POE 1 - 3.27 Teasers Day 5 - GGG Confirms Async Trade?
PoE 3.27 Keepers of the Flame Day 5 teasers: async trading via Faustus, Refund All passive tree button, and atlas respec at 2,000 gold per point.
By:
John Langan
Key Takeaways
- Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame introduced asynchronous trading via Faustus, an NPC players recruit in Act 6 who lives in the seller's Hideout, letting sellers list items at a fixed price without interrupting active gameplay. Confirmed in Day 5 teasers and live since October 2025.
- A Refund All button for the character passive tree was added, spending gold to respec all allocated points at once; most cost-effective on leveling characters and fresh alts with excess gold.
- Atlas passive respec costs 2,000 gold per point, replacing Orbs of Unmaking for mid-league tree adjustments.
- Breach cluster nodes were removed from the atlas passive tree. Beyond cluster nodes were repositioned to the right side of the tree. Breach as a playable map mechanic was not removed.
- Context for readers in 2026: all Day 5 features shipped with the Keepers of the Flame launch on October 31, 2025. The current live patch is 3.28 Mirage.
Three changes defined Day 5: passive tree respec, gold-based atlas respec, and confirmation of async trading via the NPC Faustus. Here is what each means in practice.
Day 5 Teasers: What GGG Revealed Before the 3.27 Launch
With five days of daily reveals leading up to the full Path of Exile: Keepers of the Flame reveal stream on October 17, 2025, Day 5 confirmed three features that went on to shape the Keepers of the Flame economy: a Refund All passive tree button, gold-priced atlas respec, and (the headline) an asynchronous trading system backed by a new NPC named Faustus. All three were live at league launch on October 31, 2025.
- Refund All Button: A single control that respecs every allocated point on the character passive tree, spending gold proportional to points used. For characters still early in their passive tree with accumulated gold, this removes the need to trade for Orbs of Regret. At high passive-point counts the gold cost becomes prohibitive; most practical for build pivots on league-start characters and leveling alts.
- Atlas Passive Respec: Each atlas passive point costs 2,000 gold to respec individually. This replaced Orbs of Unmaking for incremental strategy adjustments mid-league. Players running a mechanic deep into the league and wanting to pivot can now do so without hoarding the orb specifically.
- Breach Atlas Tree Restructure: Breach cluster nodes were removed from the atlas passive tree. Beyond cluster nodes were repositioned to the right side of the tree in the same redesign. Breach as a league mechanic (spawning breaches in maps, running Hive Fortresses) was not removed from the game. The change was purely an atlas tree layout decision.
Of the three, the async trading system had the deepest impact on the Keepers of the Flame economy.
Asynchronous Trading via Faustus
The most far-reaching announcement on Day 5 was the asynchronous trading system. In standard Path of Exile, selling an item requires being online, accepting a trade request in real time, and manually completing the exchange. That interrupts lab runs, heist assignments, and boss attempts. Async trading removes that friction entirely.
Faustus, an NPC the seller recruits from Act 6 (Lioneye's Watch) who then lives in the seller's Hideout, powers the async system. Sellers list items with Faustus at a fixed gold price. Buyers travel to the seller's Hideout and complete the purchase through Faustus, even if the seller is offline at the time. The seller collects what Faustus has accumulated at any time. This system operates within the trade league and has no effect on Solo Self-Found.
✏️ Faustus listings work best for high-value gear where the per-item price is stable. For bulk currency (Chaos Orbs, Divines), live whisper trading remains faster and more flexible than listing through Faustus. Tier your listings by item type, not by convenience.
