Summary
After being expected in 0.4 and slipping past it, swords are finally arriving in Path of Exile 2 ahead of the 1.0 launch. The reveal is not just a weapon drop: it ships with reworked parry, a Blood/Sand stance-switching system, new ground-effect interactions, and a stack of returning PoE1 skills rebuilt for the sequel. Endgame builds shown in the footage ran without ascendancies and without gem levels on their weapons, hinting at a serious melee balance pass. Here is everything players need to plan a day-one sword build, including how POE2 Currency may factor into early gearing.
Why Swords Are the Biggest 1.0 Melee News
For most of early access, melee has meant spears and, technically, maces. Swords were the missing weapon family, and their arrival finally opens the blade archetypes players expected from day one.
The visual reveal includes a massive, Guts-style greatsword alongside the skill kit, and the associated skill — World Cutter — looks like a dedicated channeling finisher. The implication is that 1.0 is not bolting swords onto the existing kit; it is building a parallel playstyle around them.
The New Melee Layer: Parry, Stances, and Ground Interactions
Three systems tie the sword kit together.
Parry existed before, but nowhere near the level it appears to operate at now. It is being elevated from niche tech to a core melee defensive option.
Stance switching is the headline: Blood stance leans into bleeds and raw damage, while Sand stance leans into area of effect. Skills are designed to synergize with one stance or the other, so your rotation changes depending on which you commit to.
Ground interactions are the wildcard. Cyclone, for example, can now pick up elemental ground effects and spread them, turning floor hazards into offensive tools.
The Sword Skills That Matter
Blade Plunge drives your blade into the ground and triggers buried blades, detonating explosions, lightning bolts, blood ground, and sand discs depending on setup. It runs at 150% of base attack speed — the spiritual successor to PoE1's Earth Shatter.
Earth Rend gouges a fissure that erupts a blade at the end; in ready stance it fires a line of blades and triggers buried blades. At 66% attack damage and 110% speed on a low-tier gem, it reads as the act-one Duellist starter.
Hemorrhage is the bleed payoff: hitting a bleeding enemy ruptures bleed equal to 250% of physical hit damage, with both weapons striking separately. It introduces a new "payoff" stat and clearly wants Rupture and Rip and Tear support gems.
Echoing Strikes consumes frenzy charges to make your next strike spawn afterimages in extra locations. The standout interaction is self-casting it through a high-block, casts-on-block setup — nearly infinite frenzy plus auto-triggered afterimages.
Blade Conduit channels lightning through your sword as a surging nova that leaves shock ground. This opens weapon-switch combos: apply shock ground with the sword, then pivot to a spear's Primal Strikes for burst.
Infernal Step is, functionally, fire Flicker Strike. Tied to the Aura's Sacrifice blade, it generates frenzy charges and pairs with bleed pops and Herald of Ash explosions.
Sand Scour feeds Sand stance: it blinds, stuns primed enemies, and spends a frenzy charge for an extra sand disc. The rough edge is the dual-wield clause — both weapons hit separately but at 30% less damage, likely a tuning placeholder.
World Cutter channels powder into your sword and releases a widening cleave across the screen. It has its own attack time but scales with global attack speed, suggesting new channeling support gems. This is the skill most players will build a whole character around.
