Path of Exile's total skill gem overhaul is the perfect moment for new players to jump in

Ken coolly serves the hottest news stories and has played, we think, every game ever made.

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to try Path of Exile as a new player in 2026. Maybe you've fallen in love with Path of Exile 2, and are curious to see its roots. Perhaps you're waiting to judge the response to PoE 2's full release, and want something to fill the gap. You could've had your fill of the ongoing Diablo 4 season, and fancy a fresh start. Or you might be in the group that's always watched from the sidelines, hesitating over the first Path of Exile's complexity. If so, now is the moment you've been waiting for.

The Path of Exile 3.29 update, Curse of the Allflame, is about to launch, and it's an ideal moment to discover why the most enthusiastic ARPG fans so often hail it as the ultimate incarnation of the genre, even as PoE 2 continues to improve. Just to reiterate, the new game is not a replacement, even with the planned 1.0 launch at the end of the year, but another powerhouse in developer Grinding Gear Games' lineup. The two action RPGs will continue to coexist, alternating their updates to keep us drenched in far too much loot.

So why this league? It's all about the gems. The various skills you use in Path of Exile are unlocked by slotting gems into your gear, and for PoE 3.29, Grinding Gear Games is making the process of doing this far more approachable. Breaking from a nearly 20-year tradition, you'll no longer be restricted by gem-specific socket colors, making it an astronomically easier proposition to ensure you've got the space on your equipment to actually activate the abilities you want to use. This also means you can equip new loot upgrades much more easily, without too much worry about whether you can keep using your favorite skills.

On top of that, GGG has opted for a dramatic shakeup of the balance meta, even by its quite enthusiastic number-crunching standards. There are 12 new skills to find, including special 'Pacts' that bind you to a demon, trading bonus power for a negative affliction. On top of that, more than 150 old skills have been rebalanced, with a particular focus on giving spellcasters more attention. As a new player, you obviously won't notice these changes, but you will be stepping into a fresh world where just about anything is possible.

For quite some time now, many of the most popular builds for new players have started you out by using a skill called 'Rolling Magma' until you get far enough in to unlock the gems you really want. It's a bouncing fireball that is rather awkward to use, but strong enough that it was tough to recommend anything else. In fact, it's so divisive that many guides would offer a 'backup plan' just in case you hated it so much that you were willing to forgo its sheer power.

Rolling Magma should actually probably still be decent, for those with a particular affinity for its distinctive attack pattern, but Game Director Mark Roberts told me during our PoE 3.29 preview that he was expecting "all kinds of new builds" based on the other changes, and that he hoped to finally break out of the Rolling Magma meta. I'll admit that I've grown to love the skill (although it might be a little Stockholm syndrome), but I'll be thankful if I can level with something else for a change and not feel at a disadvantage.

The other big win for new players is the league mechanic. Firstly, it's just a cool concept - sailing across the ocean to delve into underwater expeditions where you cast giant bubbles of air across the sea floor as you map out a path to the best loot. Secondly, its crafting system is built around reducing risk by letting you see multiple possible outcomes to any item upgrade you're planning, and then giving you the choice of which one to keep. As well as offering a safety net, it also helps you learn how each crafting item works.

Path of Exile 3.29 launches on Friday July 24 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST. You can play for free via Steam or through the game's standalone launcher. With PoE 2 set to go free-to-play when the 1.0 update lands, this is a great moment to jump in and discover why its older sibling is so widely beloved - with fewer of the longstanding constraints that have made it harder to get into. I hope to see you in Wraeclast.