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New and Changed Gems in Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas

Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas introduces several new Trarthan Gems available as a reward for a victorious duel with Mercenaries. In this expansion we’ve also made some changes to existing Skill and Support Gems. Today we’ve prepared the gem data at level 20 with 20% quality for all new and changed gems to help you theorycraft your builds for the upcoming launch. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!


[h3]Click here to check out new and changed gems! [/h3]

Path of Exile 3.26 pushes the free ARPG away from PoE 2, so both can coexist

Path of Exile 3.26, Secrets of the Atlas, launches this week alongside the new Mercenaries of Trarthus challenge league. It's a long-awaited moment for the hardcore champion of ARPGs; the free-to-play game hasn't had a new season since Settlers of Kalguur in July 2024, with PoE 2's early-access launch taking all of developer Grinding Gear Games' attention. As it makes its grand return, I sat down with game director Mark 'Neon' Roberts to talk about the new PoE league, returning to a four-month cycle, and whether the success of Path of Exile 2 has changed how GGG approaches its predecessor.


Read the rest of the story...


RELATED LINKS:

Path of Exile 3.26 brings a big endgame upgrade and mercenaries to the free ARPG

The Path of Exile 3.26 update introduces a highly requested but divisive feature

While we wait on Path of Exile 3.26, new custom leagues are here to fill the gap

Additional Secrets from Secrets of the Atlas

With Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas launching soon, there will be a multitude of new Trarthan Skills and Infamous item modifiers to customise your characters with. Check out some examples of the new things you can find below!

We highlighted Siege Ballista of Trarthus during the Secrets of the Atlas Content Reveal and two more Trarthan gems can be found on the Secrets of the Atlas Announcement Page, but we know that those of you wanting to try out new skills will be keen to see some more!

Wave of Conviction of Trarthus
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Heavy Strike of Trarthus

New skills aren't the only thing you'll be able to get from the new Trarthan arrivals. Here are some more items with Infamous modifiers that you can obtain by defeating Mercenaries.

Infamous Modifiers

There's a whole lot more secrets to uncover yet! We look forward to them being found when Secrets of the Atlas launches at 1pm on June 13th (PDT). See you there!

Secrets of the Atlas Frequently Asked Questions

In our recent GGG Live stream, Mark and Jonathan sat down for a Q&A with ZiggyD. In today's news post, we've provided answers to some of the most frequently asked questions that didn't make it into the livestream. Check them out!

[h3]How does equipping Mercenaries with items work? Can any Mercenary be equipped with any item?[/h3]
Each Mercenary is associated with Attributes.
Mercenaries will generate with gear that matches the Attributes they are associated with, and will only be able to be equipped with new Armour gear that matches their Attributes in the following way:

For Mercenaries with a single Attribute, any Armour gear that requires that Attribute is valid.
For Mercenaries with multiple Attributes, any Armour gear that requires an Attribute not associated with that Mercenary is invalid.

As an example:
A Strength Mercenary will be equippable with gear requiring just Strength, Strength + Dexterity or Strength + Intelligence.
A Dexterity/Intelligence Mercenary will be equippable with gear requiring just Dexterity, just Intelligence or Dexterity + Intelligence.

Mercenaries do not need to meet attribute requirements outside of the above rule. Mercenaries need to be within 70% of level requirements of an item to equip it.

Mercenaries also have preferred weapon types, and will not equip weapons that do not match their preferred types. Generally, they are going to prefer weapons that they can actually use their skills with.

[h3]Will Map modifiers affect rewards from Mercenaries?[/h3]
Increased Quantity on a Map Area from Map Modifiers will increase the chances that you find an Infamous Mercenary in that area.

[h3]Are Link skills able to target allied Mercenaries?[/h3]
Yes, you can link to an allied Mercenary. Just make sure they don’t die on you.

[h3]Can Gold appear as a reward in a Mercenary's pouch?[/h3]
No.

[h3]Can Mercenaries be renamed?[/h3]
No.

[h3]Can Mercenaries use items with influenced trigger skills (like Shaper weapons with Cast on Crit)?[/h3]
Short answer - No.

Longer answer - Mercenary Skills are not socketed into gear in the way that player skills are. They are inherent to the Mercenary rather than being the result of a socketed gem, so in the case of something like a Cast on Crit weapon, it would be hard to determine what skill should even be triggered - or indeed, do the triggering.

[h3]Will Mercenaries be tradable with other players?[/h3]
Mercenaries are not tradeable.

[h3]Are Mercenaries account bound or character bound?[/h3]
Account bound.

[h3]Do Mercenaries get passive skills from gear, such as the anointed notables on amulets or keystones from Uniques?[/h3]
Anointed passive skills will work. Keystones from Uniques also will work.

[h3]Will the Trarthan gems also appear in the Divine Font at the end of the Labyrinth, or are they only available from Mercenaries?[/h3]
Trarthan Gems are only available from Mercenaries (starting in level 68+ areas), and each individual Gem is only available from a specific variety of Mercenary.

[h3]Will Animate Guardian get an equipment interface similar to Mercenaries? How will that work?[/h3]
No. However, it's worth mentioning that Animate Guardian has been changed in the following way:
  • Animated Guardians now retain their items when they die. However, if your Animated Guardian dies you cannot summon an Animated Guardian again in that area (unless that area is a hideout).


[h3]Are the new Pinnacle bosses able to be witnessed by the Maven?[/h3]
No (maybe in the future though).

[h3]Are there Uber versions of the new Pinnacle Bosses?[/h3]
No (maybe in the future though). Although note the quest version of the boss is easier than the repeatable endgame version.

