Just a few days ago, I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Path of Exile 2’s Game Director, Jonathan Rogers, to discuss the upcoming *The Last of the Druids* expansion, the brand-new *Fate of the Vaal* league, and Path of Exile 2 in general. Much like my previous conversation with Path of Exile’s Game Director Mark Roberts about the *Secrets of the Atlas* expansion, we gained valuable insights into the ongoing development of Path of Exile 2 and got a small peek behind the curtain.
### The Last of the Druids Expansion
As the name suggests, *The Last of the Druids* expansion primarily focuses on the much-anticipated Druid class. This update is one of those Instances where the content was ready earlier but didn’t make the initial cut. With additional development time, the Druid is shaping up to be one of the most fleshed-out classes in Path of Exile 2. It comes complete with a new league mechanic designed to test its power scaling.
Jonathan Rogers shared insights into various Path of Exile 2 mechanics and the design decisions behind balancing them.
—
### Interview Highlights
**Q: Given that this is a Vaal League and Atziri is finally here, is Reflect coming to Path of Exile 2?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** We won’t have a Reflect mod on monsters and maps generally. Some Reflect mechanics might be present in the boss fight, but you’ll have to play it to see. Reflect won’t be a widespread mechanic on monsters.
**Q: Will there be multiple difficulty modes for the Atziri Pinnacle encounter?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** No, it’s effectively a single fight. We might consider alternate versions in the future, but the current form should be challenging enough.
**Q: Since this is the *Fate of the Vaal* league focused on the Vaal, are Vaal skills coming in this update? If not, can we expect them later?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** We decided not to include distinct Vaal skills this time. Fundamentally, there’s little difference between Vaal skills and regular skills aside from the charge-up mechanic. Instead, we have “Glory,” which functions similarly but with more dynamic conditions. We also introduced Vaal gem corruption, offering effects like extra quality and levels. While Vaal skills might be considered in the future, for now, we’re focusing on balance and additions without overcomplicating the patch.
**Q: There are 200+ passive points being added to the skill tree. Will life be part of those trees? If not, why exclude life from the passive skill tree, given its importance in PoE 1?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** In PoE 1, life became a mandatory stat, leading to a kind of “noob trap” where players felt compelled to allocate numerous points to it. For PoE 2, we wanted to avoid mandatory allocations and instead offer defensive nodes that provide variety and strategic choices. This approach avoids wasting passive points on obligatory life nodes and enhances gameplay diversity. While this decision has complex balance implications, we feel this system improves overall player experience.
**Q: With the Shaman’s introduction, three ascendancies share the elemental control archetype — Shaman, Invoker, and Stormweaver. Invoker has been dominant, and Shaman is expected to rise. Are there plans to enhance Stormweaver to keep it competitive?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** I’m not deeply involved with ascendancy class balance; Mark Roberts handles that. Many ascendancy classes received balance changes recently, but specifics on these three should be checked in the patch notes. We continuously adjust ascendancies as needed.
**Q: Regarding the Druid’s Oracle—are there mechanics that increase damage against the spectral versions of bosses or enemies to support elemental ailment-focused builds?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** There aren’t mechanics that increase damage per se, but the Oracle skill allows you to effectively double your damage by creating two copies of a boss, letting you maximize DPS on both within the available time window.
**Q: Are there external crafting mechanics in this league outside of the *Fate of the Vaal* system?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** All crafting mechanics added this time are tied to *Fate of the Vaal*. There are nine crafting mechanics overall, many of which we didn’t showcase fully, giving players extensive new options.
**Q: Any changes to Abyss crafting, especially since it’s more endgame-focused now?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** Some mod balance tweaks occurred, but the biggest change is the removal of waystone crafting due to player feedback. Overall, we’re happy with Abyss crafting aside from that.
**Q: Will Vaal Temple or the Atziri fight introduce a special ascendancy that can be accessed?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** No, there’s nothing like that planned for this league. The previous Abyssal Lich mechanic was a unique bonus in the last league.
**Q: The last two leagues favored casters greatly, with melee receiving some buffs. Brands have been absent—are brands planned, especially in relation to the Templar?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** I can’t discuss unreleased classes or content, but none of the current classes fit the “brand” identity. Brands will likely feature in a future, unannounced class.
**Q: Asynchronous trading has become integral to progression by around Act 4. Are there plans to introduce a truncated form of trading earlier in the game?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** We’d like to keep asynchronous trading tied to Act 4 because it significantly affects progression. Introducing it earlier could disrupt the initial league experience. Keeping it for subsequent playthroughs maintains balance and pacing.
**Q: Will the third Druid ascendancy have more transformation-related mechanics similar to Demon Form? Is the originally planned transformation system still being pursued?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** Not every class was planned to have transformations; a ranger transformation was dropped but might return later. Transformations are tied to specific skills and weapon types, not necessarily to ascendancies. I can’t share details about the third Druid ascendancy yet, but it remains a possibility.
**Q: The 50% destruction odds on double corruption crafting in *Fate of the Vaal*—will this failure rate remain, or are you open to reductions based on player feedback?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** We plan to maintain the 50% risk rate, consistent with PoE 1’s double corrupt mechanic. It’s intended as an ultimate endgame risk and reward system. Most players will likely use it on uniques, where multiple copies allow experimentation. Only those willing to risk valuable items should engage with it.
**Q: Can every unique in the game be made into a Foulborn/Vaalborn through double corruption?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** No, only Vaal uniques qualify. Initially, we wanted to extend this to all uniques, but the randomness of mod removal and addition could cause immense balance issues. Limiting it to Vaal uniques keeps the system controllable.
**Q: How many transformation-based uniques are coming for the Druid, and will each transformation have one?**
**Jonathan Rogers:** Only *Fury of the King* will ship in this release. We planned more but didn’t complete them for this patch. Transformation-based uniques are a significant design effort, so we expect only a few eventually.
—
### Release Date
Path of Exile 2: *The Last of the Druids* and *Fate of the Vaal* league are set to launch on **December 12, 2025, at 1 PM PDT** for PC and consoles.
For more details, be sure to check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and articles.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/mmo/we-d-prefer-add-life-need-to-jonathan-rogers-talks-path-exile-2-passive-tree-balance-vaal-gems-transformations