May 29, 2026 is the date I'd circle if you've been waiting for Path of Exile 2 Return of the Ancients to shake up early access, because version 0.5 is not a tiny balance pass. It's the jump out of 0.4 The Last of the Druids into Runes of Aldur, with Farrow, Ezomyte Remnants, new runes, Runic Ward, and a build tracker baked into the UI. If you're already sorting stash tabs and checking PoE 2 Items for league prep, the short version is this: your old starter might work, but your old habits may get you killed.
What changes in Path of Exile 2 Return of the Ancients?
Runes of Aldur is the big hook. You find Ezomyte Remnants in campaign zones and maps, slot Socketable Runes into them, then fight juiced monster waves for seasonal drops. Sounds simple. It isn't. A Tempest Rune plus a Lightning Rune can spit out an Orb of Augmentation, but adding more runes makes the pack's health and damage spike hard. I've made this exact mistake in league mechanics before — “one more modifier, I'm fine” — and then spent the next minute watching my corpse decorate the floor.
Best PoE 2 0.5 league starter builds to watch
The early meta looks messy in a fun way. Druid probably stays nasty, with Shaman Bear slam setups, Lunar Assault Werewolf Oracle crit builds, and Skeletal Sniper Shaman for players who like minions doing the dirty work. Sorceress players are already eyeing Disciple of Varashta, especially the ds_lily-style Djinn and plant summon shell where you cast the big stuff while your garden commits crimes. For speed, Jungroan's Infinite Burn Oil Grenade Incinerator Mercenary tracks as a clear build, while Fubgun's Poisonburst Pathfinder sounds more like the bossing pick.
And then there are the new toys. Martial Artist and Spirit Walker are arriving in version 0.5, but we still don't have full passive trees, so no shot I'd call either one a safe day-one pick yet. Take that with a grain of salt if GGG drops numbers late. Infinite Frenzy Charge Glacial Lance Ritualist, Spiral Volley Deadeye, and Amazon Explosive Gas Grenade all have cleaner proof behind them right now, especially if you want to finish campaign without feeling like your build is held together with wet tape.
How do Ezomyte Runes and Runic Ward work?
Here's the thing though: Runes of Aldur isn't only a loot button. The 150-plus Socketable Runes can go into new Augment Sockets on gear, and those bonuses may decide whether a build feels cracked or clunky. By Act 4, Farrow joins Rog, Gwennen, Tujen, and Dannig for Ancient Graveyards, where you chain explosives into remnant packs and push toward Grand Expeditions and Logbooks tied to saving Gwennen in the southern islands. That tracks with Expedition-style risk, but with more build pressure baked in.
Runic Ward is the part I'd learn first. It's a second buffer for life, separate from Energy Shield and Armour, and it won't work without Verisium tempering if you plan to cast the new Kalguuran Runic Skills. Those skills have no attribute or color needs, which sounds like a free lunch, but your actual weapons and armor still ask for stats. I've bricked loadouts in PoE by moving five passive points and suddenly losing a chest piece, so yeah, check requirements before you get cute.
What's still unknown before the May 29 launch?
Some key data is still missing, and that matters for real planning. We don't have full rune drop weights, most exact modifier rolls, Martial Artist and Spirit Walker trees, or the named Pinnacle Boss mechanics from the southern islands. If you're prepping hard, use the in-game build tracker once it lands, keep your first Ezomyte Remnants modest, and don't dump every rare rune into a campaign fight just to prove a point. I'd also keep a fallback gear plan ready; if you buy game currency or items through U4GM, use it to patch weak slots, not to chase some fantasy PoB that may get nerfed before maps.
