Path of Exile 2’s first full league, Abyss, has arrived, and there are a lot of mechanics behind it. We’ll break these down to help get the most out of the league.
Table of contents
What is Abyss League?
The Abyss League can be broken down into two main features: Abyssal Fissures and Desecrated Crafting. Both go hand in hand, but have additional details worth explaining. There’s also a new Pinnacle Boss encounter as part of this League.
Released as part of Update 0.3.0, the Rise of the Abyssal League sees Wraeclast infested by Abyssal Demons. These demons have torn open fissures, filled with danger and plenty of loot, including new crafting options.
Fighting foes corrupted by the Abyssal Fissures will see their modifiers transferred to the Abyssal Demons that emerge when attempting to seal a fissure. In some cases, these modifiers may become more powerful and dangerous
These fissures can even lead to Abyssal Depths or the Dark Domains, both of which contain far more deadly foes. Of course, these come with additional loot, some of which is specific to these mini-dungeons.
To round everything off is the Well of Souls. While mainly used to reveal Descrated Modifier, a deadly foe can be found here. Should we accept his invitation? What could we have to gain from it?
Abyssal Fissures
Abyssal Fissures are the main way we’ll see and fight Abyssal Demons. These fissures appear in every area, creating pits, with larger clusters of them appearing in higher-level content.
Surrounding each pit is a group of enemies, comprised of Abyssal Demons and other enemies that have fallen under their dark influence. We can seal the pits created by the fissures for rewards by defeating all affected enemies in the area. Just be warned, as we attempt to seal a fissure, more Abyssal Demons will emerge to try and stop us.
This is particularly dangerous with certain enemies around, as the demons that emerge will inherit the modifiers of the previously slain enemies. Powerful foes can even result in these modifiers being upgraded to Abyssal Modifiers, displayed in a dark green tint under the monster’s name.
If Rogue Exile and Map Bosses weren’t already deadly enough, if they are slain near a fissure, they’ll trigger an entirely new encounter with their own improved rewards.
Rogue Exiles in particular will become Lichborn Exiles, getting upgraded with additional Abyssal Modifiers and have a chance to drop the Heart of the Well. This unique jewel rolls four Desecrated Modifiers at random. Like all Desecrated Modifiers, these can be revealed at the Well of Souls.
Map Bosses spawn a massive Larvae boss. It is not currently known if this encounter has an additional reward beyond providing more loot.
Abyssal Fissure Rewards
So why do we want to seal the Abyssal Fissures then? The obvious answer is loot of course.
Abyssal Troves offer a wide variety of rewards, as they act similarly to a Magic or Rare Chest, just with increased loot.
Abyssal Troves also come in three variations, which determine what they drop, and two sizes that determine the quantity of items they drop:
- Abyssal Armouries will always drop Armour pieces as well as Descrated Ribs to apply Desecrated Modifiers to our gear items.
- Abyssal Arsenals will always drop Weapons as well as Desecrated Jawbones to apply Desecrated Modifiers to Weapons.
- Abyssal Coffers only drop currency items.
- Large variants of the Abyssal Troves will drop a greater number of items.
Troves aren’t the only outcome of sealing pits either. There is a small chance for no reward, which only tends to happen for much larger clusters. More importantly, however, we can instead reveal a passage into the Abyssal Depths.
Abyssal Depths
Abyssal Depths are mini-dungeons filled with Abyssal creatures. At the deepest part of the dungeon is a special encounter consisting of one or more Abyssal Troves guarded by Rare Monsters with a Lichborn Abyssal Modifier. These Rare Monsters are almost guaranteed to drop some form of Abyssal Omen as well as plenty of other great items.
There are also alternative versions of the Abyssal Depths that go by different names, which serve a similar function.
These however, add an additional room with a unique boss encounter. Defeating these bosses grants a Kulemak’s Invitation, the item needed to access the new Pinnacle Boss, Vessel of Kulemak.
Desecrated Crafting
Remember the Desecrated Bones we mentioned as part of the Fissure Reward? Those are the basis of Desecrated Crafting. Combined with some of the special Omens dropped from Abyssal Depths, and the newly added currencies, this opens the door to some actual crafting. That is to say, crafting methods that are more deterministic compared to what we already have.
Desecrated Bones
Desecrated Bones serve as our introduction to the mechanics of Desecrated. These will start dropping from Abyssal Trove start as soon as Act 2, with the Well of Souls also becoming available just as early.
Each type of basic bone (Collarbone, Jawbone, and Rib) has three tiers that become available at different points and determine the level of modifiers applied as well as the maximum Item Level that they affect.
The Gnawed tier only works for items with an Item Level of 64 or less, limiting its effectiveness to the campaign. The Preserved tier will work on all items. The Ancient Tier works just like the Preserved tier, but guarantees the Desecrated Modifier has a required level of at least 40, cutting many of the lower-tier Modifiers and allowing for much better outcomes.
