1. When Will Patch 0.5 Arrive?
Current prediction: Announcement likely the last week of April (Thursday, as usual), with patch release around May 8th.

Why? Previous patches followed a ~4–5 month cycle. Dawn of the Hunt ran April through late August (~5 months). 0.5 should follow suit.

Some sources (POE1DB) speculate a delay to early June, but May remains the most realistic bet.

2. Swords, Dualist, and New Weapons – Not Coming (Yet)
Jonathan Rogers stated: Releasing a new weapon is harder than releasing a new class.

In PoE1, every class is tied to a weapon (Monk → Quarterstaff, Sorceress → elemental staves, etc.).

New weapons (swords, flails, axes, daggers) would require their corresponding unreleased classes (Dualist, Templar, Marauder, Shadow) at the same time.

Prediction: No new weapons or classes in 0.5. Save Dualist for 1.0 launch to maximize hype for Path of exile currency.

3. What We WILL Get: New Ascendancies for Everyone
Adding ascendancies is “super easy” per Jonathan.

Each class currently has 1–3 ascendancies; the third slot will likely be filled in 0.5.

Predicted New Ascendancies:
Huntress: Companion-based ascendancy (bottom-right tree has underutilized companion nodes).

Druid: Minion summoner – shapeshift into a tree that controls treant minions (mirroring Infernalist’s demon form).

Ranger: Arcane Archer / elemental damage scaling (lots of elemental nodes nearby, currently missing).

Monk: Physical/combo-based ascendancy – unarmed (Hollow Palm), stun buildup, blind, or improved combo mechanics.

Warrior: Already has rage/tank; may get a bleed or warcry-focused option.

4. Endgame Problems – And How 0.5 Must Fix Them
Current Issues:
T1–T16 progression feels meaningless – most players skip to buying gear in trade league buy Path of exile currency.