Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict release time countdown (patch 0.3)

Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict's release time is only a few hours away now. Rolling out at 1 pm PDT, this will be the second-ever economy reset patch (0.3) for PoE2, with the cavalcade of changes to all Ascendancies, Skills, Supports, and notables expected of a League patch.

More importantly, though, the Third Edict will completely change the campaign structure with the introduction of Act 4 and a few interludes before Endgame. If you're wondering when you can experience all of these, GGG has already revealed what time the update will be available.

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When does patch 0.3 (The Third Edict) go live for PoE2?

Path of Exile 2 patch 0.3 (The Third Edict) will go live at 1 pm PDT (8 pm UTC) on August 29, 2025. This means the release date will be August 30 for most Asian regions. Here's what the release time looks like across various time zones:

• United States and South America: 1 pm PDT / 2 pm MDT / 3 pm CDT / 4 pm EDT / 5 pm BRT (August 29, 2025)
• Europe: 8 pm GMT / 8 pm UTC / 9 pm BST / 10 pm CEST / 11 pm EEST (August 29, 2025)
• Africa: 10 pm SAST
• Asia: 12 am GST (midnight, August 30) / 1:30 am IST (August 30) / 4 am PHT (August 30) / 4 am CST (Beijing Time - August 30) / 5 am JST/KST (August 30, 2025)
• Oceania: 6 am AEST / 8 am NZST (August 30, 2025)

Even though there are no new classes (sorry, Druid enthusiasts) or Ascendancies this time, patch 0.3 will be a much bigger download than Dawn of The Hunt (over 46 GB on PC). As always, the given time is when the patch will be available for download across all platforms. Here's a countdown:

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Auto-trade is here (Image via GGG)

Also note that patch 0.3 will introduce full async auto-trade to PoE2, and you need to convert your Premium stash tabs (non-Quad) to auto-trade tabs to use this functionality.

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Path of Exile 2 free weekend: How to download the game on consoles and PC

Starting with the release time of PoE2 The Third Edict, the game will have its first-ever free weekend. That is, Path of Exile 2 will be free for everyone to play till September 1 (1 pm PDT), starting from the launch time of patch 0.3, as shown here.

During this period, anyone can download the game from Steam, Epic Games Store, its standalone client on PC, or the platform-specific storefronts on consoles. Your progress in the PoE2 free weekend, starting from its release time, will be saved and bound to your account. You can choose to buy a support pack or wait till the full release of the game to pick up again from where you left off.

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Can you preload Path of Exile 2 with The Third Edict?

Since the update file size is quite big (30+ GB), many are wondering whether preloading is possible before PoE2 The Third Edict release time. The answer is yes, only for PC users, but this requires switching to the standalone game client. If you own Early Access, you can do this regardless of whether you play on Steam or Epic Games. Console players cannot preload the patch.

Update: Steam preload is now up, sized ~34 GB.

Here's the official preload of the standalone client, downloadable via torrent. However, note that it's 117 GB, i.e., the full game with the patch pre-applied. This will only activate once the designated release time of Path of Exile 2 is here.

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Till then, you can peruse the patch notes for The Third Edict, or check out more about the update:

• Path of Exile 2: 5 biggest changes in patch 0.3, The Third Edict
• Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict: 0.3 walks back all the Skill nerfs in 0.2, and then some
• Path of Exile 2's Support Gem rule change in 0.3 is a big buff to all builds
• Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict: Biggest expected features that didn't make the cut
• Path of Exile 2 Rise of the Abyssal League mechanics, explained