[h3]Are there going to be the "tier 4" Syndicate leader rewards after killing Catarina? The treasure room after the Catarina fight, is that still there or is it randomized/gone?[/h3]
They're gone.

[h3]Does interacting with Syndicate members pause the game too?[/h3]
Yes.

[h3]Are we still going to have to hire workers in Kingsmarch?[/h3]
Yes, the town is pre-built and completed but workers will still need to be hired and paid for.

[h3]Does a Runebind count as a "different" mastery for the purpose of skills like Trickster's Polymath, or do they count as the same mastery, for the purpose of things like the life mastery that grants 10% more life if you have 6 life masteries?[/h3]
Yes, although all Runegrafts count as the same type of Mastery. They do not count as Life masteries.

Secrets of the Atlas Boss Kill Event

To celebrate the launch of Secrets of the Atlas, we’re hosting a Boss Kill Event where Path of Exile players can compete to kill the new Pinnacle Bosses in the Mercenaries HC SSF League. We have put together a prize pool that gives the winners the opportunity to collaborate with our design team to create new Unique Items and Divination cards that will be added to Path of Exile.

Prizes will be awarded to the first ten players who kill all three of the new pinnacle bosses, called "The Incarnations" in their non-quest variations (Area level 84).

Prizes for Top Placings - PC:
  • 1st: Design a Unique for new Pinnacle Boss: Incarnation of Dread or the future-released Uber variant of this Boss Fight & Collaborate on the design of a Divination Card + Godslayer's Pride Microtransaction.

    The first place winner will also get some additional design space with their item if they want to do something a little different. For example, if you would like to design a Unique Map or if you would like to design a Unique Item that requires a unique-piece from each of the three Bosses, then needs to be combined to create something more epic, this is something we will allow, so feel free to stray from the norm! This is something our team will help provide more details on during collaboration.
  • 2nd: Design a Unique for new Pinnacle Boss: Incarnation of Neglect or the future-released Uber variant of this Boss Fight & Collaborate on the design of a Divination Card + Godslayer's Pride Microtransaction.
  • 3rd: Design a Unique for new Pinnacle Boss: Incarnation of Fear or the future-released Uber variant of this Boss Fight & Collaborate on the design of a Divination Card + Godslayer's Pride Microtransaction.
  • 4th-10th place: Collaborate on the design of a Divination Card + Godslayer's Pride Microtransaction.


To celebrate Zana's return, there will also be a set of prizes for defeating bosses that were historically significant to her. Bonus prizes will be awarded to the first players to defeat Uber Sirus, Uber Elder, Uber Shaper or Uber Cortex. To celebrate Betrayal's rework, there is also a bonus prize for defeating Catarina.

Bonus Prizes - PC:
  • First Catarina Kill: Collaborate on the design of a Unique Item that will drop from Catarina, you can even input on the custom Veiled Modifiers that will be able to be unveiled on this Unique.
  • First Uber Elder Kill: Collaborate on the design of a Unique Item that will drop from the Elder or Uber Elder.
  • First Uber Shaper Kill: Collaborate on the design of a Unique Item that will drop from the Shaper or Uber Shaper.
  • First Uber Sirus Kill: Collaborate on the design of a Unique Item that will drop from Sirus or Uber Sirus, The Awakener.
  • First Uber Cortex Kill: Collaborate on the design of a Unique Item that will drop from Cortex or Uber Cortex.


Console players can also participate in this event with separate prize pools from PC. The Console Boss Kill Event will take place in the SSF Mercenaries League.

Prizes for Top Placings - (both Xbox and Playstation have separate prize pools):
  • 1st-3rd place: Collaborate on the design of a Divination Card + Godslayer's Pride Microtransaction.
  • 4th-10th place: A Godslayer's Pride Microtransaction.


Additional Rules:
  • A player can win both a Placing prize and one or more Bonus Prizes.
  • If there are operational problems with the event (like significant realm stability issues at launch), Grinding Gear Games may restart the event at any point. The way we will do this is to create a new event league and indicate that players who wish to compete in the new event must make new characters there.
  • Players who migrate from a private league to Mercenaries HC SSF during the event are ineligible for prizes.
  • Placings and prize eligibility are entirely at the discretion of Grinding Gear Games.
  • The prizes that consist of collaborating on the design of a Divination Card or Unique Item do not guarantee that the item will turn out exactly how you want. The design team will try to accommodate your suggestions as best as they can, but the final design is at their discretion. Because these Unique Items are likely to become chase content, it's critical that they fit the overall design vision of Path of Exile. The balance and drop chances of these items after their release is entirely at the discretion of Grinding Gear Games.
  • While the event being SSF reduces a lot of scope for outside help, any form of account sharing (or other breaches of the Terms of Use) will disqualify a player from receiving prizes.
    Grinding Gear Games Employees (past or present) are not eligible for prizes.
  • Players who have played on the Alpha realm since June 6th, 2025 (when the expansion was first deployed) are not eligible for prizes.
  • Dying or migrating your character out of the league doesn't remove prize eligibility as long as the kill occurred while in the league.
  • Prizes cannot be transferred. Only the person who completed the achievements in the event can collaborate on the Unique Item and Divination Card designs. It's fine for these people to seek advice and help from other community members with their design.
  • Upon winning, if you take too long to engage in the collaborative design such that the content may have changed context or been removed from the game then you will lose your design opportunity or it will be moved to another Pinnacle Boss or equivalent at Grinding Gear Games' discretion. We will notify you in advance where possible of course!


As a helpful tip, the top of the Atlas Passive Skill Tree comes with three notable skills that allow you to influence which of the Incarnations will appear; these will be very useful to ensure you don't get too unlucky.

Good luck in the event!