Path of Exile 2 launched into Early Access today (December 6th, 2024), and if you're reading this instead of sitting in a login queue (just a guess), you probably have just one question: should I pay $30 (or more) to play Path of Exile 2? Considering you are effectively paying to help develop an incomplete game that will be free-to-play when it fully releases, that's a fair question to ask. I’ve had the chance to play Path of Exile 2 for a few days now, and I would say that for most people, the answer is a resounding yes.
How We Got Here
Grinding Gear Games (GGG) was founded in 2006 by Chris Wilson, Jonathan Roger, and Erik Olofsson. With the goal of creating an innovative online role-playing game that would appeal to hardcore gamers, Path of Exile was launched in October 2013 for Microsoft Windows, followed by an Xbox One version in 2017 and a PlayStation 4 version in 2019.
Path of Exile is a free-to-play top-down action role-playing game (ARPG) in the same vein as the Diablo series. Set in the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast, the player takes control of an ‘Exile’ and awakens on the shores of Wraeclast, a penal colony for the nearby island of Oriath. Through a series of Acts, the player will learn the history of Wraeclast and go on to defeat multiple bosses as they save Wraeclast and Oriath from the evil powers that be.
GGG and Path of Exile have gained notoriety over the years for many reasons. GGG has been heralded for their decision to support their free-to-play title with a purely cosmetic and Quality of Life cash shop, avoiding the ‘pay-to-win’ items plaguing other titles.
Path of Exile separates itself from the pack through its massive skill tree, which is shaped similarly to a spider’s web. All six of the available classes utilize the same skill tree, each one starting at a different point on the tree’s inner circle. From there, players can progress across the tree as they see fit, blurring the lines between traditional classes and creating unique and powerful builds.
Paired with the skill tree is PoE’s active skill system. Players acquire their skills through gems, which are slotted into their weapons and armor. These skill gems provide both active and passive skills to the player. The skills are further enhanced by placing support gems into ‘linked’ slots, giving them additional buffs like extended duration, additional damage, etc.
Like any true ARPG, Path of Exile has an insane amount of gear. Along with attack and defensive bonuses, the gear also has additional modifiers based on its rarity, with many character builds constructed around one or more unique items. Armor and weapons also come with a random number of gem slots. Smaller items like gloves, boots, and helmets could have up to four slots, while chest pieces and weapons could have up to six slots. The most coveted gear has the maximum number of slots, all of which are linked together. In this way, a single attack skill could be linked to five support gems.
As you might expect, getting a full set of gear with maximum linked slots is very unlikely for a single player. Enter the Path of Exile in-game economy. Instead of gold, PoE players collect different forms of currency. Each type of currency is used to improve gear by changing attributes, improving rarity, and adding gem slots or changing their color. Players can freely trade unwanted loot for the currency they have collected and end up spending weeks farming gear and currency, then using it to trade for or craft the best gear for their character build.
In the decade since its release, GGG has added new loot systems and gameplay mechanics through periodic updates. Each update would mark the start of a new League, where players would essentially start new characters, race to max level, and farm out a new set of gear. At the end of each League, popular mechanics would be added to the core game, and a new mechanic would be introduced for the next League.
Over the years, all of the additions and modifications have made Path of Exile very intimidating for new players, while veterans will skip any non-mandatory mechanics during the leveling process. A few years ago, GGG realized the same and began work on Path of Exile 2. Originally meant to be an expansion to PoE, GGG eventually decided to make PoE2 a separate game. And here we are today, ready to jump in and check out all that Path of Exile 2 has to offer.
Path of Exile 2 - What’s Changed, What Hasn’t?
Is Path of Exile 2 really that different from Path of Exile? Yes and no. Here’s the simplest analogy I can think of to answer this. You bought a car in 2013, and it was nice. Now, ten years later, you go to buy another car. Just like the car you bought ten years ago, it still has four wheels, four doors, a dashboard, and some sort of engine that makes the thing go forward. But now your car has a remote start, the door unlocks just by touching the handle, there’s a big info screen in the middle of the dashboard, and it may even drive itself. Some things have changed, some haven’t, but all around, it’s a much better experience.
And that is exactly how PoE2 is. GGG isn’t creating a new ARPG that will somehow forever alter the way ARPGs are made. At its core, PoE2 will still feel very familiar to someone who has played PoE. You’re still smashing mobs as you explore the map, and you’re still going to be killing bosses to advance through the story. And once the campaign is completed, you will spend time grinding out the gear and skills you need by mapping out nodes on the Atlas.
