Inven Global

Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has officially revealed the new 'Shadow' class for 'Path of Exile 2'. Utilizing daggers and traps, the Shadow approaches enemies using a new Stealth system, quickly chaining attacks together as long as it successfully lands kills.

During the ExileCon 2026 keynote in Auckland, New Zealand on the 7th, GGG demonstrated the Shadow's core skills and combat style. Alongside the Shadow, GGG introduced 'The Knight', a new Ascendancy for the Duelist originally revealed back at Gamescom in August. Neither the Shadow nor the Duelist is currently playable in Early Access; both will be added upon the game's official release on December 11.

The most defining system of the Shadow is 'Stealth'. While stealthed, monsters cannot detect the character until getting within a certain distance, and using an attack skill allows the character to swiftly close in on the target for a surprise attack. Stealth is not merely a movement tool for avoiding line of sight, but a core system that dictates the initiation of attacks and the flow of combat.

Dagger skills in particular trigger special additional effects when cast from Stealth. Most notably, 'Viper Strike' imbues daggers with poison when cast while stealthed, causing subsequent chain attacks to trigger toxic explosions. Even with the same skill, its effect changes depending on whether the character is stealthed.

Although Stealth has a cooldown, securing a kill instantly resets it. As a result, players can approach in Stealth, take down an enemy, and immediately move on to the next target. Having the firepower to defeat enemies in a single burst directly translates to faster-paced combat. Conversely, failing to finish off a target forces players to wait out the cooldown, making target selection and ambush timing crucial.

The trap system has also been designed differently from the previous game. Game Director Jonathan Rogers explained that traps in the original game were essentially no different from spells thrown directly at enemies' feet. For this sequel, the focus was shifted to ambush combat—setting up traps in advance and chaining multiple effects together. Traps thrown while in Stealth will not detonate until Stealth ends, and they activate in the order they were placed.

For example, after embedding metal shrapnel into enemies with 'Shrapnel Trap', using 'Freezing Trap' causes the shrapnel to emit shards of ice. 'Concussive Trap' normally stuns enemies, but when used on frozen targets, it shatters the ice to deal additional damage. Each trap serves as an independent means of attack while simultaneously functioning as a catalyst to amplify the effects of other traps.

Synergies utilizing poison and fire are also possible. For example, creating a toxic cloud with 'Poison Gas Trap' and detonating it with 'Fire Trap'. Adding the wind effect of Concussive Trap spreads the toxic gas across a wider area. Setting up Poison Gas, Concussive, and Fire Traps in sequence from Stealth and then detonating them creates a far larger area-of-effect explosion.

GGG revealed that there are eight trap types in total, designed so that each trap meaningfully interacts with at least three other trap types. Ultimately, placement order and combination are just as crucial as a trap's sheer power. The outcome of combat depends on which effect is triggered first and how that result is capitalized upon.

Beyond stealth and traps, the Shadow also features a playstyle centered on embedding blades into enemies and synergizing them with other skills. The live demo highlighted skills that leave blades and status effects on enemies, which can then be retrieved or used as resources for subsequent attacks. Even after an initial attack finishes, its lingering effects link seamlessly into follow-up skills.

'Ethereal Knives' can be cast without breaking Stealth, embedding blades directly into enemies' souls. Subsequent attacks against those enemies trigger additional Chaos damage from the embedded blades. 'Pestilent Volley' throws multiple poisoned blades while leaping backward, creating chaos gas clouds when hitting already-poisoned targets. 'Electrocution Trap' electrifies metal blades embedded in enemies, dealing bonus damage.

The skill that encapsulates this mechanic is 'Blade Vortex'. It pulls embedded blades out of enemies to spin around the character while preserving any active effects on those blades. Blades created by Ethereal Knives trigger Chaos explosions, electrified blades trigger lightning explosions, and poisoned blades deliver toxic attacks.

The duration mechanic for Blade Vortex has also changed compared to the original game. Previously, blades expired after a set duration, but in PoE 2, they dissipate after hitting enemies a fixed number of times. As a result, players can harvest blades left in corpses after combat to carry into the next fight, preparing offensive assets before approaching the next target in Stealth.

