Explore What the Sanctum has to Offer
Before 2022 is officially over, Grinding Gear Games has one last thing planned for Path of Exile. Enter The Forbidden Sanctum, the latest expansion for the long-running dungeon crawler. The Forbidden Sanctum will introduce an improved endgame, new roguelike elements, a new PoE currency, and a fresh challenge that’s bound to test even the most seasoned players of Path of Exile. The expansion was revealed during a live stream by Grinding Gear Games, and with its release date looming, there’s a lot you’ll need to know before you dive straight into it.
Introducing the Sanctum Challenge League
The Forbidden Sanctum is an old Templar enclave discovered in the underbelly of the Fellshire Ruins. Abandoned for what seemed like millennia, it has resurfaced a harrowing evil that seeks to vanquish everything in Wraeclast. In this expansion, you can explore the abandoned stronghold filled with Exalted Orbs through the new Sanctum Challenge League. If you’re used to the standard gameplay loop of Path of Exile, buckle your seatbelts because the Sanctum is unlike anything you’ve experienced.
Expect the Sanctum to be filled with all sorts of dangers. Approach each step carefully by spotting the monsters in your path, previewing the next rooms, and planning accordingly. Death is inevitable; such is the case with roguelikes. As such, expect to make multiple attempts at the Sanctum as you try to escape. You can unlock new maps and areas by exploring Wraeclast and completing quests. These maps will lead you deeper into the Sanctum, and early on in your playthrough, you might feel overwhelmed by the dangers you encounter. But don’t worry, your character will grow in power as you traverse all four floors of the Sanctum.
Before 2022 is officially over, Grinding Gear Games has one last thing planned for Path of Exile. Enter The Forbidden Sanctum, the latest expansion for the long-running dungeon crawler.
If you’ve played other similar roguelikes like Slay the Spire (granted, this is a roguelike AND card game), their mechanics work in the same fashion as the Sanctum Challenge League. The game will present you with multiple interconnected paths as you go through each floor of the Sanctum. You can see the content that awaits you a few rooms ahead of your current position so that you can choose your preferred path. Will you risk your life for a tantalizing treasure? Or will you play it safe and choose the less dangerous option? The choice is yours.
Have the Resolve
Besides the Sanctum Challenge League, a gameplay mechanic is set to make its debut. Meet the Resolve meter; it’s what wills you to brave the Sanctum’s depths. Along with some damage to your health, each environmental effect or hit from an enemy will reduce your Resolve. It doesn’t help that your Resolve meter will continually deplete as you go deeper into the Sanctum, but now you have to avoid getting hit too. Once you no longer have any Resolve left, your run is over. Resolve cannot be mitigated by normal defenses such as block, armor, or evasion. Instead, the attacks are telegraphed, meaning your effective usage of movement skills will be essential to keeping your Resolve from hitting zero. We’ve discussed the importance of plotting your path when entering the Sanctum, and when talking about the Resolve meter, it’s one that we highly recommend you do. As you progress through a Sanctum run, you’ll be met with rooms that apply Afflictions, making your run even more difficult. Afflictions affect your recovery and Resolve meter, with some effects being deadlier than others. For example, for Minor Afflictions, the room rewards will become hidden from you. But if it’s a Major Affliction, the effect can be as hard-hitting as not being able to recover your Resolve for the entire run.
Boons: Affliction’s Opposite
We’ve talked about how Afflictions can be a nightmare, but now, let’s discuss something more positive. On the other side of the coin, it’s possible to find rooms that contain boons when exploring the Sanctum.
These boons can help recover your Resolve; sometimes, the game will give it for free, but other times it’ll come with a cost. Boons can aid your journey through the Sanctum, and like Afflictions, they also have Minor and Major variants. A Boon that slows monsters down is an example of a Minor Boon. Meanwhile, having the power to prevent your character from receiving any Minor Afflictions throughout the rest of your run is considered a Major Boon.
Aureus: The Latest Currency for The Forbidden Sanctum Expansion
As you traverse the rooms in the Sanctum, you’ll find some that contain chests filled with Aureus. Aureus is a Templar currency that will typically drop from the enemies that you slay. You can find these coins left behind at the end of each Sanctum run, and these can be exchanged for Boons by visiting a room with a merchant in it.
We’ve talked about how Afflictions can be a nightmare, but now, let’s discuss something more positive. On the other side of the coin, it’s possible to find rooms that contain boons when exploring the Sanctum.
Shake Things Up
The new Sanctum Challenge League and the latest PoE currency (Aureus) are set to shake things up in Path of Exile in the coming weeks. The Forbidden Sanctum is free for all players, and it will be released on December 9 on PC. It will be live on PlayStation and Xbox consoles a few days after (December 14).