All of the core systems that made up PoE are still here, but many of them have changed. Some changes are small tweaks. Others are full reworks.
Character Creation And Classes
Not a lot has changed with character creation. Just like PoE, character creation consists of choosing a class, picking a name, and hitting continue. The character selection screen has a greater impact on setting the game's dark mood. I’ll let you experience the initial scene for yourself, but let’s just say that GGG doesn’t leave you hanging. The short cinematic sequence left me excited for a fresh introduction to an ARPG, but alas, GGG pays homage to PoE by having you still end up waterlogged on a sandy shore before moving you along to the tutorial section of the game.
As for your initial character choice, six of the twelve planned classes will be present at the start of Early Access. You can pick between the Warrior, Sorcerer, Witch, Mercenary, Ranger, and Monk on day one, with the Shadow, Templar, Huntress, Druid, Marauder, and Duelist coming later.
- Warrior - Returning to reprise its Hulk Smash role, the Warrior’s primary attribute is Strength. He is a melee combatant who uses slams and debuffs to pulverize his enemies. The Warrior can leap into battle and then use their strength and durability to outlast their foe as they trade blows at close quarters.
- Witch - Based on the Intelligence attribute, the Witch can summon an undead army to do her bidding. While hanging back and directing her minions, the Witch can also use her wand to cast chaos and bone spells for additional attack and defense potency.
- Ranger - The Ranger is your typical pew-pewer. A Dexterity-based class, the Ranger uses their bow to reign down lightning, ice, and poison on their enemies as they deftly maneuver around the battlefield.
- Sorceress - Like spell casters from other ARPGs, the Sorceress uses her Intelligence to harness elemental spells to devastate groups of mobs. Not well suited for close-range combat, the Sorceress uses the elemental status effects imparted by her spells to immobilize enemies and enhance her raw damage output.
- Mercenary - A new class for Path of Exile 2, the Mercenary combines the attributes of Strength and Dexterity to create a twin-stick shooter type of class. The Mercenary wields the crossbow, which is armed with a variety of special bolts as their primary weapon, along with various grenades to create combo attacks.
- Monk - Another new class, the Monk wields a quarterstaff as their primary weapon. Dexterity and Intelligence are the Monk’s primary attributes, allowing them to swiftly move about the area using short and mid-range attacks and spells to defeat their enemies.
For those concerned that GGG’s emphasis on classes could limit the variety of character builds, don’t be. Each class starts at a specific location on the skill tree that is tuned to its generic archetype, but just like in PoE, the player is free to cross the invisible boundaries into other areas of the tree, choose any weapon they wish, and equip any skill gem as long as their stats are high enough.
Gems
Skill Gems are still an integral part of PoE2. There are still Active Skill Gems and Support Gems, and you still slot a gem to gain its power, but this isn’t done by adding gems to your gear. The new method of slotting gems has been simplified. Gems are now slotted by opening up a separate Skill Gem page. There are ten slots for your Skill Gems, with up to five support slots available for each gem.
How you obtain Skill Gems has also changed. Gone are the random drops and the gem merchant. You now acquire Uncut Skill Gems and Uncut Support Gems as boss drops and quest rewards as you advance through the campaign. Clicking on a gem allows you to choose the skill you want, with the skill level determined by the level of the gem. Skill Gems no longer level up by gaining experience. To increase a gem’s level, you simply use a higher-level Uncut Gem to upgrade your current skill.
Skill Gems can be added and removed at any time, and Support Gems can freely be moved to different skills. This means you can quickly and easily try out different gem combinations, especially since you don’t need to grind for gear with the correct slot colors or links.
To ensure you don’t become overpowered, GGG has introduced some limiting factors into your gem selection. Skill Gems only have two support Gem slots unlocked in the early levels, with additional slots opening up as you advance your character. You aren’t getting Uncut Gem drops every five seconds, so you will have to decide early on which skills are most important to you.
You have an even harder decision to make when assigning Support Gems. Only a single gem of each type can be included across your entire build. Gone are the days when every skill had increased casting speed, increased projectiles, and additional charges. It’s much easier to get the gems you want, but it sure does make figuring out where to put them a much harder task.
Flasks And Charms
There has also been a major change to the Flask system in PoE2. Instead of five flask slots, you now only have two flasks, one for health and one for mana. Each flask still consumes charges upon use and is replenished by killing monsters. Since you only run with one of each flask in PoE, this really isn’t much of a change.
