Path of Exile Returning Player Guide (3.30): Everything That Changed

Last verified October 20, 2026 — applies to Path of Exile 3.29 "Curse of the Allflame" (latest patch 3.29.3b) and the upcoming 3.30 expansion, which launches November 13 (PST). Every change below is dated to the league that introduced it and checked against GGG's official patch notes (plus poedb for 3.25 details).

If you last played Path of Exile before 3.25, the game you come back to in 3.30 trades, crafts and gears differently. Sockets are white by default, gold is a real currency, currency trades through an in-game Currency Exchange, and with a Merchant's Tab you can sell items while offline. The Scion now has three ascendancies. This Path of Exile returning player guide covers every change that trips up players coming back, grouped by system, and ends with a catch-up plan for November 13.

Quick answer: what changed in Path of Exile since you last played?

The five changes that matter most are: (1) gold and passive respecs paid in gold (added in 3.25, core since 3.26), (2) the in-game Currency Exchange through Faustus (same timing; available from your hideout since 3.27), (3) Asynchronous Trade with Merchant's Tabs (3.27), (4) the 3.29 socket overhaul — white sockets, any gem in any socket, and Chromatic Orbs that are now rare — and (5) a reworked Atlas endgame (3.28). On top of that, Mercenaries are now core content from Act 3, and the Scion gained two new ascendancies: Reliquarian (3.28) and Luminary (3.29). Some systems you might still expect are gone: Harbinger, Incubators and Atlas Memories. The core game hasn't changed. You still level through ten acts, pick an ascendancy in the Labyrinth, run maps on the Atlas, and trade in orbs, with the Divine Orb as the top trade currency.

When does 3.30 start — and should you come back now or wait?

GGG's official timeline is clear: "Our next expansion for Path of Exile 1 will be released on November 13 (PST)" (GGG, 3.30 Expansion Timeline). The current 3.29 Curse of the Allflame challenge league ends at 1PM PST on November 9, and GGG will reveal full 3.30 details at ExileCon on November 7–8 (New Zealand time). Patch notes typically follow before launch.

So you have about three weeks. Our advice is to come back now, in 3.29, and relearn the systems before the race starts. League start is the most competitive week of the cycle. Lose it to "where do I sell this?" or "why can't I colour my sockets?" and you'll spend days catching up. A few evenings in 3.29 teach you every system below at zero stakes. When the league ends, your 3.29 characters move to Standard rather than being deleted. Our guide to what happens when a PoE league ends covers the details.

A common worry among returning players is that they'll never catch up with people who play eight hours a day. You don't have to. Path of Exile rewards knowing the systems far more than raw hours, and every system below can be learned in a single evening.

What happened to sockets and Chromatic Orbs? (3.29)

This is the biggest shock for anyone who left before July 2026. The 3.29 patch notes rewrote socket colours completely:

• "Item Sockets are now always White by default." (3.29.0 patch notes)
• "Gems can now be Socketed into any Equipment Socket, even if the Gem Colour does not match the Socket Colour." (3.29.0 patch notes)
• A matching coloured socket is now a bonus, giving the gem +10% Quality, not a requirement.
• "Chromatic Orbs are now rarer, and are no longer sold by vendors in towns in exchange for Jeweller's Orbs." (3.29.0 patch notes) Chromatic Orbs now "force one of the Sockets on the item to be Non-White".
• The crafting bench's old pick-your-colour recipes are gone. They were replaced by crafts that guarantee at least 2, 3 or 4 non-white sockets for 5, 20 or 75 Chromatic Orbs.

What it means in practice: you no longer spend half the campaign hunting a blue-blue-red chest piece. Any linked item works for your skill, which makes leveling far smoother. Two old habits now hurt you, though. Don't treat Chromatic Orbs as junk, because they're a valued currency now. And don't vendor linked R-G-B items without thinking: that recipe still pays one Chromatic Orb, and the orb is worth far more than it was. We broke down the economics in our socket colours and Chromatic Orb guide.

How does trading work in Path of Exile now?

Trading is where returning players fall furthest behind, because two separate systems were added.

1. The Currency Exchange (Faustus — added in 3.25, core since 3.26). Faustus lets you "asynchronously buy and sell currency and most other stackable items with other players" (poedb, Settlers of Kalguur). Since 3.26 you first meet him in Lioneye's Watch in Act 6. Since 3.27, "Faustus is now in your Hideout once you have met him in either Kingsmarch or Lioneye's Watch (Act 6)" (3.27.0 patch notes). You place an order ("I want X, I have Y"), set a ratio, and it fills when another player matches it. You don't need to whisper anyone or wait in a hideout for a trade. Each order costs a gold fee.

