Rise of the Abyssal League Guide

Introduction

Path of Exile 2’s 0.3 patch features the game’s first full League: “Rise of the Abyssal”. In addition to Abysses found in each zone, this League adds Desecrated Modifier crafting, Uniques, Bosses, and new farming methods – rewarding players who explore the new content!

Unlock: Abyssal Lich

An extra, unexpected addition arrived with Patch 0.3, an alternative Ascendancy for the Lich! This Ascendancy alters three notable passives within the Ascendancy passive tree itself. For more information on the Abyssal Lich, please head over to our news post on the topic.

Abysses

In each zone, you’ll find an Abyss. These Abysses have at least one Pit with fissures leading outwards, and any monsters that naturally spawn within range of these fissures are influenced by the Abyss.

Killing these influenced monsters causes the fissures to close and Abyssal monsters to spawn. Once all the fissures leading out of a pit have been closed, the Pit opens, and Abyssals begin spilling out.

Once all of the Abyssals from a Pit are killed, the Pit will close, and you can collect your rewards!

Some Abysses have multiple Pits – not every Pit is guaranteed to have a reward in this case, but at least one Pit always will.

Abyssal Troves

The most common reward after clearing an Abyssal Pit is an Abyssal Trove – a chest that rises out of the Pit as it closes. These Troves drop a large number of generic items as well as Abyss-specific rewards – such as Abyssal Bones for the Well of Souls.

Influenced Monster Interactions

The monsters that spawn from the Abyss’s Pit are affected by the types of influenced monsters killed along the fissures. Different types of monsters and content affect Abysses in different ways:

• Magic Packs – A pack of Magic Abyssal monsters will spawn from the Pit, absorbing additional modifiers from the slain magic monsters.
• Rare Monsters – A Rare Abyssal monster will spawn from the Pit, absorbing additional modifiers from the slain rare monster.
• Rogue Exile – The Rogue Exile will respawn from the Pit as a Lich Born, with multiple Abyssal Modifiers.
• Boss Monster – Spawns a giant Larva creature from the Pit.
• Essence Monster – The Essence monster drops an additional “Essence of the Abyss”.
• Expedition – Expedition explosions near fissures also spawn additional Abyssal monsters.

Note that only monsters that naturally spawn (meaning as the zone is generated) within the range of a fissure are affected. Dragging additional monsters over to fissures to kill them has absolutely no effect.

Abyssal Modifiers

Modifiers absorbed by Abyssal creatures from slain influenced Magic/Rare monsters have a chance to be transformed into Abyssal Modifiers. Abyssal Modifiers are upgraded versions of regular modifiers – being far deadlier and more rewarding.

It’s possible to get multiple Abyssal Modifiers at once – so watch out for powerful monsters spawning from Pits!

Lich Born Modifiers

The Abyssal monsters that spawn in a zone will belong to one of four factions associated with the four Abyssal Liches. Depending on the faction occupying an area, each Abyssal Modifier has a further chance to be upgraded to a Lich Born Modifier belonging to that specific faction.

These modifiers are far deadlier than Abyssal modifiers, though further information about their effects is currently unknown.

Abyssal Depths

Upon completing an Abyss, sometimes – instead of spawning an Abyssal Trove – they will collapse into the entrance to the Abyssal Depths. This mini-zone is full of Abyssal monsters to kill – with each Rare guaranteed to have at least one Abyssal Modifier.

At the end of the zone is a Rare monster with a Lich Born modifier, serving as a sort of boss. Upon killing it, you gain access to several Abyssal Troves and a Large Abyssal Trove.

In addition to the lucrative rewards from rare monsters and multiple Abysses’ worth of loot, Abyssal Depths also have exclusive rewards – making them a valuable find!

Once you’ve opened the Largye Abyssal Trove, you can quickly leave by clicking a “Return to Surface” button.

Ancient Spires

Rarely, upon completing an Abyss in the Endgame, they will spawn an entrance to a different sort of mini-zone – an Ancient Spire. This zone contains an Abyssal Commander boss to kill – complete with their own unique rewards!

Desecration

Abyssal monsters will sometimes drop Abyssal Bones – a new type of currency item that drops from Abyssal content.

