Review: Path of Exile 2

I previously laughed at the idea that they released early access because they needed funding. However, after playing for 60 hours on standalone client (currently sitting in Tier 10 maps), it’s no longer funny.

Coming from someone with 18k hours in Path of Exile 1, I find that, aside from the boss design and campaign (both of which are exceptional, in my opinion), there isn’t much about the game that excites me.

I will keep checking it out and testing other builds, both to give it a real chance and to have the knowledge in case the release improves on all the problems and it ends up becoming my main game.

Even in its current state, I feel that the campaign alone is well worth the 30 euros, especially when you consider the 300 points you get for stash tabs or cosmetics. However, I would not recommend the game right now. It’s in rough shape and will ultimately be free to play.

What PoE2 Does Right

The Campaign
The campaign is amazing. Despite its length, it doesn’t feel boring or stale. It’s an engaging experience throughout, and this is a massive achievement.

Visuals
The game is visually stunning, in both graphics and animations.

Boss Design
The boss design is truly exceptional. Bosses are creative, challenging, and memorable, providing some of the most exciting moments in the game.

Accessibility Improvements
The increase in accessibility is fantastic. The in-game guides and simplified crafting system are excellent additions. While these systems may become more complex over time as they add systems, this is an amazing starting point that lowers the barrier for new players.

Atlas System
The atlas system is another highlight. While it’s yet to be seen if it can reach the same level of enjoyment as PoE1’s atlas system, it’s engaging enough to keep you invested for now.

Points That Make the Game Unenjoyable for Me

Zone Size and Movement Speed
The zones are far too massive, yet there’s no increase in movement speed to compensate for this.

Visual Clarity
Somehow, the visual clarity is worse than in PoE1. While efforts have been made to outline boss abilities, abilities extend beyond the visual, making it feel very bad when you have to rely on the dodge roll.

Oneshots
The game is riddled with oneshots from start to endgame, which are only avoidable through the dodge roll mechanic. While this isn’t inherently bad, the poor visuals make the experience frustrating.

Progression
As you progress through the game, there isn’t a single point where I feel like I’m becoming stronger. While unlocking skills does improve builds mechanically, the damage scaling feels underwhelming. Defensively, the amount of oneshots only increases.

Character Sluggishness
Most characters, aside from Deadeye, feel incredibly sluggish. Movement speed is low, and cast times/animations are long. Triggered skills help somewhat, but these were recently nerfed out of existence.

Additionally, the dodge roll feels like Elden Ring’s heavy roll. It’s hard to believe this wasn’t the inspiration—it’s almost a 1:1 imitation. Unfortunately, these issues don’t seem to improve as you progress.

Passive Tree
The passive tree feels bland compared to PoE1. While there are interesting combinations, the abundance of travel nodes makes experimenting punishing due to the high respec cost.

This is especially problematic in early access when builds are being nuked out of existence left and right. Not being able to change ascendancies is equally frustrating. With such a long campaign, being forced to re-level feels terrible.

One Death = Map Over
This mechanic is baffling. With so many oneshots in the game, losing a map due to a single death is highly frustrating. The six-portal system from PoE1 feels like a joke here, as its primary use is for trading or unloading ‘empty’ inventories due to the limited loot.

Loot Scaling
Loot scaling feels off. Somehow, the campaign is more rewarding than early mapping. There’s little loot or rares early on, which improves in the late game, but arbitrarily stretching the grind with minimal rewards is poor design. At the very least, loot progression should be linear.

Early Access and Numerical/Bug Issues

There are numerous numerical imbalances and bugs, but I expect these will be addressed over time—that’s the purpose of early access. For this reason, I won’t list them here.

Feedback for the Community

Path of Exile 2 does many things right and many things wrong. It’s crucial that Grinding Gear Games hears feedback from the community, both positive and negative.

It’s disappointing to see players with valid criticisms being scolded. People seem to forget that this is early access, and the game’s success—and our enjoyment of it—partially depends on everyone's feedback.

THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT EARLY ACCESS IS FOR.

Direct quote from GGG:
“We need the community to give us feedback about game balance, the economy, and the overall game. We will be actively monitoring our forums, subreddit, and social media and delivering updates continuously throughout the Early Access.”

Stop shutting down others just because you have a different opinion of the game. We all want it to succeed. We all want—or want to want—to play it in the end.

ALL FEEDBACK IS GOOD FOR GGG.