PoE2 1.0 Full Release Guide — Release Date, Duelist, Free Rewards & Launch Prep

Quick Answer: Everything Confirmed for PoE2 1.0

Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access on December 11, 2026 (PST), and the full release is completely free-to-play — no purchase required, ever. Here are the facts that matter right now:

• Launch date: December 11, 2026 (PST), confirmed by Grinding Gear Games in the official 1.0 announcement. For most time zones outside the Americas this lands on December 12 local time.
• Price: Free. If you paid $30 for Early Access, you do not pay again — your purchase only granted early entry.
• New class: the Duelist joins at launch, a hybrid Strength/Dexterity fighter built around a brand-new weapon family: swords, both one-handed and two-handed.
• More launch content (catalogued in game data, full reveal at ExileCon): new campaign Act 5 and Act 6, a new Challenge league, and a new Core Supporter Pack.
• Free rewards: register before launch and confirm your email to receive up to five cosmetic rewards; codes are emailed after December 11.
• Your EA characters: they are never deleted, but they move to a separate, frozen Early Access Standard realm and do not enter the fresh 1.0 economy.

This guide covers every point in full with sources labelled, plus a step-by-step rewards walkthrough and a preparation checklist you can start today. For the rumor-era analysis back in August — Death Summary, DNT swords, unreleased classes — our Patch 1.0 leak breakdown shows how much has changed since.

PoE2 1.0 Release Date: December 11, 2026

GGG officially announced the full release date at gamescom in August 2026: Path of Exile 2 version 1.0 goes live on December 11, 2026, Pacific Time. Players in Europe, Asia and Oceania will see the unlock on December 12 local time unless GGG announces a specific hour — schedule launch-day plans around the official countdown rather than a fixed time.

The announcement also settles the pricing question that has followed the game since its paid Early Access:

• 1.0 is 100% free-to-play, using the same monetization philosophy PoE players know — cosmetic shop items and stash tabs, no power for sale.
• The $30 Early Access purchase is not subtracted from or credited against anything. It was the ticket to play from December 2024 through to launch. There is no second box price, no upgrade edition, and no founder pack required to log in on day one.
• All platforms launch together where official support applies — the PC standalone client, Steam, Epic Games Store, and the console versions on PlayStation and Xbox. Reward codes from the registration promotion work on every one of them.

If you have been waiting on the sidelines specifically for the free version, the wait ends December 11. If you have friends who refused to buy into Early Access, this is the moment to drag them in — linking them the registration page (covered below) before launch also banks them free cosmetics.

The Duelist: New Class, New Swords

The headline gameplay addition for 1.0 is the Duelist, revealed during gamescom Opening Night Live with a cinematic trailer and featured in the official Duelist deep dive post. What is confirmed and what is data-mined:

Confirmed by GGG:

• The Duelist is a new base class joining the roster at launch — the third new class to join the roster, after the Huntress and the Druid.
• A new sword weapon family ships with the class. Two-handed swords were front and center of the trailer: slow, sweeping, high-damage blades — the same “DNT swords” our August leak analysis spotted in client tags.

Catalogued in game data by the community wiki PoE2DB (expect official confirmation at ExileCon):

• Attributes: 11 Strength, 11 Dexterity, 7 Intelligence — a true STR/DEX hybrid. Signature weapon listed as Sword.
• Both one-hand swords and two-hand swords are new weapon types at 1.0, so dual-wield and shield variants of the class appear viable alongside the greatsword fantasy shown in the trailer.
• Data-mined skill names tied to sword weapons include Cyclone, Perforate, Blade Plunge, Rending Dash, Charged Slash, Haemorrhage, Earthrend and Worldcutter, among others. These names, levels and tiers come from client data and are not final — treat them as a preview, not a build plan.

The Duelist’s class text leans into glory, arena showmanship and stylish dueling — a hybrid melee identity between the Warrior’s brute force and faster precision strikers. Expect the full Ascendancy reveal and the inevitable tier-list shuffles at ExileCon in November. Until official Ascendancy text lands, our complete Ascendancy guide is the reference for how every existing class works, and our 0.5.5 league starter builds show the reliable, no-unique-required planning that matters again at launch.

What Else Launches with 1.0: Acts 5 & 6, Challenge League

Beyond the Duelist, the PoE2DB version 1.0.0 catalogue — a community wiki that indexes game-client data and GGG’s statements — lists the following launch scope. GGG has said full version 1.0 information will be presented at ExileCon, so treat this as the expected launch package pending the official keynote:

• New campaign acts: Act 5 and Act 6. The story continues past the current Act 4 climax, giving launch players substantially more campaign to play through.
• A new Challenge league. The temporary league economy at 1.0 is a fresh challenge league, running alongside permanent Standard. The current Forbidden Rites event is separate content that arrived September 4.
• A new Core Supporter Pack, joining the shop at launch.
• GGG’s stated conditions for declaring 1.0 — that the game’s balance is in a good place and the endgame is one people are enjoying — are both reflected in the launch decision itself.

