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Grinding Gear Games has officially lifted the curtain on Path of Exile: Mirage, the next major expansion for Path of Exile, launching March 6. Revealed during a packed GGG Live broadcast, Mirage isn't just another league mechanic—it's a sweeping expansion that touches nearly every part of the game: campaign pacing, map juicing, skill gems, Ascendancies, and the Atlas itself.
From granting godlike power inside warped copies of maps to redefining how endgame progression works, Mirage looks set to radically change how Exiles play in 3.28.
Mirage League: Freeing Djinn and Rewriting Reality
At the heart of the expansion is the Mirage League mechanic, which pits players against the Afarud, a sect of desert necromancers siphoning the souls of Djinn across Wraeclast. With the help of Varashta, an ancient Maraketh sorceress, players will rescue imprisoned Djinn by entering Mirages—astral, imperfect copies of existing areas.
Before entering a Mirage, players choose one of three Wishes, each dramatically altering the experience:
Reward-Focused Wishes – Convert basic drops like scrolls into valuable currency
Enemy-Focused Wishes – Replace packs with elite foes that convert gear into gold
Power-Focused Wishes – Temporary godhood, soul consumption, or invulnerability
Each Wish is aligned with a Djinn element—Sand, Fire, or Water—and monsters can drop new Coin currencies that permanently alter max-level skill gems by corrupting them with built-in support effects.
Only one such imbued skill can be used per equipment slot, keeping the system powerful but controlled.
Mirrored Maps and Double-Dipping Juiced Content
The most game-changing part of Mirage is how it copies content.
Mirages inherit:
Map modifiers
Scarabs
Atlas passives
League mechanics
That means if you juice a map heavily, you effectively get to play part of it again, fully juiced, inside the Mirage.
But these recreations are warped versions:
Legion factions may change
Strongboxes may transform
Mechanics gain new dangers—and exclusive rewards
Examples include:
Mirage Ultimatums with new hazards and Sinistral/Dextral Catalysts
Blight lanes infested by Afarud, dropping the new Cord Belt, which can be anointed to grant a passive tree notable
Kalguuran Ore transforming into Thaumaturgic Hourglasses for massive dust gains
The result? Mirage turns smart map investment into exponential value.
New Uniques, Restoration, and an Endgame Boss
The Afarud have corrupted ancient Maraketh relics into twisted uniques. Slaying enemies in Mirages can drop a Coin of Restoration, allowing these corrupted items to be transformed into their original, empowered forms.
One standout example:
Fleshrender → Skysunder, a Maraketh blade that reflects ignites back onto enemies, proliferating fire damage across massive areas
Pushing Mirage content too far will eventually draw out Saresh, of the Weeping Black, the league's new endgame boss, complete with exclusive drops and mechanics.
Holy Skills, Reworks, and New Transfigured Gems
Patch 3.28 delivers a full holy-themed skill overhaul, especially for Templar-adjacent builds:
Holy Hammers – Cascading divine strikes that scale with enemy density
Holy Sweep – A modern rework of one of POE's oldest skills
Holy Strike – Summons floating holy weapons that copy your weapon stats
Shield of Light – Retaliatory cones of divine damage after blocks
Divine Blast – Delayed holy detonations fired from your shield
A new debuff, Hallowing Flame, enables powerful cooperative and support-oriented playstyles, rewarding coordination rather than solo scaling.
Meanwhile, new Transfigured Gems like Shockwave Totem of Authority and Orb of Storms of Squalls add fresh build paths to underused skills.
The Reliquarian: A New Scion Ascendancy
The Scion receives a brand-new Ascendancy: The Reliquarian.
Instead of traditional passives, the Reliquarian draws power directly from Unique Items, choosing:
One Unique Armour effect
One Unique Weapon effect
One Unique Jewellery effect
Options include:
Aura scaling via Victario's Influence
Massive attribute boosts from Astramentis
Projectile and minion synergies from uniques like Widowhail
Crucially, the available Unique powers will rotate between expansions, making the Reliquarian a living Ascendancy that evolves over time.
Atlas Rework: Maps Without Borders
Mirage also brings the most significant Atlas overhaul in years.
Key changes include:
Map items are no longer tied to specific layouts
Any map tier can be used on any Atlas location
Easy chaining of favorite maps or instant switching between strategies
The Atlas itself now starts from the center, with all endgame content physically visible as fog clears. Unique Maps are fully integrated, granting up to 10 Atlas skill points without requiring full completion.
Shaped Regions and Memory Vaults
A new system built around Arcane Astrolabes creates Shaped Regions—temporary Atlas zones infused with mechanics like Abyss or Blight.
As players clear maps in a Shaped Region:
Remaining maps grow stronger and more rewarding
Difficulty ramps naturally
Completion unlocks access to Memory Vaults, offering targeted rewards such as powerful uniques or currency
Players who prefer farming a single map can opt into a Keystone that preserves that playstyle.
Exceptional Supports Replace Awakened Gems
Awakened Support Gems are being phased out, replaced by Exceptional Supports—over 40 new transformative gems that meaningfully alter gameplay instead of offering small stat bumps.
Examples include:
Voidstorm Support – Celestial storms triggered by raining attacks
Frostmage Support – Mana-stacking cold damage scaling
Hextoad Support – Chaos-dealing cursed ground that spawns explosive toads
These gems drop from major bosses once the Originator Voidstone is unlocked, giving fresh reasons to revisit old encounters.
Massive Quality-of-Life Improvements
Mirage also delivers long-requested QoL updates:
Favorite trades on the Currency Exchange
Stash access while trading
Automatic divination card turn-ins
Clear Divine Orb mod previews
Improved Ritual and Shrine interaction
Over 20 new campaign landmark rooms
These changes aim to reduce friction and let players focus on what POE does best: killing monsters and chasing loot.
Final Thoughts
Path of Exile: Mirage isn't just another league—it's a structural evolution of the game. Between Mirrored maps, Wish-driven power spikes, a reimagined Atlas, and deeply customizable endgame supports, 3.28 looks poised to redefine how players approach both mapping and long-term progression.
For veterans, Mirage offers new depth and control. For returning players, it smooths long-standing frustrations. And for theorycrafters? It opens the door to some of the wildest build experimentation Path of Exile has ever seen.
March 6 can't come fast enough.
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