Kakao Games pulled back the curtain on the 'Mirage' league on the 27th. Arriving as an expansion update on March 7, it packs in the new league mechanics, a fresh ascendancy class, broad skill adjustments, and sweeping system changes.

The biggest shift is the total revamp of the endgame system. Gone are the days of needing specific map items to enter certain zones; now, you just need a map of a certain tier to unlock all maps within that same tier. They’ve also redesigned the Atlas, making it much easier to max out those elusive Atlas skill points without the headache of completing every single unique map.

They are also introducing 'Formed Areas'. You’ll use 'Observer' items to enter, where the difficulty ramps up as you progress. Clear specific conditions in these areas, and you’ll gain access to the 'Vault of Memories', where you can snatch one of four types of loot.

The 'Mirage' league itself tells the tale of battling 'Aparud', an entity absorbing the energy of captured 'Jin'. You’ll dive into illusory spaces to hunt down the tethers binding Jin’s soul and set them free.

Before you step into an illusion, you can pick one of three 'Wishes' to apply specific modifiers to the space. The rewards you reap from slaying monsters will vary based on how you tweak the area.

To spice things up, they are adding new items like 'Coins of Power' and 'Coins of Knowledge' to augment your skill gems. Throw in over 40 types of special support gems from boss encounters and new Divine skill gems, and you’ve got a significantly expanded combat loop.

A new league boss, 'Saresh', also joins the fray. As you navigate the story and confront Aparud, you’ll eventually lock horns with this necromancer. Take them down, and you might just walk away with some powerful exclusive gear.

Lastly, Scion gets a new ascendancy class: 'Reliquarian'. As a member of a secret society focused on collecting and studying unique items, all their passive skills are derived from those very artifacts. They’ve also polished the UI, adding favourites to the currency exchange and tidying up the asynchronous item trading interface.

The new Path of Exile league 'Mirage' launches on March 7.