MMOexp: Everything We Know About POE2’s December 12 Update

Path of Exile 2 is heading into one of its most anticipated updates yet.
Grinding Gear Games has officially confirmed that December 12 at 11 a.m. PST is
the launch date for the next major Early Access update: The Last of the Druids.
Alongside this reveal, Game Director Jonathan Rogers appeared in a teaser video
to confirm a December 4 GGG Live reveal stream and a free weekend, allowing
players on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 to try the entire game for free for
three days.

This update—internally referred to as Patch 0.4—is the third major Early
Access expansion. While the developers are keeping full details under wraps
until the reveal broadcast, enough clues, poe2 buy currency, and developer statements
exist for players to make strong predictions. And if these predictions are
correct, The Last of the Druids could be the biggest turning point for POE2’s
Early Access yet.

Below, we explore everything confirmed so far, everything likely coming, and
everything that probably won’t arrive in 0.4—but could shape the game’s
future.

Druid Class Fully Confirmed

The biggest, most obvious centerpiece of the update is the long-awaited Druid
class.

The teaser tagline—“For those who walk alone, the night bites colder… but
there are those who bite back”—makes it unmistakable. After months of
speculation and previous interview hints, the Druid is 100% confirmed.

What the Druid Means for POE2

Every class in POE2 is planned to launch with three Ascendancies. But several
existing classes are still missing their third ones, such as:

Sorceress

Huntress

Monk

Ranger

Because of this, 0.4 will likely not only introduce the Druid but also expand
the Ascendancy system for these underdeveloped classes.

The Druid is expected to come with:

A full suite of new active skills

New support gems

Class-specific weaponry or item types (possible datamined “talismans”)

New recommended gem setups for new players

Whether Druid uses claws, talismans, or a brand-new weapon archetype remains
unclear—but data mining suggests a “primal / talisman” theme.

Whatever form it takes, the new class will radically reshape the build
landscape.

Ascendancy Trial #3: Toota’s Trial Likely Arrives

One of the most exciting predictions is the addition of the third Ascendancy
Trial, commonly referred to as Toota.

In POE1, the Tota mechanic was an auto-battler style minigame. The assets and
areas associated with this mechanic already exist in Act 4 of POE2, suggesting
the feature was originally intended for 0.3 but cut due to time.

Adding this in 0.4 means:

A third way to Ascend your class

The first “true” POE2 minigame in Early Access

More build diversity in endgame progression

Players who don’t like Ultimatum-style chaos trials may appreciate this
alternative Ascendancy experience.

Will Delve Return? Probably Not—But It’s Being Talked About

Datamines and NPC dialogue in Act 4 reference Delve, leading some players to
believe it could return in POE2.

But many community analysts doubt this will arrive in 0.4 for three
reasons:

Mapping isn’t fully fleshed out yet, so GGG likely wants mapping-focused
mechanics, not side-content like Delve.

Delve is less league-centric and more of a standalone system.

The developers have said 0.4 will focus primarily on endgame and mapping
improvements.

Still, Delve references are too deliberate to ignore completely. If it
doesn’t arrive in 0.4, it may be on the roadmap for a future patch.

A New League Mechanic (Full League) Is Guaranteed

GGG has clarified that:

0.3 (Rise of the Abyss) was their first true league mechanic.

All leagues going forward are intended to be full league content.

This means The Last of the Druids will include a new league mechanic,
likely:

More substantial than Dawn of the Hunt

Integrated across all zones

Map-centric

With new rewards or crafting systems

The title suggests heavy Druid theming, but the league mechanic might be
secondary to the class reveal—similar to how Dawn of the Hunt focused on
companions.

New Uniques, Skills, and Support Gems

Every major patch has added new unique items—so 0.4 will absolutely
include:

New uniques (possibly chase-tier drops)

Druid-exclusive items

New support gems to accompany Druid skills

New early-game recommended gem setups

Uniquely, this patch may also adjust the quality of uniques, especially boss
drops, which are currently underwhelming.

The Passive Tree Needs Major Expansion—and 0.4 May Bring It

Players have criticized the passive tree for being too shallow, especially on
the Strength side.

Compared to the Dexterity and hybrid zones, Strength nodes are noticeably
barren. Builds across all classes tend to share the same popular clusters,
leading to:

Repetitive build paths

Heavy reliance on gear instead of passives

Less experimentation

Tattoos Could Fix This

POE1’s Tattoos, introduced in the Trial of the Ancestors league, allowed
players to transform travel stat nodes (e.g., +10 Strength) into functional
utility nodes (e.g., +10% fire res).

Bringing Tattoos into POE2—even in early form—would dramatically diversify
passive trees.

New Bosses and Uber Bosses: A Strong Possibility

The game currently only has one true Uber boss: Uber Arbiter. But Uber
Arbiter has been criticized for simply being a tankier version of the normal
fight.

Players hope 0.4 brings:

More Uber bosses

New boss mechanics

New boss drops

True endgame challenges

Bossing rewards need a major overhaul, and this may be the patch where GGG
makes that correction.

Balance & Crafting Changes: Especially Abyss League Crafting

Abyss League crafting in 0.3 is extremely powerful, sometimes overwhelmingly
so. Because Abyss is present in every map and area, crafting volume skyrockets,
inflating rewards.

With Abyss becoming part of the background rather than the current league,
its crafting may need:

Nerfs

Limitations

Rebalanced frequency

Adjusted mod potential

Additionally, Expedition is expected to receive attention due to its
underwhelming performance in POE2.

Atlas Tree Overhaul (Probably Not Yet, but Coming Eventually)

POE1’s Atlas passive tree lets players specialize in their favorite league
mechanics.

POE2’s Atlas, however:

Has separate trees for each mechanic

Allows players to run everything simultaneously

Has very minimal specialization

Plays almost identically from map to map

While a major Atlas overhaul is badly needed, it likely won’t arrive in
0.4.

But we might see:

Additions to existing Atlas nodes

Rise of the Abyss integration

More meaningful map customization

A true Atlas overhaul will almost certainly arrive later in Early Access.

The Atlas Search Function: A Needed QoL Feature

A surprisingly large pain point: there is no Atlas search bar.

Players have repeatedly requested a CTRL+F-style search function to quickly
locate maps.

This kind of fix is extremely likely during Early Access and could easily
make its way into 0.4 as a high-value quality-of-life upgrade.

What’s Not Coming in 0.4

Based on GGG’s development cadence and public statements, several features
are very unlikely:

1. New Campaign Acts

Acts take enormous development time.

GGG will not release:

All remaining acts

A single new standalone act

Major interlude rewrites

The current campaign is functional, well-paced, and not the focus of 0.4.

2. A Second New Class

Some fans predicted Templar would accompany Druid.

But GGG has emphasized many times:

Adding a class is equivalent to building an expansion

New classes will release one per league

The Druid already missed its original target window

Adding two classes at once would be an absurd development leap

So no—only Druid is coming.

Final Thoughts

Path of Exile 2’s “The Last of the Druids” update is poised to be the most
important Early Access patch yet. The confirmed Druid class alone will shake up
the meta—but the real game-changers may be the unannounced endgame improvements,
new league mechanic, Ascendancy Trial additions, and long-awaited passive tree
expansions.

If GGG delivers on even half the predictions listed above, 0.4 could be the
patch that transforms poe 2 trade from “promising Early Access ARPG” into a genuinely
world-class successor to Path of Exile.

December 4 cannot come soon enough.