2. Asynchronous Trade with Merchant's Tabs (3.27 Keepers of the Flame). This is the bigger change. In GGG's words: "You can place items for sale in these tabs, for direct and instant purchase by other players even when you're not online." (3.27.0 patch notes). You list gear in a Merchant's Tab, and other players buy it instantly through the in-game Trade Market, with a gold fee on purchases. Merchant's Tabs are a premium stash tab: you buy one, or convert eligible Premium tabs you bought earlier. Merchant's Tabs bought in Path of Exile 2 also carry over. Without one, you can still use the trade website and the Currency Exchange. But for many items you no longer have to stay online answering whispers.

The practical upshot: liquidity is much higher than it used to be. Low-value currency moves through the Exchange, so the old ritual of spamming 30 whispers for a stack of Fusings is gone.

What is gold for, and how do respecs work now?

Gold came in with the 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur challenge league (July 2024) and went core in 3.26, though GGG noted "there will be no more town-building" (3.26.0 patch notes). Kingsmarch, the settlement from that league, still exists in 3.29. Gold drops everywhere and pays for:

• Passive skill tree respecs. GGG's notes say gold drops from monsters and pays for "workers' wages, as well as Passive Skill Tree Respecialisation" (3.26.0 patch notes), so you can now refund passive points with gold instead of only Orbs of Regret. Orbs of Regret still exist and still trade, so you have both options. This makes experimenting with your tree far cheaper than it used to be.
• Currency Exchange and Trade Market fees. Every trade costs a little gold, so keep a buffer.
• Kingsmarch activities, which are a farming strategy of their own. Our Kingsmarch gold farming guide walks through it.

Gold doesn't trade between players as currency the way orbs do. Divine and Chaos Orbs are still the money.

What changed in the endgame and the Atlas?

The endgame is still maps on the Atlas of Worlds, but it has been reworked in stages:

• Divine Orb is king (since 3.19). GGG moved the high-end crafts from Exalted to Divine Orbs: "cost of 2 Divine Orbs (previously 2 Exalted Orbs)" (3.19.0 patch notes). Since then the community has priced the economy in Divines, and Exalts became a mid-tier crafting orb.
• Scarabs lost their tiers (3.24 Necropolis). "All Scarabs are now world drops, and no longer have tiers" (3.24.0 patch notes). Rusted, Polished, Gilded and Winged are gone. Instead each scarab type has several named versions with distinct effects. The same patch removed Sextants and the Master Mission selector.
• Atlas Memories were removed (3.26 Secrets of the Atlas). They were replaced by red-tier Kirac Missions, which were themselves removed in 3.28.
• The Atlas was reworked again in 3.28 (3.28.0 patch notes), and Voidstones still gate the top tiers. Our Atlas passive tree guide explains the current layout.

If your Atlas knowledge stops at "sextants, Winged scarabs and Maven witnessing," plan to relearn it. Most of what made money in old leagues has been re-priced.

What's new for classes, builds and leveling?

• Mercenaries are core content (3.29). They first appeared as the 3.26 challenge league, Mercenaries of Trarthus, and now show up "from Act 3 onwards" in every playthrough (3.29.0 patch notes). They challenge you to a duel, and you can hire them to fight beside you for a while. See our Mercenaries guide.
• The Scion has three ascendancies. Reliquarian arrived in 3.28 (3.28.0 patch notes). Luminary arrived in 3.29: "Added the new Luminary Ascendancy Class for the Scion, which allows you to permanently Hire Mercenaries." (3.29.0 patch notes) The whole ascendancy revolves around a permanent Mercenary. Details are in our Luminary guide.
• Exceptional Support Gems (3.28), described by GGG as "a new and improved version of Awakened Support Gems" (3.28.0 patch notes).
• Leveling quality-of-life (3.29): a Crafting Bench in every town from Act 2 onwards, and an optional keybind that returns you to your hideout.

What got removed while you were away?

