Path of Exile's long-awaited 3.26 update is almost here. After nearly 11 months without a major expansion for Path of Exile 1, Grinding Gear Games has confirmed the release of patch 3.26, titled Secrets of the Atlas. Here's everything we know about PoE 3.26 so far, including release dates, teaser analysis, and expectations for the new league and Atlas changes.
PoE 3.26 League Release Date
Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has officially announced that Path of Exile 3.26 will release on June 13, 2025, for most regions, falling on a Friday for North America and Europe. For regions like Australia, the launch will occur on Saturday, June 14.
The announcement event for the league will take place one week earlier, on June 6, with a livestream hosted on Twitch. GGG typically offers Twitch Drops (such as free cosmetics) for viewers who watch the stream with linked accounts.
PoE 3.26 Patch Notes (All Changes & New Content)
The expansion is titled Secrets of the Atlas, continuing the tradition of major updates centered around the game’s endgame mapping system. The expansion's title suggests a focus on the game's endgame Atlas system. Historically, expansions with “Atlas” in the name, like Atlas of Worlds, War for the Atlas, and Siege of the Atlas, have introduced major updates to Path of Exile’s mapping system, new pinnacle bosses, and massive overhauls to progression.
1. Secret of the Atlas League (Confirmed)
Let's take a brief look at the history of Atlas leagues in Path of Exile 1.
Atlas of Worlds (2.4) introduced the Shaper and map connections.
War for the Atlas (3.1) added the Elder, Elder Guardians, and influenced items.
Conquerors of the Atlas (3.9) brought in Sirus and the four Elder Slayers.
Echoes of the Atlas (3.13) introduced the Maven and the first version of the Atlas passive tree.
Siege of the Atlas (3.17) overhauled the Atlas passive tree into a single, global tree and introduced new pinnacle bosses like the Searing Exarch and Eater of Worlds.
Secrets of the Atlas may signal a return to larger, more structured expansions. The teaser line, "Uncover the secrets... they are endless and yet they are a prison," suggests a narrative and mechanical focus on hidden knowledge or constraints within the Atlas.
A teaser trailer hints at the return or involvement of Zana, based on a gendered translation in German. The phrase “Help me find the originator” uses the feminine form, and many fans believe this points to Zana being central in this expansion.
2. Game Pause Functionality (Confirmed)
After waiting 4 years, the Patch 3.26 will finally introduce a game pause function. When pressing escape or opening certain full-screen interfaces like the passive tree, the game will pause. It’s not yet confirmed whether this includes all interfaces, such as Jun interactions, but it’s a big improvement. However, during pinnacle boss fights like Uber Elder, you'll get a debuff "Cannot Pause" and the pause won't work. This prevents exploits like pausing during tough mechanics. The feature may also trigger on high latency or disconnects instead of logging out. Hardcore players may still prefer logout macros, but this is a welcome QoL feature.
3. Orb of Horizon Buff to Elder and Sirus Guardians
GGG is updating the Horizon Orb functionality so that in Patch 3.26, it can now be used not only on Shaper Guardian maps, but also to change Elder Guardian and Sirus Conqueror maps. For example, if you have the Enslaver, you can use an Orb of Horizon and this will change it to the Eradicator, to the Constrictor, or maybe even to the Purifier. The same applies to Conqueror maps—maybe you have Drox, and you use Orb of Horizon, and it will change maybe into Baron or Veritania. This means it’s easier to get different guardians, and as a result, maps related to those guardians will lower slightly in price.
4. Map Device Storage Panel
An extra panel is being added to the map device, which acts as a storage panel where you can put maps, scarabs, and fragments. This can be useful for bossing-focused players, who can pre-store fragments for fights like the Elder, making the process more efficient. It's a limited storage system—unlike the wildboard backpack in Path of Exile 2, this one is restricted to only maps, scarabs, and fragments.
5. Currency Interaction Highlighting
The UI now includes a feature where, when you click a currency like an Orb of Alchemy, maps that are valid targets will be highlighted. This is an imported feature from Path of Exile 2, where juicing maps shows visual highlights for items that can be affected. In the video, people noticed this visual effect, when you click a currency, affected maps show a border, confirming that this QoL feature is being ported into PoE 1.
6. New Atlas Customization System (Predicted)
The new endgame could resemble cluster jewels. In past leagues like Forbidden Sanctum, we had idols that allowed players to tweak endgame content, like changing how expeditions worked for better rewards. This time, maybe we’ll get an Atlas passive tree with socketable cluster jewels — modifiers similar to those idols. Maybe even unique Atlas passive jewels. New endgame systems seem almost guaranteed.
7. Atlas Skill Tree Constellations (Speculative)
In the updated Atlas UI, players noticed new constellations or node clusters surrounding the main Atlas, particularly around Kirac. This suggests a possible new skill tree system similar to what's used in Path of Exile 2’s Atlas tree, where the main tree is surrounded by smaller, specialized clusters. Some players speculate these might function like separate trees for specific content types, but this remains unconfirmed.
