Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients - League Mechanic Guide
12.05.2026 - 03:27:04
Game Guides , Path of Exile 2
In roughly three weeks from now, GGG is set to launch its biggest update yet, called Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients. It is the first time that the company will host a new Challenge League that, when completed, gives you a free set of cosmetic items.
The soon-to-be-released Runes of the Aldur League has an Expedition theme, where you gather information for a certain NPC by interacting with various runes that you come across during the campaign and in the endgame.
The potential for amassing great PoE 2 items is immense, so if you want to know the main mechanic for the Runes of Aldur league, then let’s explore it together!
PoE 2 Runes of Aldur League—The Main League Mechanic
You will encounter the NPC in question, named Farrow, in Clearfell. He is being surrounded by enemies, which you have to deal with promptly. After rescuing him from the assault, he introduces himself as a blacksmith who is keen on discovering the secrets of Ezomyte Runesmithing. If you have played the original game, you probably have an idea of what it is.
He asks you to interact with any Remnant (large rune) that you encounter during your journey. Doing so will give you a chance to craft some awesome items in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients by choosing the right runes based on the recipe that you want. The recipes that are available to you will depend on the rune that was already pre-selected for you.
For example, if the Oath Rune is already inscribed on the Remnant, you could potentially be given the option to create a Greater Chaos Orb, provided that you select that particular recipe.
You will gain access to so many rune combinations as you progress through the league. But be warned: with great reward comes a greater challenge. You see, before you get that item, you have to kill the undead monsters that spawn shortly after inscribing those runes.
On top of that, the enemies you face gain the properties of the runes you have just used. For instance, if a Fire Rune is part of the recipe, the ensuing battle will spawn monsters that deal fire damage.
As you progress through PoE 2 Runes of Aldur League, you will encounter Remnants that allow you to put as many as eight different runes. Just imagine how difficult the upcoming battle is! Suffice it to say, you should come prepared with the best gear possible. Otherwise, enemies will have no problems dealing with you.
Despite that, however, there is potential for acquiring rare PoE 2 Currency if you manage to come out victorious. One example of that currency is the new Archaic Rune of the Titan, which makes Slam Skills (like Stampede or Rampage) cause an additional aftershock if you use those yourself.
Now, the runes that you are able to use on the Remnant do not spawn out of thin air. You actually have to interact with them along the way.
The first set of Runestones is found in Ogham in Act 1 via a huge entrance toward an underground dungeon. Here, you will learn that the ancient Kalguurans actually set out to find sources of Verisium, which is a type of metal that is used for Runeforging.
After gaining knowledge and obtaining the said metal, Farrow will create the Verisium Anvil in town. Interacting with the anvil displays the UI for Runeforging.
Runeforging allows you to add Runic Ward to any of your pieces of gear. Think of this as an additional layer of defense, on top of armor, evasion rating, and energy shield.
What’s awesome about Runic Ward is that whenever you receive a fatal beating, this additional defensive layer kicks in, letting you survive long enough to pop a potion or two. Of course, getting hit another time before recovering your HP will kill you, so do keep that in mind.
What items can you put into the Verisium Anvil? Well, you can place any piece of armor in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients. This includes Normal, Magic, and Rare Items, as well as uniques. However, you cannot put weapons and jewelry on the anvil.
Runeforging can result in a couple of outcomes. The first is that the resulting armor piece will only be granted a random amount of Runic Ward, with the possibility to increase the maximum Runic Ward the item can have.
The second is that Runeforging may add a random modifier that has something to do with the item. For example, Radiant Grief is a unique item in PoE 2 that causes enemies in your presence to be ignited. Runeforging may add an implicit modifier that increases ignite magnitude considerably, if you are lucky with the roll.
New Skills
Runic Ward serves a purpose other than keeping you alive in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients. It can also be utilized to activate or cast certain skills that use Runic Ward as the resource.
That’s right! Skills like Triskelion Cascade can be used if you have some Runic Ward. This also has an added benefit, where you don’t have to wear gear with specific attribute requirements just to have the means of using a skill.
If you are going to use skills that spend Runic Ward, it stands to reason that you put Runic Ward on as many pieces of gear as possible. This is to give you a sizable resource pool that will enable you to freely cast those abilities unencumbered.
There is another skill that I’d like to highlight called Hollow Shell. When cast, Hollow Shell consumes all of your Runic Ward to provide a layer of protection called “Guard” based on 35% of the Runic Ward spent. This could be useful in party play, as well as for people who play a minion build in PoE 2 Runes of Aldur League.
The developers said that these new skills are designed to be used by any class in PoE 2. This is a good move because it helps unlock a myriad of possibilities when it comes to build-crafting in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients. Do you want a melee character that can benefit from incredible Mark Skills? How about a spellcaster that is strong enough not to go down in one or two hits? I think that is all possible now with the runic skills.
