Why this lesson matters
Covens of Umbra is Path of Exile 1's 3.30 expansion. It brings a new challenge league, Covens, and at the same time changes how the whole endgame works: Scarabs are gone, the Atlas passive tree is redone, and loot drops differently. This lesson covers both halves from GGG's own reveal, so you know what you're walking into on launch day.
Dates (PST): Curse of the Allflame ends November 9 at 1:00 PM. Covens of Umbra launches November 13; GGG hasn't posted the hour on its own pages yet.
Written before launch. Everything here comes from GGG's official Covens of Umbra page. The 3.30 patch notes will add numbers and fill gaps; this lesson gets updated against them and against play after launch.
The league: stop the covens, choose a Fate
In the Covens league you'll run into covenites performing gruesome rites to summon their leader, the Coven Queen. Break up a rite by defeating them and you get to pick a Fate for the boss of the area you're in.
Each Fate carries a few effects that make that boss harder and more rewarding at the same time. Stack enough of them and the boss becomes a real fight; the point of the league is deciding how far to push that trade.
Two habits follow straight from how GGG describes it:
- Collect the Fates before you kill the boss. Fates apply to the area's boss, so clear the coven first.
- Pick Fates you can survive. Each one raises the boss's difficulty along with its rewards.
The Wickerman and Viscera
The Coven's witchcraft lets you use what's left of your enemies. A boss you defeat while it has Fates on it can give you Viscera. You place Viscera on your own Wickerman to take a piece of that boss's power for yourself.
Every boss has its own Viscera: each campaign boss and each boss on a map in the Atlas. That turns the league into a collection: the more different bosses you beat with Fates, the more pieces you have to choose from for your Wickerman.
What GGG hasn't said yet: how many Viscera the Wickerman holds, how long the power lasts, and whether pieces can be swapped freely. Expect those in the patch notes.
Grim Fates and the Coven Queen
Grim Fates take the same idea to the top of the Atlas: they empower the hardest bosses there. Beat a boss under a Grim Fate and the reward is Pinnacle Boss Viscera, the strongest Wickerman pieces.
At the end of it all is the Coven Queen herself. GGG only teases this fight ("perhaps you'll even be able to hold back the Queen herself"); how you reach her is a patch-notes question.
The endgame changes that come with 3.30
These aren't part of the Covens league; they change the Atlas for everyone from November 13.
Threads of Creation replace Scarabs
Scarabs are removed. Their replacement, Threads of Creation, goes straight into the Map Device. A Thread adds the league mechanic you choose to the map, and raises the rarity and difficulty of monsters in it. Every extra Thread you spend raises the chance of strong random effects being added to that mechanic.
In short: you still pick which mechanics a map gets, but you pay in difficulty, and spending more Threads is a gamble on bonus effects.
A new Atlas passive tree
The Atlas tree has been completely refreshed: a new layout and dozens of new wheels, stats and effects. Many of them used to live on Scarabs, and on the tree you can now guarantee them. Plan to re-learn your Atlas setup from scratch; old tree guides won't carry over.
Older league mechanics changed
GGG says almost every endgame league mechanic has been augmented, modified or revamped in some way. The details are for the patch notes, so treat any strategy from 3.29 as needing a re-check.
Mirage becomes core, and Saresh returns
Mirages are back as a permanent part of the game. They can show up at random in maps, or as a map modifier you can roll (alongside mechanics like Mirrors of Delirium and the Viridian Wildwood). A Mirage now covers the whole map, which in practice lets you run the map a second time. Saresh is back too, as a much harder fight.
The loot rework
GGG calls this a fundamental change to how loot drops:
- Tiered unidentified items. At endgame, unidentified Magic and Rare items can drop with a tier that improves every part of the item, so you can see which ones are worth picking up and identifying.
- Rarity improves everything. Increased rarity on maps and monsters now improves all drops, currency and uniques included, not just items.
New unique items arrive with the expansion as well.
What we're waiting for
The patch notes should answer:
- How many Fates a boss can take, and what the Fates do.
- Wickerman slots, what Viscera grant, and how long it lasts.
- How you reach the Coven Queen.
- What Threads of Creation cost and drop from, and how high the difficulty goes.
- The new Atlas tree in full, and the change list for each league mechanic.
- The new uniques and skill balance changes.
Practical tips for launch day
- Campaign first, Fates second. Every campaign boss has Viscera, but a Fate also makes the boss harder; while leveling, take Fates only when the boss won't slow you down.
- Clear the coven before the boss. The Fate is for that area's boss.
- Start your Atlas fresh. The tree and the Scarab system both changed, so a 3.29 Atlas plan doesn't apply.
- Pick up the high-tier unidentified items. That's what the new loot tiers are for.
- This is challenge-league content. When the league ends, check this lesson is still current before relying on it.
Sources: Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra (GGG, official) · Path of Exile 1 3.30 Expansion Timeline (GGG forum) · Play Path of Exile: Covens of Umbra on November 13 PST (GGG forum)