8. New League Mechanic Alongside the Expansion (Predicted)
Every "of the Atlas" expansion also included a new league mechanic. Siege of the Atlas came with Arch Nemesis; Echoes of the Atlas with Ritual; and Conquerors of the Atlas with Metamorph. If Secrets of the Atlas follows suit, expect a fun mechanic — maybe something simple like Ritual. Kill monsters in a circle… or maybe this time in a square. It's been nearly a year since the last big patch, so GGG is likely going to pull out all the stops.
9. League Mechanic: Will Settlers Go Core? (Predicted)
The previous league introduced a city-building system. While it was popular, there’s debate about whether it should become a permanent feature. Critics say its passive income aspect risks becoming mandatory, similar to how Heist felt in past leagues. If it’s kept, it may need to shift from passive to active gameplay to avoid becoming another chore.
On the other hand, mechanics like recombinators and enchanting are widely supported. Many players hope to see recombinators return in a form closer to their original state from the Sentinel league, where high-risk, high-reward crafting felt more satisfying.
10. New Influence Types and Crafting Systems (Predicted)
Every Atlas expansion has brought new influence types. These influence modifiers are powerful, like frenzy charge gloves with culling strike or gear with base crit. They raise the average player power and open the door to new build metas. If new influence types come, they’ll likely bring new crafting systems. Siege of the Atlas introduced Eldritch currency, improved essences, and more fractures, arguably the most functional crafting system ever, but it overshadowed older ones. Hopefully, the new system will restore excitement, with risk-and-reward mechanics and potential for catastrophic failure or massive success.
11. Gold and Currency Exchange System Continuing
The presence of gold suggests that the auction house and currency exchange system, originally introduced in past leagues, will remain in PoE 3.26. Gold is used mostly for the auction house to post your things and to buy things. The continued visibility of this mechanic in the UI is an indication that it will stay, along with features like the black market, following the model established in Path of Exile 2.
12. New Pinnacle Content and Uber Bosses (Predicted)
New expansion means new bosses, and that means new Uber bosses. If a new boss is introduced, there almost has to be an Uber variant. For players looking for a challenge, expect tough endgame content — maybe Tier 17 maps with chase uniques and new base types. Tier 18 maps might not be needed, but Tier 17s with new Uber boss drops seem likely.
13. Massive Class Skill Balance and Build Meta Update (Predicted)
A massive skill and class rebalance is expected. Some overperforming skills will likely get nerfed like Lightning Strike getting hit five ways, making players avoid it… until someone rediscovers it a year later. Hopefully, old skills like Essence Drain and Contagion might rise again. New skills and support gems may be introduced, blasting the meta wide open so no one knows what to play on launch day. That feeling, not knowing what to play, is one of the best.
The following builds are likely going to some major balance changes in 3.26:
Lightning Strike with Ephemeral Edge is expected to be nerfed due to its long-standing dominance across multiple classes.
Self-cast spells and brands like Stormbrand are long overdue for buffs.
Spell Slinger may be reworked to reduce its dual resource costs.
Chaos DoT builds like Essence Drain and Contagion have fallen behind and may receive updates.
Melee is currently strong, with builds like Dual Strike and Slams performing well. Many hope these remain viable through 3.26.
New ascendancy classes or alternative ascendancies introduced during the Legacy of Phrecia league were well received and could return as part of the core game via unique jewels.
14. Addition of New Ascendancies (Predicted)
During Trial of the Ancestors, we saw 19 new ascendancies. Some were really cool. What if one of those per class came to the next league? Instead of three ascendancies per class, we’d have four. It’s a hope, maybe copium, but it seems possible. Those new ascendancies were interesting, and there's no obvious reason why they couldn’t go core.
15. Features in 3.25 Retained and Removed (Predicted)
Some features from recent leagues are likely to return:
Recombinators – powerful crafting tools that players want to see rebalanced and reintroduced.
Enchants – still useful for customizing builds.
Reworked Ascendancies – the Legacy of Phrecia league’s alternate ascendancies could be implemented via new jewel systems.
Features that the community hopes don’t return include the idol system (custom rollable Atlas nodes), which created extreme wealth gaps between casual and hardcore players.
16. Accessibility and Quality of Life (Confirmed)
There’s interest in adjusting boss fights for newer players, such as enabling unlimited respawns while learning boss mechanics. Veteran players wouldn’t be affected by this, but it would make the game more approachable.
GGG has also confirmed future support for WASD movement, pending rigging updates. The potion system in PoE 1 remains unique in the ARPG genre, and many players hope it remains unchanged.
17. King’s March Content Possibly Being Retired
Due to the Calguur League migrating to Himalaya, some content like the King’s March mappers will likely not return. The mappers from King’s March less likely that we’ll see them again. As for recombinators, there is uncertainty, they said they might add it in the future, so it might come back, but nothing is confirmed.
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