Economy Impact by Content Type
Async trading changed how four major content types priced their goods in Keepers of the Flame:
| Content | How Async Trade Changed It |
|---|---|
| Expedition / Rog | Rog received a separate 3.27 QoL buff: items can be sent to him for disenchanting from your Hideout or Town without running a live Expedition. The initial concern about Expedition margins being undercut by async trade was partially offset by this buff to Rog's accessibility. |
| Labyrinth | Enchanted items and Offerings of the Goddess can now be listed via Faustus without abandoning mid-lab runs. Sellers who previously skipped mid-run trades gain the most efficiency here. |
| Beast Crafting | Individual beasts can now be listed by name at a fixed price. Bulk-only beast sellers face competition from players listing single high-value beasts. Prices for niche craft-specific beasts became more accessible but also more volatile during early league. |
| Heist | Blueprints and Contracts can be listed at fixed prices without interrupting Heist assignments. Common blueprint supply increased, driving down generic Heist currency prices while Rogues' Marks and Replica Uniques held value. |
⚠️ If you primarily trade items in the 1-5 Chaos tier, Faustus adds little value over live whisper. The async system is most useful for items priced above 20 Chaos or Divines, where the buyer pool is smaller and trade interruptions are more costly. Adjust your loot filter thresholds before listing everything through Faustus.
Solo Self-Found players are unaffected; async trading is a trade league feature only.
What These Features Mean for Mid-League Planning
Taken together, the Day 5 features lowered the mid-league adaptation cost for players who want to change strategy without starting over. The players who benefit most:
- Players pivoting atlas strategy mid-league: 2,000-gold-per-point respec removes the Orb of Unmaking dependency for incremental adjustments
- Players running content that previously required trade interruptions: Labyrinth enchanters, Beast Crafters, Heist farmers
- Players returning to the game mid-league: the Refund All button and gold-based respec lower the barrier to adapting to the current meta
For players planning a new league start or returning to Path of Exile 1, explore PoE new league services to accelerate early-league progression. For currency reference during the current 3.28 Mirage league, check the PoE currency catalog.
📍 The Refund All gold cost scales with passive points allocated, not with character level. At 90+ passive points the cost is prohibitive. Use it only when you have excess gold, typically from sustained map-clearing rather than currency item sales, and are under level 75 on that character.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is asynchronous trading in Path of Exile 3.27?
Async trading lets players sell items without being online during the transaction. A buyer travels to the seller's Hideout and completes the purchase through Faustus, the seller's trade NPC, even if the seller is offline. Faustus holds the proceeds; the seller collects them at any time.
Who is Faustus in PoE 3.27 Keepers of the Flame?
Faustus is an NPC the seller recruits in Act 6 (Lioneye's Watch) who then lives in the seller's Hideout. Sellers list items with Faustus at a fixed price. Buyers travel to the seller's Hideout and complete the purchase through Faustus, even when the seller is offline.
What is the Refund All button in Path of Exile 3.27?
The Refund All button respecs every allocated passive point on the character passive tree in one action, spending gold rather than Orbs of Regret. Gold cost scales with passive points used; most efficient on leveling characters and fresh alts, prohibitively expensive at 90+ passive points.
How much does atlas passive respec cost in PoE 3.27?
Each atlas passive point costs 2,000 gold to respec individually in Keepers of the Flame. This replaced Orbs of Unmaking for mid-league atlas strategy adjustments. Players who accumulated gold through map-clearing can adjust their atlas tree without specifically farming the orb.
Were Breach clusters removed from the PoE 3.27 atlas tree?
Breach cluster nodes were removed from the atlas passive tree in 3.27, and Beyond cluster nodes were repositioned to the right side of the tree. Breach as a playable mechanic (spawning breaches in maps, running Hive Fortress encounters) was fully available throughout Keepers of the Flame.
Does async trading affect Solo Self-Found in PoE?
No. Asynchronous trading via Faustus operates within the trade league. Solo Self-Found league rules prevent item trading regardless, so Faustus is entirely unavailable in that mode.
When did PoE 3.27 Keepers of the Flame launch?
Path of Exile: Keepers of the Flame launched October 31, 2025. The Day 5 teaser features (async trading, Refund All button, gold-based atlas respec) all shipped with the launch. The current live patch is 3.28 Mirage, released March 2026.
Last reviewed 2026-05-30 against Path of Exile: Keepers of the Flame (3.27).