Is 3.3.0 an Expansion or League?
After a few years of alternating expansions and leagues, we released two
expansions back-to-back in late 2017. Our March release blurred the line
between an expansion and a league (with a league alongside a
significant Ascendancy revamp, introduction of the Uber Elder fight and
new skills). We are pitching 3.3.0 in a similar way. It is branded as a
league, but is certainly a large release compared to leagues of the
past.
When designing 3.3.0's league, we wanted to reinforce the core of what makes Path of Exile fun to play: killing monsters, gaining
experience and earning items in every area you enter. We'll talk more
about this league when it's being announced next month. If you enjoyed
leagues that involved a lot of monster-killing like Ambush and Breach,
you'll certainly enjoy this one.
Alongside many smaller features you can read about on announcement day, a huge push in 3.3.0 is skill
revamps and facilitating new builds. Normally we'd keep this balance
information quiet until announcement day, but I have been encouraging
the team to write news posts that explain the changes so that you can
give us feedback and begin to think about new builds. In addition to the
revamps, there are also a bunch of new Trap skills that go hand-in-hand
with balance changes to make Trappers a lot more powerful this league.
You can read some early information about 3.3.0 skill revamps posted by
the team here and here.
It's our belief that every Path of Exile release needs a really compelling and rewarding league, alongside enough
skill and metagame changes to have many exciting builds for you to look
forward to experiencing that content with.
What's the timeline for 3.3.0? When should I book time off work?
We currently expect to release 3.3.0 on Friday June 1. The Xbox One
version will be released after that weekend, as close as possible to the
PC version. While we're pretty confident in this date (because 3.3.0's
league and many of the balance changes are already in the gameplay
iteration phase), it could still change if something unexpected occurs.
We'll announce the final firm date in approximately a month.
What's happening with Supporter Packs? When are the War for the Atlas ones going away?
3.3.0 has its own set of league supporter packs. When these are released, the
Bestiary ones will go off sale (we'll give you notice before this
occurs, of course). The War for the Atlas packs will remain on sale
until the next big expansion, which will also be announced in advance so
you can plan your purchases appropriately.