Runic Supports
If there are new active skills in PoE Runes of the Aldur League, there are some runic support gems as well. Runic Infusion is a good example of this. This is a support gem that allows you to deal additional physical damage based on the amount of Runic Ward that was spent casting that supported ability.
Having said that, I hope that GGG has included a way for us to recover Runic Ward as quickly as we spend it. Otherwise, it would be impossible for us to truly enjoy what these new runic skills and support gems have to offer if we constantly starve for Runic Ward.
Upgrade Uniques
The ability to augment armor via Runeforging is not the only thing that you can do in PoE 2 Runes of Aldur League. You can also upgrade certain unique items, thus giving them more power to be viable in the endgame.
Before you can get a hold of that power, you must head to the Mystic Refuge—a hidden dungeon in Act 3 that is hidden within the jungle (this can either be found in the Jungle Ruins or the Infested Barrens).
Once you have cleared the Mystic Refuge and unlocked its secrets to Ezomyte Runesmithing, Farrow uses that knowledge to improve the Runeforging mechanic. This time, you can now improve unique weapons, making them more effective in the late stages of the game.
For instance, you can vastly improve Hrimnor’s Hymn to deal incredible amounts of damage compared to its base counterpart.
It is worth noting that not all unique weapons can benefit from Runeforging. Only unique items of Kalguuran origin can be run through the Verisium Anvil. It’s still a long way from the release of Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients, however, which means that the developers may have a change of heart and allow all unique items in PoE 2 to be upgraded this way.
Buffed Up Remnants
Upon reaching Act 4, the Remnants can now be embedded onto any Expedition Encounters you will see on maps. This makes it incredibly fun yet challenging because every monster that spawns in the Expedition is granted the modifiers of each rune you’ve inscribed on the Remnant. Good luck!
A New Expedition
Kingsmarch has not been the same after being affected by the Cataclysm, but there are more pressing matters to attend to, at least for the time being. Gwennen, Rog’s wife, was lost during the event. Rog wants to spearhead an expedition to find her, with your help, of course.
Now, every time you use an Expedition Logbook, a new set of nodes will be unlocked at the southernmost portion of the Atlas.
Instead of just a single map, an Expedition Logbook will now uncover a whole bunch of interconnected maps. You will learn something about Gwennen’s whereabouts when you visit certain areas, which makes things more interesting in the endgame of Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients.
Each map also has either a regular Expedition encounter (the one that you normally see randomly in a map) or a Grand Expedition (where the entire map is devoted to the Expedition mechanic).
Once you find Gwennen on one of the islands, she explains that she’s not actually lost. In fact, Gwennen was hellbent on discovering the secrets of a vault that supposedly houses a dead Medved. Well, you will soon find out that he’s alive, so prepare for an awesome battle!
After defeating Medved, you will also unlock the full Expedition experience. In case you don’t know, GGG has made an overhaul to every endgame piece of content in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients.
Come Patch 0.5.0, each Expedition Logbook you use after slaying Medved will continually unlock more islands for you to explore. It is up to you how you chart your course toward the vast ocean, but the company promises amazing rewards for the brave adventurers!
As you make your way to the islands down south, you will encounter many vaults. One of those vaults houses a terrifying boss named Uhtred, the Stardrinker. Yes, it’s the same Uhtred that some PoE 2 items are named after!
After defeating Uhtred, he will summon a meteor that crashes on a nearby island. Head to that island to fight one of the new pinnacle bosses in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients! Its name is still shrouded in mystery, but it does resemble a huge spider.
Before you can fight the new boss, though, you’ll have to consult Dannig first. This is because the meteor is emanating a strange energy that prevents you from coming close.
Ultimately, you’ll have to scour the nearby islands in search of Olroth, leader of the Knights of the Sun. He possesses an ancient Kalguuran artifact known as the “Triskelion Flame,” which is needed to stop the energy emitted by the meteor’s core.
When you have the Triskelion Flame, go back to the island where the meteor crashed and use the artifact. A short cutscene will commence. After which, you will finally face the new pinnacle encounter in PoE 2 Runes of the Aldur League!
FAQ
Can I Skip the Mechanic During the Campaign?
No, you can’t. However, interacting with the league mechanic can actually be beneficial to you, especially because it helps unlock new currency items, as well as Runeforging to improve your gear.
Is the League Mechanic Account-Wide or Character-Specific?
This is still unclear at the time of writing this guide. If we are going to look at other systems already in place in PoE 2, you might only need to unlock the league mechanic on one character. After that, the recipes and the ability to use the Verisium Anvil for Runeforging may be available to your alts as well, ready for use.
Is Expedition the Only Thing That’s Improved in This League?
Nope. Patch 0.5.0 is literally the biggest update GGG will release before the official launch. That said, you can expect massive reworks to all endgame pieces of content, including Breach, Abyss, Delirium, Ritual, and the Vaal Temple.