Path of Exile’s 3.27 update shakes up the endgame in a big way with the introduction of Bloodline Ascendancies. Think of it as an extra layer of progression that sits alongside your usual Labyrinth Ascendancy, but instead of being tied to a specific class, these are open to everyone.

You can pick from unique power trees tied to ancient lineages, each offering new ways to fine-tune your build. For players who love chasing that perfect setup, it adds a whole new reason to keep grinding. You will spot these opportunities as you push deeper into high-tier maps, and before long, you will find yourself planning your next step as much around Bloodlines as your gear or PoE Currency.

Unlocking this system is all about exploring the Atlas. Every so often, you will come across a map that is “Blood-marked.” Inside, you will find a Blood Altar – and activating it is where the fun (and the danger) begins.

A Progenitor boss will appear, representing a specific Bloodline. These fights are no joke, but beating a Progenitor for the first time unlocks its Bloodline tree for your account in that league. From there, you will need a new drop called Ancestral Echoes to invest in the tree’s nodes. These come from Progenitors themselves and other tough enemies that spawn in Blood-marked maps, making it a proper endgame chase.

At launch, there are three main Bloodlines to choose from. First up, the Bloodline of the Vaal. This one is all about high risk, high reward. You will get boosts to skills that cost life, stronger curses, and big payoffs for using Vaal skills – but it comes at the cost of your own defences. If you are already running chaos damage or life-sacrificing builds, this path can push your damage through the roof. Next, the Bloodline of the Karui focuses on raw strength, fire damage, and warcries. It is perfect for melee builds that want to hit hard and stay standing, with bonuses to strike and slam skills, better warcry effects, and big defensive gains tied to Endurance Charges and regen. Finally, the Bloodline of the Eternal Empire offers a more controlled playstyle. It leans into lightning damage, minion buffs, and a mix of Armour and Energy Shield defences. You can expect better chaining effects, stronger golem and sentinel auras, and some clever Armour-ES synergies.

What makes this system so interesting is how it opens up build diversity in the late game. You are not locked into a class theme – a Witch could take Karui for melee fun, or a Marauder could go Eternal Empire for a minion-lightning hybrid. It is the sort of system that rewards experimentation and long-term goals.

And with the grind for Ancestral Echoes baked into high-tier mapping, it gives you a reason to keep pushing your character beyond just gear upgrades. If you are the kind of player who enjoys squeezing every last drop of potential out of a build, Bloodline Ascendancies might become your new obsession – right alongside farming that elusive Poe 1 Divine Orb.