Grinding Gear Games has injected a fresh dose of adrenaline into the action RPG community. poe2 trade massive 0.5.0 update, titled "Return of the Ancients" (also referred to by the community as the "Ancient Laws" update), is now in full swing, and the developers are celebrating by opening the gates to all players for a limited-time free weekend.
The headline feature of version 0.5.0 is the introduction of the "Aldur Rune" challenge league. While Grinding Gear Games has kept some of the deepest secrets of the league mechanic under wraps, early reports from the community indicate that the Aldur Rune system allows for a new layer of customization, altering how skill gems interact with specific equipment slots. It encourages a "high-risk, high-reward" gameplay loop that veteran Exiles have been craving.
Furthermore, Two new character classes have entered the early access roster. While specifics are evolving by the hour, the current meta-discussion on Reddit and the official forums suggests that these new additions are shifting the endgame ladder, with players racing to find the most broken combinations using the new Aldur Runes.
Because the patch dropped only recently, the servers are buzzing with activity. To capitalize on the momentum, Grinding Gear Games has activated a Free Weekend promotion across all platforms (PC, PlayStation, and Xbox).
This free access period is scheduled to end early tomorrow morning (June 2, 2026, around 02:00 AM GMT). This means that players who have been on the fence have only a few hours left to experience the brutal, visceral combat and deep character customization that Path of Exile 2 offers.
For those who decide they want to stay, the barrier to entry is currently halved. The Early Access Supporter Pack is available with a 50% discount until June 12. This is a significant saving, given the usual price of entry for the early access phase.
Additionally, the devs are running a "Twitch Drops" campaign. Viewers watching Path of Exile 2 streams today can earn exclusive cosmetic items, and a separate Discord quest is offering another set of visual flair for your armor.
As with any major live-service update, the launch of "Ancient Laws" has not been without its issues. The current hot topic on the Steam forums and Reddit involves a specific progression blocker. Several players are reporting that they cannot progress past certain "cutscenes" or transition zones in the campaign. The game appears to freeze or "hard lock" when loading specific scripted events.
Grinding Gear Games has acknowledged the bug and is expected to roll out a hotfix shortly. In the meantime, the community has discovered a few workarounds (such as lowering texture quality or verifying cheap POE 2 Orbs game files), though results vary.
