GGG posted a Forbidden Rites FAQ. 0.5.5 still starts September 4 at 1 PM PDT. The Duelist is not in this patch. A few points from last week's stream recap are now in writing: it is a new league, it runs until 1.0, and the Trial of Chaos work is patch-wide.
What GGG answered
- Duelist is not in 0.5.5. He ships with Path of Exile 2 1.0 on December 11.
- It is a new league. Fresh economy, new challenges, exclusive rewards — same as other new leagues. It is not a one-month event. Forbidden Rites runs until the 1.0 full release and ends alongside Runes of Aldur.
- Launch: 1 PM PDT September 4. The realm goes down before they deploy. Exact maintenance time comes later this week. When the realm is back, you can join.
- How to join: pick Forbidden Rites on the character selection screen and create a new character there.
- Private leagues: you can create one from August 31 PDT. They are not playable until September 4.
- Unfinished Runes of Aldur challenges: keep playing that league. It also runs until 1.0.
- Trial of Chaos and the other 0.5.5 improvements are not event-only. They apply to existing characters in Runes of Aldur and Standard. Runes of Aldur is also going core, so Standard gets that content after the patch.
- Patch notes later this week, with an announcement so you don't miss them. Item filter info in a couple of days.
On PoE Source
- 0.5.5 stream recap — Rituals, Trial of Chaos, Duelist kit (updated to match this FAQ)
- PoE 2 1.0 date post — December 11, free-to-play, Duelist reveal
- Runes of Aldur — still playable until 1.0
- Fortress & Arbiter
We'll write a Forbidden Rites lesson once the notes are out and the league is playable.
Sources: Path of Exile 2: Forbidden Rites FAQ — Forum (GGG, official)