Path of Exile 2 is adding a brand-new build planner feature later this month as part of the game’s huge Return of the Ancients update. As the last major update before 1.0 later this year, developer Grinding Gear Games’ upcoming update is the game’s biggest content drop so far.

While the update overhauls the ARPGs endgame significantly and adds two new ascendancies, one of the most exciting new features comes in the form of its build planner. This feature, while not incorporating any official GGG builds, will allow players to more easily follow online build guides.

In an interview with games press, game director Jonathan Rogers admitted that this new QOL update should make it easier to introduce new players to the game. Additionally, as existing players also love following build guides to craft meta builds, the team felt the need to simplify the experience.

“I mean, look, every time we do a release, we have to think about QOL [Quality of Life],” the game director told me. “You have to keep up with this stuff because the games industry moves forward, expectations increase. We just have to do more.”

Rogers explained that the team is far from done with bringing more quality of life improvements to the game in the lead up until 1.0’s launch, and will continue to add more after the game’s full release. With that said, the Build Planner has been specifically crafted to improve one of the biggest issues they feel plagues the game as players often get lost in the ARPG’s complex skill trees.

“The build planner thing really came down to the serious question [of] people realistically want to use build guides, they are hard to follow in our game, it’s something that I think can improve the game for people who want to do that,” he explained.

Rogers didn’t explain what iterations the team went through before settling on the build planner, but hinted that it went through quite a bit of discussion before its current implementation. The game director explained that they didn’t want the system to become “too overbearing” on players, giving them a guide without forcing them down specific routes.

“I think some of the features of it [the build planner] are pretty cool,” Rogers continued. “The way that community members can add their own little tutorial notes and stuff like that all over the UI. So, anywhere where there’s an item, where you’re selecting skills and stuff like that, or hovering over your inventory slots, they can add extra details there, even like add notes to a passive. They can make it so that you can add some extra instructions of how to use that passive with your build and that kind of stuff. It’s pretty cool.”

It’s clear that Rogers has put a lot of thought into the purpose and functions of the upcoming Build Planner for Path of Exile 2, and it’s also set to improve as the game continues. As an early access game, GGG is prepped to continue adding features to the build tool if players suggest new ideas, and it should become a great way of introducing new players to Path of Exile 2 as the game continues.

Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients releases on May 29, 2026.