Conquerors of Wraeclast League in Path of Exile 2, Explained

By Cassio Cabral · Updated November 9, 2026 · 3 min read

This summary uses the two ExileCon 2026 streams. Everything may change before the December 11 launch. Each point is labelled so you can tell what GGG said from what is still open.

The idea in one minute

• Confirmed The league is a strategy mechanic inspired by Heroes of Might and Magic and Total War. You recruit an army, build a castle and lay siege. Day 1, 2:35:26

If you only want to map and kill things, you will still be doing that. The league adds a layer on top. How much of that layer you engage with is up to you, but we cannot tell yet how much you can skip without falling behind.

Army and battles

• Confirmed You place your troops in rows, then fight at the front yourself. Day 1, 2:36:10
• Confirmed Every battle has a boss that drops a Treasury key. Day 1, 2:36:10
• Confirmed Troops cost gold and supplies. Day 1, 2:36:10
• Confirmed Battles can reach 1,000 troops per side. The fighting you cannot see is simulated. Day 1, 4:35:24
• Confirmed The campaign has 70+ new points of interest and 23 battles. Side quests unlock troop types such as Crowbell hedge knights and Freythorn cultists. Day 1, 2:40:18

Castles and the three factions

• Confirmed You choose one of three factions: an Ezomyte castle, a Maraketh redoubt or a Karui fortification. Each has 20+ buildings and upgrades. Day 1, 2:42:02
• Confirmed Everyone in a faction shares one team. Factions compete for more than 100 castles across the Atlas. Day 1, 2:48:46
• Confirmed The castle war opens to players who have completed the league's endgame storyline. Any castle your faction holds can also be a starting point for exploring the Atlas. GGG
• Confirmed The castle owner gets a large item rarity bonus, and the rest of the faction gets a smaller one. Day 1, 2:48:46
• Confirmed Castle hunting grounds have shared modifiers, and their maps reset when a castle changes hands. Day 1, 2:48:46
• Confirmed The more castles a faction holds, the harder the next one is to take, which pushes players toward smaller factions. Day 1, 2:48:46
• Confirmed GGG may post weekly battle reports for each faction. Day 2, 6:33:52

Solo Self-Found and private leagues

• Confirmed Solo Self-Found (SSF) factions only work inside the SSF league. Day 1, 4:39:57
• Confirmed In private leagues, one player could own every castle. GGG noticed this on stage and said it needs fixing. Day 1, 4:41:01

Commanders

• Confirmed You can give up to 3 commanders troops and waystones. They run maps in real time, complete towers or run tablets, and hand you the loot. Day 1, 2:46:40
• Confirmed GGG said it will watch for concerns about passive income from commanders. Day 1, 6:14:30

This is the part that most changes how a play session looks: some of your maps get run for you while you do something else. Whether that feels like a convenience or a chore will depend on how much you have to manage.

Reforging

• Confirmed Treasury materials such as Crimson Iron remove mods you choose and reforge them into random fractured mods. An item cannot be reforged a second time. Day 1, 2:39:43
• Confirmed Endgame blood vials target specific mod pools. Day 1, 2:46:20

The Severa pinnacle

• Confirmed Maraketh clans are trying to resurrect a vampire named Severa. You beat three clans, then her stronghold, which is a new pinnacle boss. Day 1, 2:45:55

What players are worried about

These are open questions and opinions, not rulings. Some players find the strategy layer out of place in an action RPG. Others worry that a bigger drop bonus for castle owners rewards players who are already strong. Both are opinions, not facts about the league.

• Unknown How much bigger the castle owner's rarity bonus is than the rest of the faction's. The streams only said the owner gets more. No numbers were given.
• Unknown Whether the league mechanic stays in the game after its four months. Some players say GGG will let the community decide, but we could not confirm that.

Patch notes arrive about a week before launch, and may answer both. For other open questions, see what ExileCon left unanswered.