The Last of the Druids Is Almost Here
Path of Exile 2 might not be officially releasing until sometime in 2026, but that has not stopped it from getting serious updates. The next big one is called The Last of the Druids and it lands on December 12. For a lot of players this is the moment they have been waiting for since early access launched.
The headline feature is simple but massive. Druids are finally joining the roster. Fans have been asking for this class for years and now they are about to become the eighth playable class in Path of Exile 2.
Developer Grinding Gear Games first showed off druids about two years ago, then went quiet. The class did not make it into early access and even missed the previous major patch. Now the studio seems confident that the class is ready for the live servers and is building an entire update around it.
What Makes Druids Special
If you have played druids in other RPGs you will feel at home here but Path of Exile style. Druids keep the classic nature mage fantasy but crank it up with PoE’s usual build complexity.
In human form druids can call down lightning, tear open the ground with lava and generally make the battlefield look like an angry weather report. Then they shift into brutal animal forms to get right into the middle of the fight.
The big hook is shapeshifting. Only druids can seamlessly turn into a bear and other creatures during combat. You can flip from spell slinger to clawed monster on the fly which opens the door to some wild hybrid builds.
Because this is Path of Exile 2 every new class means more toys for everyone. Druids bring a batch of new skills and these are not locked to the class. Other characters can use the new abilities even if they cannot shapeshift themselves. That means more build variety across the board, not just for people rolling a druid on day one.
The early druid gameplay reveal already showed lightning storms, molten eruptions and a bear form smashing through mobs. That footage was recorded when the game was in a much slower state. Since then the team and the community have been in a constant tug of war over pacing and combat speed. Watching that old video now makes the druid look almost slow motion compared to the current tempo, which suggests the updated version will feel faster, snappier and more in line with how the rest of Path of Exile 2 plays today.
- Human form for spellcasting and elemental destruction
- Bear and other animal forms for close range carnage
- New skills usable by all classes
- Shapeshifting exclusive to druids for unique hybrid playstyles
A Great Time To Jump Into Path of Exile 2
The Last of the Druids update is not just for long time fans. Grinding Gear Games is once again making Path of Exile 2 completely free to play for the opening weekend of the update. If you have been curious but hesitant this is your chance to treat it like a new demo and see how far early access has come.
Earlier in development it would have been harder to recommend the game to newcomers, but that has changed. There is now a full fourth act in the campaign and it is surprisingly strong even compared to other big name action RPGs.
The story takes you through atmospheric zones like sun blasted deserts filled with skulls as big as mountains. Boss fights are more inventive than just health sponges. One wizard boss reshapes the arena into a shifting stone maze that forces you to think about movement and positioning, not just raw damage. The skill system already lets you sling some ridiculous abilities, such as purple fireballs that roast enemies and your frame rate at the same time.
If you care about endgame there is more good news on the way. Grinding Gear Games has already confirmed that a full rework of the endgame is coming. The goal is to give players a more satisfying loop once the campaign credits roll and to fix some of the most obvious pain points from earlier patches.
Details on that rework and the rest of the December update are set to arrive on December 4. Expect a bigger breakdown then of new systems, balance changes and how the druid fits into the long term meta.
For now here is what you need to remember.
- The Last of the Druids launches on December 12
- Druids become the eighth class with exclusive shapeshifting
- New skills are added for all classes to experiment with
- The game is free to play for the opening weekend of the update
- A major endgame overhaul is planned to follow
Path of Exile 2 might still be a while away from full release but updates like this make it feel less like an early access experiment and more like a live evolving ARPG. If you enjoy theorycrafting, fast combat and the idea of turning into a storm casting murder bear, The Last of the Druids looks like the perfect time to log in.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/after-missing-the-last-few-updates-path-of-exile-2s-new-druid-class-is-finally-ready-to-play-in-its-next-update/
