Path of Exile Talisman Update brings new items, bosses, leagues and much more

I've professed my love for all things Path of Exile quite clearly when they first announced their Ascendancy expansion, and while this update isn't the much awaited expansion it does bring with it a whole boatload (which only works as an analogy if you think of big boats, so do that) of new stuff.

In the update released today you can expect to see a whole new type of item, the incredibly powerful talismans, as well as new skills, items, bosses and so much more. Most importantly, with the update came two new leagues with their own self-sustained economies so if you wanted to try POE while being on even footing with the veterans, now is the time.

The newly added talismans are not a standard piece of gear as you might expect. They are all really powerful in their own way but they cannot be re-enchanted or upgraded so its going to be a question of whether the negative aspects of certain talismans outweigh the positives. And naturally, as this is PoE after all, talismans aren't just found lying on the ground. 

In order to acquire your own talisman you will need to loot it off the smoldering corpse of whatever monstrosity previously held it, and whatever effects the talisman might give you are present on the monster itself so as you go up in levels I'd imagine these guys will become one hell of a fight. But the reward is well worth it as the talismans can amplify anything, from stats to even spells themselves.

If you find yourself with too many talismans on your hand and no idea what to do with them, you can sacrifice five talismans of the same tier in order to summon a monster that contains a single talisman from a tier above. A great trade, if you can survive the process.

However, if you sacrifice five tier three talismans you will summon one of the new bosses, The Wolven King, who according to GGG possess incredible loot but also presents a challenging fight for even the most hardened exiles.

The Wolven King - One of the new talisman bosses in Path of Exile

Hmm, I wonder why they call him The Wolven King

There are also a ton of balance changes, skills and items that came along with the update as well, so many that there is simply no way I can cower it all so I'll defer you to the PoE website where you'll find all of the details you might desire.

And as I mentioned above, this update is launching with two new temporary leagues with their own special take on the "standard" PoE gameplay. Flavor aside, the reason these leagues happen every few months is in order to reset the economy of the game to zero and allow everyone to have a fresh start and an opportunity to try out the new items and spells.

So if you're even remotely interested in PoE, and you should be because it is simply a great game run by an even better bunch of people, now would be the best time to try it.