GGG posted the 0.5.5 notes. Forbidden Rites still starts September 4 at 1 PM PDT with a fresh economy. Existing Early Access and Runes of Aldur characters stay put. This is a player summary of the notes — not the full text. Full copy stays on pathofexile.com.
What actually matters
- Join on character select. Standard, Hardcore, and Solo Self-Found each have a Forbidden Rites league, plus private copies. Die in Hardcore Forbidden Rites and you continue in Standard Forbidden Rites, not the old economy. Runes of Aldur stays up until 1.0.
- Campaign Rituals in every area, with leveling currency and gear — not Unique-only shops. Twice per act and once per interlude, world-map clusters sit on the area boss; those bosses carry forward until the last room, where tribute spends on Uniques.
- Sacred Blooms are Forbidden Rites only. Spend one to put the Viridian Wildwood on a cluster of Atlas maps; wisps you collect then juice — and harden — the map. The Viridian Wildwood Unique Map is disabled (existing copies reroll). Extra Ritual tablets can add another altar and more wisps. New Ritual notable: Royal Lenience.
- Trial of Chaos: leave and resume in the same room; a chest at the end of each room; finishing a run pays currency and Soul Cores only (no corrupted items). Clear a 10-trial Inscribed Ultimatum and you can continue twice without another item — each extra success is a different Trialmaster fragment. Optional double-or-nothing currency wager. Area level now bakes in its own bonuses because Atlas passives still do not apply inside.
- Runes of Aldur goes core. Farrow, Dannig, and Expedition show up from Act 4 in Standard and Forbidden Rites. Expedition tablets stack (1–4) in those leagues — they do not drop in Runes of Aldur. The Verisium Anvil unlocks from The Runeseeker in Act 4 outside RoA. Aldur's Saga stays RoA-only.
- Fortress: beating Arbiter of Divinity with the non-quest Origin Core completes the whole Precursor Fortress for Atlas passives. The quest Origin Core no longer finishes a fortress section.
- Atlas extras: Large Abyssal Ravines guarantee Abysses on those maps. Failed Corrupted Nexus maps can be retried. Doryani's Refined Formula is gone; Archaic Corruption makes Essence-released monsters Corrupted.
- Eight challenges. Cosmetics at 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 (Locust footprints and finisher, Wildwood pet and level-up). A hideout totem starts from the first challenge. These rewards are league-only.
The notes are systems work — Ritual, Chaos, Expedition, Atlas — not a skill or unique manifesto. That balance dump is still on the 1.0 clock.
On PoE Source
- Forbidden Rites FAQ — duration, how to join, patch-wide systems
- GGG Live recap — stream detail and the Duelist kit for December 11
- Runes of Aldur
- Fortress & Arbiter
We'll write a Forbidden Rites lesson once the league is playable — not from notes alone.
Summarized for PoE Source; see official sources for full details.
Sources: 0.5.5 Patch Notes — Path of Exile 2: Forbidden Rites (GGG, official)