Grinding Gear Games has revealed Covens of Umbra, a new expansion for Path of Exile, at ExileCon 2026. The expansion features ancient witches wielding forbidden powers and reworks several endgame systems, including the tools players use to strengthen league mechanics.
Boss Fates, effigies, and Wickerman powers
Covens of Umbra includes mechanics involving powerful bosses. Players can manipulate their Fates and use the corpses of slain bosses to construct effigies.
The expansion's new systems include:
- Boss Fates: Players can influence the Fates of powerful bosses.
- Effigies: Boss corpses become material for constructing effigies.
- Wickerman: A new system lets players gain additional powers.
Path of Exile is a free-to-play dark fantasy action RPG built around customising an exile through a vast skill tree.
The new Wickerman power system
Threads of Creation replaces Scarabs
Threads of Creation will replace Scarabs, with the new system intended to give players greater control over empowering league mechanics. Players who currently plan around Scarabs have a replacement system to account for, not an additional option sitting alongside them.
The Atlas Passive Tree is also being redesigned, and existing league mechanics are being revamped. Those are core considerations for Path of Exile endgame guides, making established farming plans another part of the game to review as the expansion's changes take effect.
Changes to item drops and rewards complete the announced endgame rework. For players choosing which activities to run, Covens of Umbra changes both the tools used to strengthen that content and the rewards attached to it.
