[Update]: In order to avoid Cyberpunk 2077, Path of Exile's next big update has been pushed back until January.

After the crafting and end-game focused Harvest league, the freshly launched Heist update has now once again pushed Path of Exile into a more combat-heavy direction. However, unlike some of the previous leagues that just involved smashing monsters over the head, the new Heist league is all about planning and then executing daring raids on vaults filled with treasure.

To start it all off, you'll first need to discover the location of a valuable artifact and the defenses that guard it. Once you have all of the boring details, you'll then need to assemble a team of skilled specialists and thieves in order to help you bypass the traps, avoid the patrols, and hopefully get away with all of the delicious loot before the alarms start blaring!

If you're curious how all of this looks like in actual gameplay, allow me to share with you the recent trailer. It should give you a pretty good idea of just what the whole heist system is all about and how it integrates into Path of Exile proper. Have a peek:

Besides vaults filled with riches, the Heist update has also added new spells, reworked and rebalance a bunch of old ones, and as is tradition, brought in a whole assortment of new items to collect as you run along. You can find the full list of changes, and there really is quite a few of them, over at the official forums.

Have fun!