Path of Exile 2 is hosting yet another free weekend for the 0.5 update, Rise of the Ancients. Featuring new League mechanics, two new Ascendancies, and a massive overhaul to the endgame, it’s the biggest update for the game yet. The free weekend will run from May 29 to June 1 (2026) and will grant you access to the full game.
If you’ve previously tried the game, all of your progress will be in the Standard League section. However, if you are a new player, this article will answer some of the most common questions that you may have about the free weekend, including what you can do and some tips on what to do.
How much of Path of Exile 2 can you beat in free weekend?
While Path of Exile 2 features a long campaign, you can easily complete it during the free weekend. There are currently four Acts and three interlude stories, which can take you around 3-4 days to complete. Your progress also depends on other factors, such as the build you’re playing or the gear you have. League starter builds are easy to progress with and quickly finish the campaign, while better gear will prevent you from dying often.
That said, there’s a lot more to do after completing the Path of Exile 2 campaign. Upon finishing the story, you’ll come across the Atlas, featuring various endgame-related quests that may not be possible for you to complete during the free weekend if you’re playing PoE2 for the first time.
Additionally, Runes of Aldur is also a challenge League, meaning there are rewards for completing tasks. You’ll likely do a few of them during the campaign, but completing all 40 takes time and requires endgame grind.
Will your progress in PoE2 free weekend carry forward?
Yes, everything you complete during the free weekend will carry forward in the game, including challenge rewards. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Since Path of Exile 2 introduces a new League (season) every few months, the existing characters for the current (Runes of Aldur) League will transfer to the Standard League. After the game goes free to play in patch 1.0, you can continue playing it.
- If you decide to buy the game during the same League, you can continue playing your character with all the inventory you collected during the free weekend. After the League ends, the characters and inventories will transfer to the Standard League.
- After PoE2 goes free to play, the current Standard League will move to early access League, but the characters will still be playable.
Protips for PoE2 free weekend players
Here are some things to keep in mind while playing during the Path of Exile 2 free weekend:
- Avoid making characters in Standard, SSF (Solo-Self Found), and Hardcore League modes. SSF restricts trading and teams with other players, while a death in Hardcore will send your character to the regular Corresponding League. Standard League does not feature new mechanics and items.
- Max out Fire, Lightning, and Cold resistances to make the campaign a lot easier. As for Chaos, get it as high as possible.
- Upgrade your items every Act. Vendors are a good way to get items, as they refresh inventory each time you level up. While exploring, pick up Rare (golden) items dropped by enemies.
- Upgrade your main Skills as soon as you can. They provide a large damage increase and will help you take down bosses a lot more quickly.
- Follow a build guide. While doing everything by yourself can be exciting, Path of Exile 2 can get very confusing for new players. Pick an easy build and follow it as closely as possible. Note that you will not get the exact gear in the build, but as long as you have capped resistances and a few similar mods, it’s fine for the campaign.
Since you are playing on the Trade League, feel free to ask other players for help if you’re stuck at a boss. The Global (#911) chat will have plenty of people ready to team up for the campaign.
Which class to try first?
The free weekend doesn’t restrict you from doing anything, meaning you can choose from any of the eight character classes in the game. And a good thing about Path of Exile 2 is its shared Passive Tree that allows you to spec into any nodes you want. That said, not all classes are beginner-friendly, especially when you have limited time to complete the campaign. Here are my recommendations:
- Mercenary: If you like keeping your distance, Merc is a great pick. The Grenades Skills can delete every boss throughout the campaign without any problems.
- Druid: For more flexibility, the Druid is a good starter for new players. The passive tree positioning makes it easy for you to play spellcaster, melee, or minion builds.
If you’re looking for the tankiest class, then Warrior is the best pick. However, I won’t recommend you pick him as the campaign process can feel tedious. It’s mainly because melee skills are extremely slow to execute unless you stack attack speed and chain combos. I’d also recommend Sorcress or Witch, but the Energy Shield nerfs in the Path of Exile 2.0.5 update leave them in a tough spot. That said, feel free to try out the class you want.
Build suggestions for 0.5
Here are the builds I’d recommend if you decided to play Mercenary or Druid as your League start in PoE2 Rise of the Ancients update.
- Plant Oracle: Plant-based Druid is one of the best League starters to pick in Path of Exile 2. It has a huge AoE that can slow enemies, and with the right Support Gems, you can break their armor to deal more damage. You can later swap to other builds if you get a chance. As for defense, you can either go for Energy Shields or armor. I support the latter.
- Bombardier Gemling Legionnaire: The Gemling Legionnaire is one of the Mercenary Ascendancies that recently received a buff that grants you better defense and allows you to gain additional effects from your Skill Gems by improving their quality. Another good thing about the Merc is that he’s a DEX character, which can easily spec into Deflect as defense mechanics.
Note that you can respec Ascendancy at any point in the game.
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Edited by Mayank Singh Rathour
