Booting into 0.5.0 feels less like a small patch and more like a reset button with teeth, especially once Remnants start shaping fights, loot, and PoE2 Currency decisions before you've even settled on a build.

Runes, Remnants, and the new league rhythm

Runes of Aldur gives the league a simple hook, but it gets mean fast. You find a Remnant, slot Runeshapes, then deal with the waves you just paid for. Two slots can feel like a quick scrap. Seven or eight slots? That's a real commitment, and yeah, people will overcook it early. Verisium matters because it feeds Runeforging, while Farrow slowly opens the crafting layers through the campaign. It's not just "click thing, get loot." It's choosing how greedy you want to be.

1. Start small with low-slot Remnants until your damage, recovery, and flask rhythm feel stable.
2. Use extra Runeshapes when you can survive longer wave chains without panic-logging.
3. Watch Verisium closely, since Runic Ward crafting becomes a real gearing branch later.

Build pressure from new Ascendancies and skills

The new classes are the bit a lot of players will test first, and fair enough. Martial Artist gives Monk players illusions, body-rune flavour, bells, and unarmed paths that finally feel less like a side joke. Spirit Walker does a different thing, leaning into beast spirits and that Huntress fantasy of running with borrowed power. The Kalguuran Skills and Supports add even more noise, some great, some probably bait. I'd test one package at a time, not jam six new toys together and wonder why maps feel cursed.

• Martial Artist wants tight positioning, fast reads, and gear that supports repeated close-range pressure.
• Spirit Walker looks better when spirit choices match your clear speed, boss plan, and defence gaps.
• Kalguuran Supports should be treated as build tools first, not automatic upgrades for every gem link.

Reality check: The first weekend meta will be loud, messy, and wrong about half the expensive stuff.

The Atlas finally has a spine

The endgame change is probably the biggest deal once campaign dust settles. Origins of Divinity gives the Atlas a clearer route: towers, Fortress, Gates, keys, Precursor weapons, and the Arbiter of Divinity sitting up there as the big target. Atlas points now come from Fortress maps, which changes how progression feels. You're not just farming random dots forever. Masters of the Atlas also add proper pre-map choices, and being able to swap master setups before a run is one of those small comforts that'll save loads of wasted clicks.

• Push tower progress early, because the Fortress unlocks the real Atlas point flow.
• Use Atlas search and bigger content markers instead of wandering blindly through cluttered regions.
• Pick master bonuses around the map you're running, not around some perfect spreadsheet fantasy.

League mechanics worth respecting

Delirium, Breach, Ritual, Vaal content, and Expedition all got dragged into a more structured endgame, which is good, but also slightly dangerous for autopilot players. Delirium now points toward bosses and turns them fully delirious, so lazy boss builds get exposed. Breach has timers, Stabilised Breaches, and new reward pressure through the Genesis Tree. Ritual chains into the King in the Mists and longer map sequences. Expedition becoming tied into Aldur systems means old habits won't map cleanly. Read the room before investing hard.

• Don't chase Delirium depth if your single-target damage already feels shaky.
• Save valuable crafting attempts until market prices stop swinging like mad every hour.
• Keep older characters, but use the free passive refund instead of pretending nothing changed.

What I'd actually do first

I'd level clean, unlock Farrow's systems, test Remnants carefully, then push Atlas structure before gambling hard on crafting. Use trade search, loot filters, and build files, but don't let them play for you. If you buy cheap poe2 currency, spend it on stability first, then chase the shiny nonsense later.