Two cautions. First, PoE2DB’s homepage also surfaces data-mined mechanic pages such as Heist and Blight tagged to future versions; content existing in client data is not a promise it ships on December 11, so do not pre-plan launch time around them. Second, features like the remaining classes (Marauder, Templar, Shadow), death recap, two-factor authentication, divination cards and seamless keyboard/controller switching sit on community wish lists and data leaks, not on the confirmed launch list — ExileCon is where that picture clears.

Registration Rewards: Up to Five Free Cosmetics, Here Is How to Claim Them

GGG is running a global registration promotion tied to the 1.0 launch, and it is the single highest-value thing you can do before December. The mechanics come straight from the official registration FAQ:

• Everyone who registers gets at least one guaranteed cosmetic reward.
• Four additional global registration milestones each add one more reward to every account — for a maximum of five rewards total if all milestones are hit before launch.
• As of September 22, two milestones have been unlocked. The second milestone reward is the Soulflame Weapon Effect, announced on September 21 in the official Soulflame reveal post. Three milestones remain on the clock before December 11.

Step-by-Step: Lock In Your Rewards

1. Go to the official registration page: https://pathofexile2.com/register and submit your email address. If you already have a Path of Exile account, sign in first so the reward is linked to it; otherwise you can create the account later when you redeem the code.
2. Check your email and click the confirmation link. This is the trap that costs people rewards — an unconfirmed registration does not count. If you do not see the email within an hour, check spam and re-send the confirmation from the account page.
3. That is it — you are done until launch. Every milestone the community hits between now and December 11 is automatically applied to all confirmed registrations. You do not need to log in again or claim anything early.
4. After December 11 (PST), watch your inbox. Reward codes are emailed out following launch, not before.
5. Redeem the code at https://www.pathofexile.com/shop/redeem-key on the platform and account where you want the cosmetics.

The redemption rules worth knowing: each code can be redeemed exactly once, and one account can only redeem one code. If you somehow end up with a spare — for example, because a friend who registered decides not to play — codes can be given to someone else, which makes them a genuinely useful referral gift. The same code works on the standalone PC client, Steam, Epic, PlayStation and Xbox, so platform choice does not lock the reward.

What Happens to Early Access Characters at 1.0?

This is the question EA players ask most, and the answer is precise — nothing is wiped, but nothing crosses over either.

• Your characters, items, stashes and progress are never deleted. You can log in and play them for as long as the servers run.
• At 1.0, all Early Access characters migrate into a standalone, frozen realm called Early Access Standard. It is a permanent archive of the pre-launch game: your characters keep exactly what they have, and the realm remains playable.
• Early Access characters and items do not enter the new, fresh Standard realm that begins at 1.0. There is no item transfer, no stash merge, and no character copy between the frozen EA realm and the live 1.0 realms in either direction.
• The practical consequence: the 1.0 economy starts clean for everyone. Veterans and brand-new free players stand on equal ground at launch — veterans carrying knowledge, not warehouses.

So treat the remaining weeks honestly. Hoarding currency “for launch” is a trap: your EA stash stays behind in Early Access Standard, and divines you never spend cannot help your launch character. What survives the cut is everything stored in your head — campaign routes, boss patterns, crafting rules, build intuition. If you want a last deep push in the pre-launch economy, our currency farming guide and Grand Expedition farming guide cover the current best farms — spend the proceeds on fun, not storage.

ExileCon 2026: The November Info Drop Before Launch

Mark a second date: ExileCon runs November 7–8, 2026 (NZDT) at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, per the official ExileCon page. This matters even if you are not attending:

• The ExileCon keynote promises unannounced updates from Game Directors Jonathan Rogers and Mark Roberts, plus mechanic deep dives — GGG has said full information on version 1.0 lands here. Expect the final launch feature list, Duelist Ascendancy details and challenge league mechanics.
• Attendees get hands-on demos of unreleased content, so footage and impressions will flood in all weekend.
• Tickets are sold out, but the whole event is streamed online free. New Zealand sits across the date line from the Americas, so the Saturday keynote lands on November 6 (Friday) for US viewers and the evening of November 6-7 for Europe; exact stream times will be confirmed by GGG. Set a reminder; the announcements will define what launch day actually plays like, with roughly a month left to plan.

The event also doubles as GGG’s 20th anniversary celebration, and hosts the PoE/PoE2 race finals alongside announcements.

The 1.0 Launch Preparation Checklist

With no inventory to carry across, preparation for December 11 is about accounts, knowledge and logistics. Everything on this list can be done between now and launch.