Another playstyle introduced utilizes 'Shades' and the 'Darkness' resource. A Shade is a shadowy decoy modeled after the character. Entering Stealth blinds nearby enemies and leaves a Shade behind, distracting monsters into attacking the decoy instead of the player character. Furthermore, when the character uses melee attacks while stealthed, the Shade mimics the skill to join in on the attack.

Darkness is a resource managed separately from Mana. Applying Darkness to an enemy with 'Blade of the Night' and killing them causes an explosion while granting Darkness. Accumulated Darkness is consumed when leaving Stealth to boost attack power. Director Rogers described Darkness as the inverse of rage, representing a calm and composed mental state.

Skills also exist to generate additional Shades using Darkness. 'Shadow Extraction' strikes an enemy afflicted with Darkness to summon a Shade that executes a surprise attack. Pairing this with 'Eclipse' allows the player to enter a Shadow Realm once enough Darkness is accumulated. In this state, every attack counts as a Stealth attack—triggering bonus Stealth attack effects on every hit—while Shades join in on the assault. This offers a powerful combat loop that continuously triggers effects normally restricted to specific conditions.

The Shadow will have two Ascendancies at launch: 'Assassin' and 'Infiltrator'. The Assassin returns from the original game, while the Infiltrator is a brand-new option introduced in PoE 2. GGG only revealed the names of the two Ascendancies during the presentation, promising to share detailed unique abilities and passive allocations at a later date.

Showcased alongside the Shadow was another class: the 'Duelist'. The Duelist is a sword-focused melee class first revealed at Gamescom back in August, where its fundamental combat mechanics and select skills were introduced. However, it is not included in the current Early Access build and will be playable starting with the official launch, just like the Shadow.

At this ExileCon, the Duelist's first Ascendancy, 'The Knight', was revealed. While the previously showcased Duelist focused on sword melee combat and bleed mechanics, The Knight expands the playstyle toward nurturing a companion and supporting combat with banners. In particular, the 'Squire'—a companion that players can directly equip with gear and configure skills for—serves as the core feature.

Unlike conventional minions, the Squire features an independent equipment and skill setup. Players can equip the Squire with their choice of weapons and socket skills directly into its skill gem slots. In the live demo, the Squire was equipped with a spear and set to use 'Bloodhunt'. This skill consumes blood pools left by enemies to trigger explosions, creating synergy with the Duelist's bleed-based abilities.

A subsequent demonstration showed the Squire equipped with 'Bloodhound's Mark'. This skill marks enemies to amplify bleed and stun-related effects, triggering toxic explosions upon enemy death. As a result, the Squire is not just a minion that attacks enemies, but an assistant that aids the player's strikes or sets up specific combos. The Squire's role adapts entirely to the gear and skills provided by the player.

The Knight also enhances the combat capabilities of itself and allies through 'War Banner'. By default, War Banners increase attack speed and damage for allies within their radius, with the buff extending to the Squire as well. Selecting the 'Bannerlord' Ascendancy node allows players to add special effects for banners representing various empires of Wraeclast. For instance, the Vaal Empire banner creates a patch of bloody ground, which when combined with 'Cyclone' creates a swirling vortex of blood.

Planting a War Banner requires the 'Glory' resource. The Knight accumulates 'Valour' by spending Glory; reaching a certain threshold triggers the 'Honor Bound' state, releasing waves of justice with every attack. 'Mounted Charge' is a skill where the player charges forward atop a chariot, knocking back and stunning enemies before planting a banner where the charge ends. The knockback effect even applies to large enemies such as Rare or Unique monsters.

Ultimately, both the Shadow and The Knight emphasize skill synergy in distinct ways. While the Shadow maintains combat flow using stealth, traps, embedded blades, and Darkness, The Knight shapes the battlefield and empowers its attacks using its Squire and War Banners. Both share the core philosophy that combining multiple skills and systems maximizes effectiveness rather than repeating a single ability.

'Path of Exile 2' officially launches on December 11 (PST). The Shadow, revealed for the first time at ExileCon, and the Duelist, revealed in August, will both be playable starting on that date. A total of 10 classes will be available at full launch, including these two, with the remaining two previously promised classes arriving in a future update.