The big change is the change to the other three flask slots. Instead of flasks that had to be manually activated, these slots now hold Charms. Your total number of Charm slots is determined by the level of your belt, with up to a maximum of three slots available. Charms are still activated situationally, but this is done automatically instead of manually. For example, a Ruby Charm automatically applies a fire resistance buff when you take fire damage.
Charms offer the same functionality as flasks without all of the finger pain of manual activation. The downside is you lose the ability to choose whether a certain situation warrants using these limited-use items. I can see highly skilled players hating this change since they lose autonomy. As a casual player - after 10 years of PoE, I still suck at playing the game - I gladly give up control of my situational buffs.
Combat
As I already mentioned, PoE2 is still a top-down ARPG, and running around zones killing monsters is what it’s all about. But combat in Path of Exile 2 feels different.
Combat in Path of Exile 2 is harder than it was before. I’ve never been the ultimate PoE player, and I have always found plenty of ways to die, but many of those deaths were due to a lack of attention or sloppy play. During my time with PoE2, even when I was concentrating and trying earnestly, I still noticed a ramp-up in difficulty.
Part of that is due to unfamiliarity with new classes, skills, and monsters. I had to attempt some bosses multiple times, changing Support Gems or returning at a higher level to finally take them down. But it goes beyond that. While basic monsters in PoE just melted away, now you must hit them multiple times. At the same time, those monsters are hitting harder than ever, probably because you can’t use all of the Support Gems you once did.
It also feels like loot drops at a lower rate, with rares and uniques coming much more infrequently. I have gone several levels without finding better gear, especially after finding a decent rare. It may change at higher levels, but this left me feeling vulnerable. I never felt overpowered like I did in PoE, and if I’m being honest, I like this version of combat better.
The other reason that combat feels different is that, mechanically, it is. Players can now dodge! I know that sounds simple, but it really changes the pace of combat, especially during boss fights. As a melee character, this means you aren’t solely reliant on your movement skills to avoid boss attacks. Perfectly timing a dodge means that I am immediately back to dealing damage. A poorly executed dodge also means that I am possibly dead or at least on my heels as I try to recover from a big hit.
A dodge can also act as an Oh-S*** button as well. Dodging immediately cancels a skill animation, so a poorly timed attack doesn’t automatically mean instant death. Although I’m not skilled enough, I am sure many players will use this to become invulnerable fighting machines.
WASD Movement
Going hand-in-hand with the combat changes, GGG has added WASD movement to Path of Exile 2. At first, I thought this was just a nice addition for anyone who didn’t like mouse-click movement, and I began playing my Ranger the old-fashioned way.
I happily mouse-clicked my way through zones until I tried out the new Mercenary class. I found it difficult to maneuver while shooting and often fired off-target as I kited enemies around. As soon as I switched to WASD movement, I was amazed by the difference it made. And as soon as I switched to my Ranger and Monk, I realized that we had a game-changer on our hands.
Graphics
I love Path of Exile regardless of how the graphics look, and that goes for pretty much any action game. I’ll take good gameplay over graphics any day. However, all other things being equal, I’ll take a better-looking game over an ugly one. And let’s face it, PoE isn’t very pretty.
Poe2 is still dark and moody, but it won’t take long to notice that PoE2 is much crisper and more detailed than its predecessor. Zones are much more detailed and fleshed out. The character models and animation look great, and the spell effects look sharp in combat. PoE2 still won’t be up for any visual awards, but it’s still a much-welcome improvement.
QoL Updates
Many of the differences between Path of Exile 1 and 2 are just quality-of-life upgrades. None of them are revolutionary, but they make a huge difference when added together.
- Improved tooltips - It goes without saying that better tooltips are, well, better. From the character sheet to the Skill Gem panel, the tooltips are much improved. For example, in the picture below depicts the character information screen. All of your character data is included in a single, scrollable window. All major keywords are underlined and hyperlinked. Hovering over a keyword will display more information, and alt-clicking on the keyword will open a popup with the same information. Alt-click another keyword to bring up its information, and so on. It’s clean, concise, and very user-friendly.
- Checkpoints - In PoE2, there are multiple checkpoints across a single zone. In the event of a death, you no longer have to run across an entire map to get back to your previous point. Now, you have the option to resurrect at the nearest waypoint, allowing you to get back into the action quickly.
- Disconnection pause - There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a boss fight and losing connection. Previously, your only option was to suck it up and start the fight over again. In PoE2, your progress is paused. Upon logging back in, you will be right back at your previous pre-disconnect state, ready to continue the fight. Some people have raised the concern that this could be abused. I don’t cheat, and I don’t care if you do. This is a huge convenience to me and ensures that the little time I have to play is not spent repeating the same thing repeatedly due to disconnections.
