George In The Meta
Path of Exile Covens of Umbra: when can I play, and is it PoE 1 or 2?
By George In The Meta ·
Short answer: Covens of Umbra is Path of Exile 1, not Path of Exile 2, and you can play it free on PC and consoles on 13 November (PST). Grinding Gear Games reveals it first, at ExileCon on 6 November. I've got 401 hours in Path of Exile 1, but I won't have the time for this one, so I think I would wait. If you have the time, I'd say jump in.
Is Covens of Umbra Path of Exile 1 or Path of Exile 2?
Covens of Umbra is Path of Exile 1. Grinding Gear Games calls it "the next Path of Exile 1 expansion" in its announcement, and its earlier 3.30 timeline had already put that expansion on 13 November. Path of Exile 2 is a separate release: its 1.0 is due on 11 December.
When does Covens of Umbra come out?
| What | PST | UK | Thailand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reveal broadcast starts | 12:30pm, 6 Nov | 8:30pm, 6 Nov | 3:30am, 7 Nov |
| ExileCon keynote starts | 1pm, 6 Nov | 9pm, 6 Nov | 4am, 7 Nov |
| Curse of the Allflame league ends | 1pm, 9 Nov | 9pm, 9 Nov | 4am, 10 Nov |
| Covens of Umbra launches | 13 Nov, no hour announced | Not announced | Not announced |
The broadcast is on twitch.tv/pathofexile and youtube.com/@playpathofexile. Grinding Gear Games hasn't given a launch hour yet, and beyond the name and the line "She comes for your realm", it hasn't said what's in the expansion. That comes at the reveal.
Why did I stop playing Path of Exile 1?
Time. I think it was time that stopped me. My Steam account says I last played in April 2023. I didn't want to keep playing every single season to grind back up.
I enjoyed playing hardcore as well, so I had to keep restarting quite a lot every time I died, and I died a lot. When a league started, I would join at the start with everyone, suck at hardcore, die a bunch, make basically no progress, and give up.
Could Covens of Umbra bring me back?
It might bring me back in general. There's something about Path of Exile 1 that I liked more than Path of Exile 2, hence how come I've got 400 hours in Path of Exile 1 and a lot less time in Path of Exile 2, and I can never really put my finger on what that was.
Should you start on 13 November or wait for Path of Exile 2's full release?
I think it depends how much time you've got. I won't have the time, because I'm going to be playing WoW Forever and WARDOGS, and I'm already getting fairly time poor as someone that needs to play other games for a living anyway. So I think I would wait.
If you have the time, I'd say jump in. I don't see any point in ever waiting to start on a release, especially in something that has seasons and wipes anyway. You're playing for the enjoyment. It's the journey to the end, not just the end, that people play these games for.