Removed	When	What replaced it
Scarab tiers	3.24 Necropolis	Several named versions of each scarab type
Sextants, Master Mission selection	3.24 Necropolis	Reworked scarabs and Atlas tree
Atlas Memories	3.26 Secrets of the Atlas	Red-tier Kirac Missions (themselves removed in 3.28)
Harbinger	3.28 Mirage	—
Mirage system	Did not go core after 3.28	Exceptional Support Gems stayed
Incubators; Timeless, Abyssal and Primal Delirium Orbs	3.29 Curse of the Allflame	Legion, Abyss and Talisman reworks (e.g. Enshrouding Crystals)
Unrelenting Timeless Emblems	3.29	Existing ones converted to regular Timeless Emblems; Emblem mods reworked
Vendor-bought Chromatic Orbs	3.29	Chromatics are now a rare drop

GGG said of Mirage: "The Mirage system will not be going core in 3.29" (GGG announcement). If an old guide tells you to farm Harbinger or pop Incubators, that guide is out of date.

Path of Exile league timeline: 3.24 to 3.30

Version	League	Released	Headline change for returning players
3.24	Necropolis	Mar 2024	Scarab tiers and Sextants removed
3.25	Settlers of Kalguur	Jul 2024	Gold, Kingsmarch, Currency Exchange, gold respecs (league-only until 3.26)
3.26	Secrets of the Atlas	Jun 2025	Mercenaries league; Atlas Memories removed; Settlers core
3.27	Keepers of the Flame	Oct 2025	Asynchronous Trade (Merchant's Tabs); Faustus in hideout
3.28	Mirage	Mar 2026	Atlas rework; Reliquarian; Exceptional Support Gems
3.29	Curse of the Allflame	Jul 24, 2026	White sockets; Luminary; Mercenaries core
3.30	Revealed at ExileCon	Nov 13, 2026 (PST)	—

Does your old character still work?

Characters from past challenge leagues live in Standard, the permanent league. Log in and they'll be there. Whether the build still functions is another question. Several leagues of balance changes, the socket rework and the removal of Harbinger and Incubators can leave an old setup weaker or with odd gaps. Treat your Standard character as a museum piece, and make a new character for 3.30. Everyone starts from zero on November 13, which is exactly why league start is the best moment to come back.

Your 4-step catch-up plan for November 13

• This week: log into 3.29 and get a character to Act 6 to meet Faustus. A fresh character takes a few evenings; an old Standard character may already be past it. Then place one Currency Exchange order and, if you own a Merchant's Tab, list one item in it. That part takes ten minutes, and you'll know how to trade on day one.
• Before ExileCon (Nov 7–8): read the 3.30 league-start preparation checklist, set up a loot filter, and download the client early.
• After the reveal: pick a starter with our league starter checklist. Don't commit to a build before the 3.30 patch notes are out.
• League start: use the 3.30 league-start currency guide to fund your first upgrades, then move into whichever farming strategy fits your build.

Coming back short on time? If you'd rather skip the campaign grind or start mapping with a stash of currency already in hand, Timesaver can cover the catch-up for you.

• PoE Boosting & Carries — leveling, Labyrinth runs, boss kills
• PoE Currency — instant delivery — Divine and Chaos Orbs; verify the current rate on poe.ninja
• All Path of Exile services

FAQ

Is Path of Exile worth coming back to in 2026? Yes, if you liked it before. The quality-of-life gains since 3.25 are the biggest the game has had in years: in-game currency trading, offline sales from (premium) Merchant's Tabs, gold respecs and no more socket-colour gambling. Path of Exile is still free-to-play on PC and consoles, and 3.30 on November 13 is a clean fresh start.

Do I need to know the 3.29 league mechanic for 3.30? Not necessarily. Curse of the Allflame (Charts, Voyages, Ducats) is the 3.29 challenge league, and GGG reveals full 3.30 details at ExileCon on November 7–8. Learn the permanent systems first — trade, sockets, gold, the Atlas — because those carry over for certain.

Can I still use Orbs of Regret to respec? Yes. Orbs of Regret still exist and trade, but since gold went core in 3.26 you can also pay gold to refund passive skill points. Most returning players find gold the easier option, since it drops constantly.

Why can't I buy Chromatic Orbs from vendors anymore? Patch 3.29 removed the vendor trade and made Chromatics rarer. Sockets are white by default now and any gem fits any socket, so you rarely need them while leveling. A colour match only adds +10% gem quality.

Is Path of Exile 2 replacing Path of Exile? No. Path of Exile 2 is a separate game with its own leagues and economy. Path of Exile keeps getting its own expansions, and 3.30 is the next one, on November 13. Characters and currency don't transfer between the two games, though Merchant's Tabs bought in Path of Exile 2 do carry over.