PoE 2 The Third Edict: Act 4

Path of Exile 2's The Third Edict update will introduce the long-awaited fourth campaign act, extending the story and removing the necessity to run through the acts twice to reach the endgame.

The Chase Continues

Following the cliff-hanger ending to Act 3, the story continues with the pursuit of Oriana and the Beast. This time around however, the player character is not only joined by The Hooded One, but is now also accompanied by Doryani, the Vaal civilisation's resident thaumaturge, on a mission to seek out an ancient weapon powerful enough to disrupt the Beast.

The Hooded One and Doyani, Royal Thaumaturge

The artifact in question is the very instrument capable of bringing about the Third Edict, but there's a problem. The weapon has been fractured and its pieces scattered across a new, previously unexplored region. To proceed, the player will need to seek out and retrieve each part and assemble the artifact, a dangerous task indeed.

A Karui Voyage

Act 4 presents a significant shift in the gameplay style of Path of Exile 2's campaign, switching from a linear path to one that presents many options with no forced way to proceed. The majority of this Act takes place in the Karui Archipelago, a previously unexplored region and an area of Wraeclast that consists of several islands separated by a body of water. To reach these islands you'll need a boat and that's where Kingsmarch comes into play, a city that was built in Path of Exile 1's Settlers of Kalguur update, canonically about 20 years ago.

Unexplored Islands shown on the map of the archipelago

There's a total of eight islands that can be explored, each with their own unique design and feel, from different Monsters and terrain, to Boss encounters and environmental effects. The islands can be explored freely and in any order you wish, granting a lot more freedom with campaign progression compared to the previous Acts.

An example of one of the areas you can explore is Kin Island, a strange landmass covered in volcanic rock and curious yellow coloured crystal formations. Miners appear to hastily haul the golden gemstones to an unknown location deeper under the surface, but for what purpose?

New Encounters & Timeless Treasures

The Karui Archipelago introduces a swath of new Monster types, zones and Boss fights. In Act 4 alone you'll encounter up to 100 distinctly new Monsters, adding toward the goal of 600 game-wide by the time Path of Exile 2 reaches its full release. In addition to those new encounters, you'll traverse 16 new zones across the regions covered in this new Act, and you can expect to run into a few dangerous new Boss fights too - 12 new Boss fights in fact! Prepare to die a few times!

Krutog, Lord of Kin Boss Fight

Interludes: A Temporary Replacement

The end of Act 4 will bring the character to the beginning of several mini-acts known as Interludes which will temporarily take the place of Act 5 and 6 until those parts of the core campaign are ready to go live. Check out our full article on Interludes in Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict right here!