In addition to these three bones, there are two additional ones exclusive to the endgame, the Preserved Cranium and Preserved Vertebrae. Craniums only work on Jewels, while Vertebrae only work on Waystones for the endgame mapping system.
Well of Souls
With a Desecrated Modifier applied, it’s time to head to the Well of Souls. If we haven’t unlocked the Well of Souls already, head to the Mastodon Badlands in Act 2, and we’ll find the entrance there. We’ll need to traverse a short dungeon crawling with Abyssal Demons to get to the Well of Souls, but once we do, it’s permanently accessible from any Waypoint with the Well of Souls Quick Teleport.
From here, we’ll be able to toss our items into the Well of Souls to reveal their Desecrated Modifier. This will present us with a choice of three modifiers, ranging from effects we’d normally find on them to some more powerful and unique effects exclusive to this being applied in this way.
This process is straightforward to work with on its own, and we highly recommend using any Gnawed Bones found in the campaign to understand it. This helps to familiarize ourselves with the system, and in the process, potentially improve our items.
One important factor to understand is that Desecration can act like an Exalted Orb, adding a Modifier to a Rare item with space, as well as a Chaos Orb when its modifiers are full, replacing an existing mod on the item. This unique flexibility opens the doors to a lot of insane crafting potential.
Abyssal Omens List
While applying Descerated Modifiers with bone and revealing these Modifiers at the Well of Souls, we have many powerful Omens we can use to augment the process. Below are those Omens and their effects.
| Icon | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|
 | Omen of Abyssal Echoes | When Revealing a Desecrated Modifier, Modifier options can be re-rolled once. |
 | Omen of the Sovereign | Guarantees a Ulaman Modifier with the next Desecration. |
 | Omen of the Liege | Guarantees a Amanamu Modifier with the next Desecration. |
 | Omen of the Blackblooded | Guarantees a Kurgal Modifier with the next Desecration. |
 | Omen of Sinistral Necromancy | Next Desecration Modifier applied will always be a Prefix |
 | Omen of Dextral Necromancy | Next Desecration Modifier applied will always be a Suffix |
 | Omen of Putrefaction | Next Desecration will replace all modifiers on an item with desecrated Modifiers |
 | Omen of Light | Next Orb of Annulment will always remove a Desecrated Modifier. |
All of the Omens are powerful crafting tools on their own, helping to apply specific modifiers or carefully pick targets for Desecration. However, they can still be combined with the effects of other Omens and Currency to take them to greater heights.
Entering the Well of Souls
The last thing we have to talk about is entering the Well of Souls. Once we’ve defeated one of the bosses from a special version of the Abyssal Depths, we’ll be given a Kulemak’s Invitation. This allows us to jump into the Well of Souls.
Pinnacle Boss: Vessel of Kulemak
The main reason we’re here to take on the Vessel of Kulemak Pinnacle Boss, whose fight is a multi-phase fight, separated by a bit of crafting. We say crafting very loosely here, as we’re only picking groups of modifiers to apply to a special ring, the Grip of Kulemak, which we be able to interrupt the fight to claim at each phase.
We’ll not go into full detail on this encounter here, but as we defeat each phase, we’re offered the choice of applying a modifier by imbuing the Grip of Kulemak with the power of his Liches. After doing so with each of the Liches, we can then return the ring to the Vessel of Kulemak to fight the final phase, imbuing a final modifier on the ring.
This boss also offers a chance at the Darkness Enthroned Unique Belt and the Undying Hate Unique Timeless Jewel. These are both very rare, and depending on the rolls, can be exceptionally powerful when used well.
Alternate Ascendancy: Abyssal Lich
The Abyssal Lich is an alternative Ascendancy that a Lich can take after defeating the Vessel of Kulemak by embracing Kulemak’s power. This changes a number of the Lich’s Ascendancy points, offering additional options to play around.
| Previous | Changed | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Necromantic Conduit | Umbral Well | Skeletal Minion Reservations instead grant Umbral Souls, granting different buffs based on the Skeletal Minions that would have been summoned. |
| Blackened Heart | Unwilling Offering | Offerings can target enemies in Culling Strike range. Offerings crated by Culling Enemies have 1% increased effect per Power of the Culled Enemy All Offerings affect us, instead of our Minions. |
| Price of Power | Steward of Kulemak | Grants the Abyssal Apparition Skill. Abyssal Apparition will consume a Power Charge to repeat a Damaging Spell, if able. Does not work for Channeling Spells, Spells with Cooldowns, Triggered Spells, or those that already consume Power Charges. |
These changes make the Abyssal Lich more focused on a caster playstyle, more so than the base Lich. They’re also given a whole suite of new buffs to use between Umbral Well and Unwilling Offering that open them to a variety of new builds.
It’s very likely that if the content of Abyssal League goes core, or rather added to the core game, then this option will also stick around. It may be interesting to see if they want to expand upon these concepts and apply them to other Ascendancies as well.
