Since the Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas reveal last week we’ve continued to make changes to the Mercenaries league. One such change is the introduction of the Renown system. We’ve made a quick video for you to checkout but if you’d prefer to read it at your own pace we’ve included that too!

As you defeat Mercenaries, you will gain Renown among the Trarthan arrivals to Wraeclast. Successfully defeating a Mercenary will push you up one rank of Renown, to a maximum of three, whereas either losing or backing out of a fight will cost you one rank.

Backing out means that you speak to a Mercenary, view their gear and skills, then walk away and never fight that Mercenary. Returning to them in the same area will allow you to fight them without penalty. Only leaving and never returning to fight them will cost you Renown as they will spread the word of your cowardice amongst the other Trarthans.

For each rank of Renown that you have, you have increased odds of encountering Infamous Mercenaries, who come from far and wide to test their mettle against you.

Infamous Mercenaries are tougher fights, but have better Rucksack loot, are equipped with more powerful rare items, always have at least one unique item equipped and are the only source of Infamous modifier items.

As we mentioned in our FAQ post[www.pathofexile.com], you will also encounter Infamous Mercenaries more often in maps with higher numbers of modifiers, to reward you for making the content more difficult.

To spot an Infamous Mercenary, keep an eye out for this fancier golden border, as well as the prefix "Infamous" before their archetype!

Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas will launch on PC and Console soon! In this news post, we’ve gathered all the information you need to know about what happens on launch day and how to start downloading early.

The PC realms will go down and patching begins at: 10am June 13th PDT

The servers go live for PC and Console at: 1pm June 13th PDT

The above times are displayed in your local time zone. You’ll need to be logged into your account to see these. To change your local time, go to “My Account”, “Manage Account” and “Edit Preferences”.

If the time zone is displaying incorrectly for you, please disregard the above timer and refer to the countdown on the front page. Three hours before the end of the countdown, the realm will go down and patching will begin shortly after. When the countdown ends, the servers will be live and you'll be able to join the Mercenaries League.

The patch size for the update will be around 9.6GB on the standalone client, Steam and Epic. The estimated size of the patch for Consoles is 10GB.

We’re aiming to have predownload available for our console players prior to the release, keep an eye out for this.

We’ve also made a torrent available for PC. Please keep in mind that this method, while available earlier, makes it a larger update as it includes all the existing client content. When patching begins for Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas you’ll also have a few remaining files that you’ll need to update as well.

[web.poecdn.com]This torrent only includes the GGPK file, so you’ll need to copy it into your actual install folder once the patching server is up, no earlier than three hours before Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas launches. Please note that you can’t use this GGPK file with the Steam client, Epic client and macOS.

In case you’ve missed it, since posting we have updated the Item Filter post[www.pathofexile.com], be sure to check out the changes before launch if you maintain your own Loot Filters!

This is also your last chance to get the Settlers of Kalguur Mystery Box[www.pathofexile.com]! It will leave the store when Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas launches! If you need some extra points, check out the new Cryptkeeper and Phrecian Magistrate Supporter Packs[www.pathofexile.com].

In case you still haven’t decided which build to play, check out the Class subsection on the forum[www.pathofexile.com] for suggestions from the community. Many of our community streamers are also providing build guides on YouTube!

We can’t wait to see your latest adventures through Wraeclast. We’ll see you at launch!