Path of Exile Rapture Gauntlet Event Announcement

What Was the Rapture Gauntlet?

The Rapture Gauntlet was the 2026 edition of streamer Zizaran's recurring Class Gauntlet series, run in partnership with Grinding Gear Games and title sponsor Shopify Rebellion. It started at 3 PM PDT on April 8, 2026 and ran for seven days, wrapping with the official stats recap on April 16.

The format was Hardcore Solo Self-Found on a Mirage Event League, layered on top of the live patch 3.28 Mirage of the Lost. Racers signed up for a chosen class and stayed locked to it, with the field broken out into per-class podiums alongside the overall ladder. A live race tracker by Rasmuskl ran on poe.ninja for the duration.

Custom Modifiers by Area Level

Grinding Gear Games detailed the full modifier table in the event announcement thread. Buffs scaled with content tier:

Acts 1-5 (level 1-45): -20% damage taken, +20% damage, +10% all speeds, +2 projectiles, 20% elemental penetration.
Acts 6-10 (level 46-67): -30% damage taken, +30% damage, +30% speeds, +100% AoE, 30% physical-as-extra-chaos.
Yellow maps (68-72): -20% / +20% / +20% damage taken / damage / speeds.
Red maps (73-77): -25% / +25% / +25%.
Nightmare maps (78-83): -30% / +30% / +15%.
Uber bosses (85+): +150% unique-monster life, +100% damage, +40% speeds, +3 projectiles, +50% AoE, Trialmaster Apparitions, and crucially each Uber encounter consumes one extra portal on entry — capping serious attempts at three.

Two supports were disabled outright: Transfusion Support and Minion Pact Support. Racers preparing for the next Class Gauntlet often practice a PoE leveling rush on standard leagues to time their Acts 1-10 splits against these modifier tiers.

The Ruin Mechanic and Why It Killed Runs

The signature wrinkle was the Ruin debuff. Act bosses and a handful of endgame bosses applied stacks of Ruin via certain abilities, and seven stacks meant instant death. Ultimatum enemies replaced some monster packs in mapped areas, meaning even routine clears could turn into death traps if the racer hadn't scoured the league mechanics in advance. Uber Incarnations were also included in the modifier pool for the first time, raising the ceiling on what counted as a "finished" run.

Prize Pool and Sponsors

Title partner Shopify Rebellion matched community donations one-to-one up to $25,000 into the prize pool. Confirmed sponsors were Displate, Starforge Systems, OSRS Leagues VI / Jagex, and The Dark West. Cash splits were 12% of the pool to Rank 1, 4% to Rank 2, with additional placements paid out per class podium.

Every player who completed the campaign received the Last of the Druids Mystery Box — a Grinding Gear Games promotional MTX box that intentionally shares its name with the Path of Exile 2 league of the same title. Players who defeated Hillock in Act 1 also unlocked the Gauntlet Glove MTX effect, which tracks the highest level reached during the event.

Where to Catch Up Now

With the event closed, the post-mortem stats and qualifying ladder live in the GGG recap thread, and final-class standings stay archived on the poe.ninja tracker. For players who only watched and want to try the league at their own pace, the 3.28 Mirage of the Lost atlas itself is still live — see active Mirage league boosts if you missed the launch window and want a kickstart.