- Improved controller compatibility - I prefer a mouse and keyboard, but anyone who likes using a controller on a PC will be happy to find a very slick controller interface. All of the menus are reconfigured with a controller in mind, and navigation is smooth and intuitive.
- Improved world map - The world map is more than just a waypoint selector in PoE2. The general location of rare monsters, boss encounters, and points of interest are highlighted on the map. Visited locations and defeated boss encounters are grayed out, so you won’t miss a thing while you adventure.
The Early Access Woes
Not everything about Path of Exile 2 is sunshine and rainbows. I’ve had a chance to play Path of Exile 2 on two different systems. The first is my daily driver. It is well over the recommended system, with a Ryzen 9 7900X, RTX 3080, and 32GB of RAM. The other computer sits near but not quite at the minimum specs, with a Ryzen 3550H, an Nvidia GTX 1660Ti, and 16GB of RAM.
Overall, game performance has been pretty good. Both systems can run Path of Exile 2 at acceptable framerates. The low-end system hovers right at 50 fps at 1080p with high settings, though there are dips down to the high 30 fps range when there are a lot of monsters on the screen. Dropping shadows down to lower settings raised average frame rates into the low 50s with more of an impact on big fight scenes, where the frame rate dips were less severe and stayed in the low to mid-40s.
Bugs can and will interrupt your experience. This is an Early Access launch, after all. I wouldn’t say it happened frequently, but I have had irregular crashes to the desktop on both systems. I have also had several instances of video stuttering and the infrequent multiple-second freeze. These happened more often on my low-end rig, but they have also occurred on my better computer.
Other issues are less of a performance issue and more just par for the course during an Early Access release - part of the game is missing. For example, only three of the six acts are playable. After playing through all three acts, you must play through them a second time at a harder difficulty to simulate the playtime required to reach the end-game content. It could be worse, though. Many Early Access titles would leave you hanging with nothing to do but wait until more content is released.
Final Thoughts
ARPG sequels generally have a good track record. Diablo 2, Torchlight 2, and many other sequels have gone on to be critically acclaimed. Path of Exile 2 is poised to do the same. As Path of Exile 2 enters Early Access, GGG is well on the way to taking ten years worth of development on Path of Exile and putting it through a strainer to filter out only the good bits. Now they are in the process of refining and polishing those bits further.
With only minor tweaks to the iconic passive skill tree, GGG has kept intact the one thing that differentiates PoE from the crowd. In the meantime, reworks on the flask and gem systems are a much-needed refresh. Both systems still provide the build flexibility that is a core component of any ARPG while making the progression toward the end game much less confusing for new players.
GGG has also killed two birds with one stone by removing the bloat left over from oh-so-many league mechanics and moving them to where they belong as end-game content. Again, this leaves PoE2 with a much cleaner leveling process than its predecessor. That doesn’t even factor in PoE2's improved and cohesive story arc, which you can enjoy during your first playthrough.
So, back to the initial question of whether you should spend $30+ to join Path of Exile’s Early Access. If you are a long-time PoE player, it’s a no-brainer. GGG has graciously decided to transfer any cosmetics you have previously purchased over to your PoE2 account. And let’s face it, all of the time and money spent in a game can be a huge barrier to moving to a sequel. With that gone, existing players will get to enjoy all of the QoL upgrades and system reworks while they race to the end game and start grinding out new gear.
For a potential new player considering dropping some cash to join Early Access, the answer may not be so clear. There are some perfectly good reasons to stay clear of PoE2 until it reaches full release in the future. If you start playing right now, you only get part of the full game. There are only three acts and half of the characters. Some of the gameplay and core mechanics will change over time, and there are still plenty of bugs, some of them game-crashing, to contend with.
Of course, any veteran player will tell you that you should drop the $30 minimum to start playing PoE2 right now, and I will echo that response. You’ll probably get 30+ hours of play just getting through the existing portion of the story included in Early Access, plus any bonus time you spend grinding maps and other end-game content. Yes, there are bugs to contend with, but let’s be honest; odds are any game you pick up, Early Access or full release, will have bugs. Yes, that is a weak argument, but I think what you get is worth the trouble. That’s only my opinion, and yours may differ. If you still don’t think Early Access is for you and you have never played Path of Exile, then you still have another option. Skip PoE2’s Early Access for now, download the original PoE, and give it a try.
Full Disclosure: Access to game provided by PR for the purposes of this review. Reviewed on PC.
