choice between several possible modifiers that you can flip between at will.

To start with, the 'Feeling Lucky?' node causes seasonal NPC Farrow to start selling a new item called Liquid Verisium, which can be used to start Remnant encounters with a random roll of runes instead of the ones on offer. If you don't like the look of any of the rewards, simply roll the dice with this. You can also grab an upgrade to the rate of Logbook drops, or introduce a bonus mechanic in the form of buried Sentinels, which infuse enemies around them with additional runic power when uncovered, escalating both the potential danger and rewards.

Most of the rest of the options allow you to change the way Expedition encounters play. Would you prefer an extra explosive to plant when setting up each encounter, or an additional Remnant to be present? Would you like the explosions to chain more quickly for a faster encounter rate, or cause each one to remove 25% of every enemy's health when they go off? Should Remnant chains have a one-in-four chance to activate twice, ramping the risk/reward up higher, or are you having a tough enough time already that you'd prefer they never activate at all? The choice is yours.

Elsewhere, Path of Exile 2 update 0.5.4 also makes a very interesting change to unique items. Any of these that grant you additional skills when equipped will now scale them down to match lower-level characters. "There are so many uniques with interesting skills that only drop from high levels, and it was a real shame you couldn't use them until the late endgame," Game Director Jonathan Rogers explains. "This should open up a whole bunch of builds available to play much earlier."

Do you like to gamble? Then get ready for some bonus corruption antics. After defeating Atziri in the Temple, you can now get your hands on four special Orbs of Sacrifice, each of which will significantly upgrade corrupted enchantments on an item at the cost of stripping away a randomly selected modifier. If you've double-corrupted the item, you can upgrade both of its enchantments by using two of the new orbs.

Last week, GGG promised it would be adding some new unique drops to Abyss pinnacle boss The Vessel of Kulemak; the first of these has now arrived. The Master's Reach are gloves that reveal weaknesses on your enemies. This works much the same way as the Huntress's 'Predatory Instinct' Ascendancy passive, displaying marked segments on targets' health bars. When in these regions, any hits you land will recoup all damage as life, and eat their soul to grant you bonus skill speed. Delicious.

The Master's Reach also grants a skill of its own, Untether. This lets you "plant a seed of Abyssal Energy on the enemy's heart." Hurt them enough after applying this, or kill them outright, and their heart will detonate, dealing heavy physical damage to anything nearby. Rogers notes that this is just the first of several Vessel of Kulemak uniques to come. It also brings us to the end of the new additions, although you'll find plenty more bug fixes and minor tweaks scattered through the remaining patch notes, such as the ability to hide the 'You Have Died' message; this will not save you from your fate.

Path of Exile 2 patch 0.5.4 is live now. I shouldn't be surprised by how quickly Grinding Gear Games rolls out new features after so many years, yet I continue to be caught off guard. PoE 2's Return of the Ancients update is already a real winner, and sets us up for a very exciting 1.0 launch at the end of 2026. Who knows what next week will bring?