Quick answer
Path of Exile 2 version 1.0 goes live on December 11, 2026 PST, leaving Early Access, going free-to-play, and launching a brand-new economy league alongside the new Duelist class and the final two campaign acts. For league-start prep this is what actually matters: the 1.0 economy starts completely fresh, so your current Forbidden Rites currency does not carry its value into 1.0 — but your account-bound purchases (stash tabs and cosmetics) do carry over. That split decides everything you should do in the ~8 weeks left.
The smart prep plan: spend down your current Divine/Exalted stack on things that survive the reset (account upgrades, a finished endgame, gear you will keep) instead of hoarding currency that resets to near-zero — and line up the currency you will actually want on Day 1 of 1.0 so you skip the brutal early-league grind. This guide covers what carries over vs resets, the setup worth buying now, the fastest currency farms while the current league is still live, and a clean Day-1 starter plan.
Prepping for a fast 1.0 start? Get your current-league stash topped up or your endgame cleared before Dec 11 — then start 1.0 ready to trade from minute one.
- PoE2 Currency — all orbs — divine · chaos · exalted · instant delivery, best live rate
- PoE2 Leveling & Boss Carries — finish endgame now, or get a fast leg-up on the 1.0 campaign
PoE2 - Divine & Exalted Orbs
Skip the grind — get Divine & Exalted Orbs
When does PoE2 1.0 start and what ends with it?
Grinding Gear Games confirmed the full-launch date at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, 2026, and in the official Forbidden Rites FAQ:
- 1.0 full release is December 11, 2026 PST. In GGG's words, "Path of Exile 2 launches as a fully free-to-play action RPG on December 11 (PST)!" It leaves Early Access, adds the final two campaign acts (a complete six-act campaign), and introduces the new sword-wielding Duelist class. There is no 0.6.0 — the game goes straight from the current patch to 1.0.
- Both live leagues end at 1.0. The current Forbidden Rites (0.5.5) event league and Runes of Aldur both close on launch day. The FAQ states Forbidden Rites "will run until the 1.0 full release and will end alongside Runes of Aldur."
- A fresh economy begins. 1.0 starts as a new character league with its own economy, which means every orb's trade value resets from scratch.
So the clock is real: you have roughly eight weeks of a live, liquid economy before it resets. Prep is about moving value out of resetting currency and into things that persist.
What carries over to 1.0 vs what resets?
This is the single most important distinction for prep, and most players get it half-wrong. Here is the confirmed breakdown:
| Thing | Carries to 1.0? | What it means for prep |
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Yes — not deleted | Moved to a non-league (Standard-type) pool; they are not your 1.0 league character |
| Currency value | No | A fresh economy resets orb prices; your Divine stack's purchasing power is a live-league asset |
| Stash tabs (paid) | Yes — account-bound | Bought once, usable forever, including on every 1.0 character |
| Cosmetics / MTX | Yes — account-bound | Permanent; safe to buy any time |
| Challenge rewards (0.5.0 / 0.5.5) | Yes | Stay on your account |
| Items in league stash | Move with the character to the non-league pool, not into fresh 1.0 | Not spendable in the new 1.0 economy |
The takeaway: account-bound purchases are the only things you can "buy now" that keep full value through the reset. Currency does not — which is why the prep move is to convert it before Dec 11, not after.
The setup worth buying or finishing NOW
Because the economy resets but your account does not, spend the next eight weeks turning resetting currency into permanent value:
- Stash tabs are the best permanent buy. Currency, Divine, Expedition, and a Premium tab or two make trading in a fresh league dramatically less painful — and they carry straight into 1.0. If you have been putting off the tab purchase, do it before 1.0 so you start the new economy organized instead of drowning in a shared stash. (See our breakdown of which tabs are worth it in the best PoE2 stash tabs guide.)
- Finish your endgame while the content is still live and farmed. Clearing pinnacle bosses and your Atlas is far easier now, with a mature economy and plenty of groups, than it will be in the first thin week of 1.0. If you want the challenge rewards or the clear on record, now is the window.
- Convert spare Divines into kept gear, not more orbs. Any Divine you are not going to spend before Dec 11 is value headed for zero. Roll the mirror-tier craft, buy the chase unique you wanted to try, or bankroll a carry — anything that gives you a result you keep, rather than a stack that resets.
What's the fastest currency to farm before league end?
If you want a bankroll to burn now (or just to enjoy a loaded end-of-league), these are the highest raw-currency farms in the current patch, straight from active endgame players:
- Grand Expedition is the top raw-currency farm. Juiced Expedition and Grand Expedition reliably drop bulk stacks of Exalted and Alchemy Orbs, even in SSF. It is harder content, so bring a build that can handle the density.
