While *Path of Exile 2* continues its early access development, Grinding Gear Games is once again showing that there’s still a lot left in the original *Path of Exile’s* tank. After so many years, it’s hard to imagine that the dungeon crawler has any firsts left in it, but the upcoming **Keepers of the Flame** league will be just that. It will mark the first time that *Path of Exile* will feature a direct sequel to a previous league.
*Path of Exile’s* Breach league first debuted back in December 2016. With so much time having passed since its release, a refresher is likely in order. This league contained various breaches that led to parallel realms, each filled with new and excessively powerful monsters. The goal was to keep defeating monsters until the breach eventually collapsed on itself.
Back then, the breaches were fairly unstable. However, the Breachlords have learned a lot in the time that has passed and have found a way to stabilize the gateways between worlds. This sets the stage for a hostile invasion by the Breachlords and their forces, leading to the introduction of the titular **Keepers of the Flame**.
The Keepers represent an order dedicated to protecting Wraeclast from the Breachlords. They grant players the power of the Flame, which will help battle the increasing numbers of invading hive monsters coming to the exile continent. The objective? Enter the Mud Flats where the hive monsters are gathering, defeat them, and destroy the hives they’re constructing by using the cleansing power of the Flame.
The hiveborn breaches are essentially the same ones players encountered back in 2016, but with nearly a decade of upgrades from the Breachlords, they now present a much greater challenge. These breaches will contain more powerful monsters and special conditions that players must complete to succeed.
From a mechanical perspective, the development team has also learned a great deal. They are touting an improved UI tracking system and a more satisfying victory sequence upon winning. While *Keepers of the Flame* advances the old Breach league, the team notes that they didn’t want to fix what wasn’t broken, instead focusing on marginal improvements to what they already considered a solid experience.
Helping the Keepers of the Flame will yield substantial rewards. The Keepers will graciously offer players the use of their **Genesis Tree**, a unique system that allows players to grow a variety of rewards. Players can cultivate currency, unique items, equipment, and a brand-new type of reward called **Grafts**.
Grafts fuse directly to the wearer’s body and grant power from the Breach world itself. This can include new skills or strong stat buffs, encouraging players to experiment with these new Graft abilities and combine them with their current builds to create characters with previously unfathomable power levels.
There is a major catch, however: Grafts cannot be modified by any currencies other than those grown on the Genesis Tree.
Players have much more to look forward to in *Path of Exile: Keepers of the Flame*. Fresh skills are being added to the update, including an entirely new build that utilizes kinetic energy. Additionally, characters will be able to absorb abilities from fallen bosses and convert them into new Ascendancy class options known as **Bloodlines**.
Grinding Gear Games has a full patch notes post planned for later today, which will detail the ten different Bloodline classes that players can expect to see.
Stay tuned for more updates as *Keepers of the Flame* brings a thrilling new chapter to *Path of Exile’s* ever-evolving world.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146478/path-of-exile-keepers-of-the-flame-preview
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