1. Register and confirm the email today. This is the only deadline-gated item — registrations close with the launch window on December 11 PST, and unconfirmed emails earn nothing. Do it now, then forget it.
2. Watch the ExileCon stream November 7–8. Note the confirmed challenge league mechanics and Duelist Ascendancies as they are announced; PoE2DB and official patch notes will carry the written versions afterward.
3. Practice the campaign once cleanly. Knowing the Acts is the single biggest launch advantage: experienced players reach maps hours before first-timers while servers are stable and the economy is at its most profitable. Follow our fast leveling guide, with the Act walkthroughs for any spots that stall you.
4. Decide your launch class and one build plan. The Duelist is the exciting pick, but brand-new classes carry launch-day uncertainty around Ascendancy tuning. If you want a stress-free first character, plan around a proven archetype from the league starter builds and reroll into the Duelist once its mechanics are mapped out — or commit fully if day-one experimentation is the fun for you.
5. Learn the endgame before you reach it. A couple of hours reading the Waystone system guide, the trading guide and the resistance and defence guide pays for itself many times during launch week, when bad resist and map-device mistakes silently drain returns.
6. Keep playing your EA main, but spend what you earn. Gear upgrades, build experiments, boss kills — the frozen Early Access Standard realm keeps them all forever. Treat it as a practice server with permanent souvenirs.
7. Secure the account now. Make sure you still control the registered email address well before December, and enable an authenticator on the account — fake “redeem your free launch cosmetics” phishing emails are predictable around any F2P launch. The real code email arrives after launch and is redeemed only through the official site.
8. Preload and clear the calendar. Expect a large client patch and heavy first-day queues; install ahead of time if a preload is offered, and aim to play your first session outside peak hours if you can.

For the wider context of what GGG has been shipping on the road to 1.0, the endgame roadmap guide tracks the official plans, and the 0.5.5 event league guide covers the current live version.

Patches on the Final Stretch: 0.5.5b and 0.5.5c

GGG has kept the live build moving right up to the announcement, which is a good sign for launch stability. The two most recent patches are both worth knowing about if you are playing now:

• 0.5.5c (September 18): fixed the Legacy of the Wayfarers questline — you now must be present for the Patriarch and Matriarch Halls boss kills to pick up the Spark and Cradle of Origin; players already stuck should re-kill the Judge of Ashe, then take the elevator to find Doryani. It also fixed the Act 4 island hand-in (the boat charter must be given to Makoru; older characters are unaffected), Veiled NPC visibility at King’s Mark, the Ziggurat Refuge first-entry spawn bug, Self-Found migration and Hardcore death Runeforging retention, the Trial of Chaos “Wager of Chaos” second-floor reward floor (now correctly +2 minimum rewards), several boss parry and stun bugs on Rakkar the Frozen Claw and Tor Gul the Defiler, and six client and instance crashes. Full details in the 0.5.5c forum post.
• 0.5.5b (September 11): fixed Expeditions not spawning naturally in the endgame, raised drop rates for Expedition, Temple and Delirium Tablets, let failed Ultimatum inscription runners collect another from the Trial Master at the Trial of Chaos entrance, fixed post-Ketzuli Ritual guidance and a Leachwater Delirium mirror soft-lock, plus four client crashes. See the 0.5.5b forum post.

If you are brand new and all of this reads like a foreign language, that is expected — start with the complete beginner’s guide instead, and the checklist above will still be waiting.

PoE2 1.0 Frequently Asked Questions

Is Path of Exile 2 1.0 really free? Yes. The full release on December 11, 2026 is completely free-to-play. Only cosmetic shop items and convenience tabs cost money, as in Path of Exile 1.

I paid $30 for Early Access — do I have to buy the game again? No. The Early Access purchase was your entry fee for the pre-launch period; there is no additional purchase at 1.0. You download the same update as everyone else.

Will my Early Access character be deleted? Never. At launch your characters move to a permanent, playable Early Access Standard realm with all their gear and stash intact.

Can I transfer my EA items or currency into the new 1.0 realms? No. The Early Access realm is isolated — no transfers, merges or copies in either direction. The 1.0 economy starts fresh for everyone, which is exactly what makes launch economies valuable: knowledge beats stockpiles.

What new content besides the Duelist is coming? Game data catalogued by the PoE2DB community wiki points to one-hand and two-hand swords, Act 5 and Act 6, a new Challenge league and a new Core Supporter Pack. GGG presents the complete official launch details at ExileCon on November 7–8.

When is ExileCon, and can I watch without a ticket? November 7–8, 2026 NZDT in Auckland. Tickets are sold out, but the keynote and talks are streamed online free — it is the definitive 1.0 information event before launch.

How many registration rewards are there, and when do I get the code? Up to five total — one guaranteed plus four milestone rewards. Two milestones are unlocked as of September 22, including the Soulflame Weapon Effect. Codes are emailed after the December 11 launch and redeemed at the official redeem-key page on any supported platform.

I registered but never got a confirmation email — what do I do? Check spam and promotions folders, then use the account page to re-send the confirmation. The registration only counts once the link is clicked, so sort this out well before December 11.

Can I play the Duelist immediately on launch day? That is the plan confirmed by GGG — the Duelist and the new sword types arrive with 1.0. Exact Ascendancy details and final tuning will be revealed at ExileCon.

Are Heist, Blight or the other new classes launching in December too? Not confirmed. Those appear as data-mined pages and community wish-list items; client data is not a launch promise. Wait for the ExileCon keynote before counting on them.

Do reward codes work on console or Steam? Yes. One code works across the standalone PC client, Steam, Epic, PlayStation and Xbox, but it can only be redeemed once on a single account.