- Stabilized Breaches stack on top. Breaches with the "additional rares from stabilized breaches" layer regularly drop 5x/10x/20x Exalted stacks — pile them onto Expedition maps for compounding returns.
- Avoid two trap tablet mods. On your Expedition and map tablets, reroll out of "increased gold found" (it comes with 20–30% reduced everything else — a hard currency nerf) and "monsters encased in ice" (it can brick Expeditions and make them non-finishable).
- Save Alchemy Orbs for waystones, not gear. Alching rare jewelry/armour mostly rolls low-tier junk; your Alchs return far more applied to waystones to keep your map sustain and currency drops flowing.
Farming currency now only has value while the league is live and tradeable. Once 1.0 resets the economy, none of that stack spends — so farm it to use it, not to hoard it into the wipe.
PoE2 - Power Leveling
Skip the grind — get Power Leveling
Your Day-1 1.0 league-start currency plan
When 1.0 launches, everyone starts from zero in a brand-new economy — which is exactly why early currency is disproportionately powerful. A clean starter plan:
- Days 1–2 (campaign): you do not need orbs here; push the six-act campaign efficiently and bank your drops. Prices are chaos (literally) in the first 48 hours, so avoid panic-buying.
- Early maps: a modest Exalted Orb buffer smooths crafting your first mapping gear when drops are thin and the market is still forming. Exalts are the workhorse early-league currency.
- Gearing spike: once the economy settles (usually within the first week), Divine Orbs become the currency that actually moves your build forward — finishing crafts and buying upgrades. Topping up here is where early currency converts to real power and time saved.
- If you just want to skip the slog: a leveling boost or early boss carry gets you from fresh-start to farming faster than grinding the opening week solo.
Starting 1.0 and want to skip the thin early grind? Have your orbs ready the moment the economy opens.
- PoE2 Exalted Orbs — the early-league workhorse, fast & secure
- PoE2 Divine Orbs — for the gearing spike once the market forms
- PoE2 Leveling & Boss Carries — skip the opening-week slog, from pro players
How much has the economy already moved?
The end-of-league drift is visible in the exchange rate. As of October 16, 2026, roughly 1 Divine ≈ 807 Exalted Orbs in Forbidden Rites (per our live PoE2 currency price check), up from about 740:1 in early October. A rising Divine-to-Exalt ratio late in a league is normal: active players consolidate into Divines as the farming population thins and raw Exalt generation slows. It is also a reminder that these numbers are league-local — they reset entirely when 1.0 opens, so treat the current rate as a spend-it-now signal, not a long-term store of value.
FAQ
Will my characters and items be deleted when PoE2 1.0 launches? No. Your current characters are not deleted — at 1.0 they move to a non-league (Standard-type) pool along with their stash, rather than becoming your new 1.0 league character. What resets is the economy: 1.0 starts fresh, so the trade value of your currency does not carry over. GGG has confirmed the end of Forbidden Rites in the official FAQ but treat any "everything migrates" claim as unconfirmed until GGG details the exact transition.
Do stash tabs and cosmetics carry over to 1.0? Yes. Account-bound purchases — paid stash tabs, cosmetics, and other MTX — carry over to your 1.0 characters, and challenge rewards earned in 0.5.0/0.5.5 stay on your account. That makes stash tabs the safest thing to buy during prep: they keep full value through the reset, unlike currency.
Should I spend my Divines now or save them for 1.0? Spend them now. A fresh 1.0 economy resets every orb's value, so a Divine stack you hold into launch is worth effectively nothing in the new league. Convert spare Divines into things that persist — account upgrades, kept gear, a finished endgame, or a carry — rather than hoarding currency into the reset.
What's the fastest way to farm currency before the league ends? Grand Expedition is the top raw-currency farm right now, with stabilized Breaches dropping bulk Exalted stacks on top. Avoid the "increased gold found" and "monsters encased in ice" tablet mods, and save your Alchemy Orbs for waystones rather than gambling them on gear.
What currency should I buy first when 1.0 drops? Exalted Orbs for the early mapping phase (the workhorse when drops are thin and the market is forming), then Divine Orbs once the economy settles in the first week and real gear upgrades become buyable. Avoid panic-buying in the first 48 hours while prices are still unstable.
Is the Duelist class worth waiting for? The Duelist is the first sword-using class and launches with 1.0 on December 11 as part of the full release. If you want to start the 1.0 league on the new class, prep your account and currency now so you can commit to leveling it on Day 1 instead of farming setup.