Each Bone can be used on a specific item type and adds an Unrevealed Desecrated Modifier to that item. If that item already has the maximum number of modifiers, then a modifier will be removed at random before adding a Desecrated Modifier.

Items with a Desecrated modifier on them cannot be Desecrated again.

Unrevealed Desecrated Modifiers can be revealed by putting them into the Well of Souls.

Well of Souls

The Well of Souls allows you to “reveal” Desecrated Modifiers – choosing from one of three modifiers to add to the item. Getting to choose the best modifier of a selection is a huge boost for crafting items – increasing your odds of creating something powerful!

Unlocking The Well

The Well of Souls can be unlocked in the “Lightless Passage” zone connected to “The Mastodon Badlands” in Act 2.

Upon reaching the end of the Lightless Passage, you’ll unlock the Well of Souls. You can quickly return to the Well from a waypoint by using the Well of Souls button on map screen.

Lich Modifiers

The pool of potential Desecrated modifiers includes the normal pool of modifiers, but at endgame, also includes a number of Lich modifiers that can only be obtained through the Well of Souls.

Each modifier is associated with a specific Lich, and can be targeted by Omens.

The complete list of possible Desecrated Modifiers is not known. See the “List of Desecrated Modifiers” section for the complete list of known modifiers.

Abyssal Omens

Abyssal Omens can be found in Abyssal content. These Omens enchance crafting via the Well of Souls by allowing you to target specific Lich modifiers, or improve your odds in other ways.

Waystone Modifiers

The “Preserved Vertebrae” Ancient Bone allows you to add Desecrated Modifiers to Waystones. Unlike other item types, it appears that all of the available options for waystones are exclusive modifiers.

The pool includes a number of incredibly powerful modifiers. See the “List of Desecrated Modifiers” section for the complete list of known modifiers.

Vessel of Kulemak

The Vessel of Kulemak is a new pinnacle boss fight accessible through Rise of the Abyssal content.

While the exact details of this boss fight are currently unknown, it appears to be accessed via a “Jump” option in the Well of Souls, after acquiring a “Kulemak’s Invitation” item that can drop off Abyssal Commanders. Unconfirmed datamining also suggests the possibility of a hidden unlockable Lich ascendancy for the Witch.

League Rewards

In addition to piles of loot and the new Well of Souls crafting, Rise of the Abyssal features a number of exclusive rewards.

Abyssal Eyes

Abyssal Eyes are a new type of socketable found exclusively in the Abyssal Depths. They have powerful new effects, but you can only have one of each eye socketed at a time.

Lineage Supports

There are a number of new lineage supports exclusively available as drops in the Abyssal Depths.

Undying Hate Timeless Jewel

The Undying Hate Timeless Jewel transforms a section of your passive tree into new, Abyssal-themed passives. This item has multiple variations, with differing radii.

Small passive nodes are transformed to give +5 “Tribute”, with notables and keystones granting effects that scale based off how much Tribute you have.

It’s currently not known where this item drops; however, developer comments suggest that it might drop from Lich Born Rogue Exiles.

Abyssal Unique Items

Darkness Enthroned

The effect that causes the sockets to behave as though they were in an item of a different slot has a number of different variants. It’s been implied by developers that Body Armour will be the rarest variant.

It’s currently unknown where this unique drops.

List of Desecrated Modifiers

Weapons

• Crossbow – “Attack skills have +1 to maximum number of Summoned Ballista”
• Staff – “+[67] to Spirit”
• Quarterstaff – “[26]% chance to build an additional Combo on Hit”

Armor

• Gloves – “Attacks gain [15]% of Damage as Extra Lightning Damage while Unarmed”

Waystones

• “Abysses lead to an Abyssal Depths”
• “Abysses lead to an Abyssal Boss”
• “Abysses have [7-9] additional Pits” / “Area is overrun by The Abyssal”
• “Natural Rare Monsters in Area Eat the Souls of slain monsters in their presence” / “Players steal the Eaten Souls of slain Rare Monsters in Area”
• “23% increased number of Rare Monsters” / “Natural Rare Monsters in Area are in a Union of Souls with the Map Boss”
• “Players and their Minions deal no damage for 3 out of every 10 seconds”
• “Area has patches of Mana Siphoning Ground”