Path of Exile 2 Early Access Review: A Hardcore ARPG Veteran’s Candid Impressions
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Ever wondered what an ARPG connoisseur with over 15,000 hours in Path of Exile 1—and plenty more in other genre heavyweights—really thinks about Path of Exile 2 early access? Today, we’re taking a deep dive into the honest, unfiltered feedback from one such player who’s dedicated years to grinding, leveling, and theorycrafting in Wraeclast. Consider this a first-hand look through the eyes of a true PoE no-lifer, as we walk you through his candid thoughts on what’s working, what’s not, and where PoE2 might be headed.
Why Listen to This Hardcore Perspective?
This isn’t just a random Reddit post or a hit-and-run hot take. Our featured player has been around since PoE1’s open beta, logs thousands of hours each league, and thrives in hardcore solo self-found mode—modes where every detail matters and mistakes can be fatal. He’s also tried other ARPGs extensively: sinking time into Last Epoch’s official release, putting in a respectable stint with Diablo III, and even testing Diablo IV’s launch and expansion. Put simply, he knows his way around an action RPG and understands that his hardcore sensibilities may differ from the more casual majority.
The Good Stuff: What Shines in PoE2?
Boss Design & Fairness: Most bosses feel thrilling and well-tuned (aside from a few clunky namelock issues and poorly telegraphed attacks). There’s a sense that bosses in PoE2 stand tall, challenging you to learn their patterns rather than just nuke them down.
Pause Functionality & QoL: Being able to pause might seem small, but in a brutal ARPG environment, it’s a game-changer. Add to that the upgraded graphics and excellent sound design—abilities like Ice Strike and Sunder sound legitimately impactful.
Streamlined Resources & Item Use: A single life and mana flask is surprisingly functional. Spirit as a resource for minions and auras feels like a step forward (though currently unbalanced), and the disappearance of portal scrolls is a welcome simplification.
Promising Early Acts: Act 1 shows promise, hinting that with time and polish, the rest of the acts could match its quality. It’s clear more development love went into these initial zones.
The Tough Pills to Swallow: Frustrations & Growing Pains
Lengthy Campaign for Hardcore Players: For someone who prefers life on the edge, the campaign’s long runtime (easily 12+ hours, even with experience and stash goodies) feels daunting. Unlike PoE1’s quick entry into mapping, PoE2 takes its sweet time, delaying that beloved endgame loop.
High-Level Skill & Gearing Constraints: Key skills arrive late, attribute requirements are wild, and finding gear that enables your desired build can be exhausting. Defense feels gear-gated, and chaos damage tuning seems downright cruel compared to the availability of chaos res.
Clunky Systems & Interfaces: From the “Hooded One” item-identification loop to questionable well mechanics in town, the quality-of-life experience needs refinement. Why not consolidate vendors and crafting stations into a more elegant solution?
Passives & Build Diversity Woes: The passive skill tree often boils down to boring incremental gains, with too many nodes offering dull “kiss/curse” trade-offs. Early weapon-locked skills constrain creativity, making it feel like the game preselects your build. Freedom and flexibility—hallmarks of PoE1—seem harder to come by here.
What Needs a Second Pass?
Crafting & Drop Mechanics: Without targeted crafting like essences or a more nuanced bench system, we’re left with a loot lottery. Late-game exalt and regal omens seem pointless without proper crafting mods, and picking up tons of bases to trans+aug them feels like busywork.
Defensive Layers & Resistances: Resistance scarcity, reliance on gear-based defense, and over-tuned ground degens (looking at you, burning ground) create a hostile environment. Armor feels weak, ES overperforms, and overall survivability feels off-kilter.
Mapping & Acts Balance: Exceedingly long zones with forced backtracking disrupt the flow. The new strongbox iteration doesn’t hit the mark, and the absence of a boss in every map (one of the real highlights of PoE) detracts from the fun factor.
Future Wishlist: A minimal crafting bench to smooth out defenses, more interactive masteries, improved notables, and the reintroduction of more interesting keystone passives would go a long way. Adjusting attributes to feel more inclusive rather than restrictive and revisiting the entire gem-level scaling system could help restore that signature PoE build freedom.
While the list of negatives might seem long, it’s not all doom and gloom. This early-access critique acknowledges that PoE2 has time to evolve. Our veteran player, even after cataloging countless frustrations, remains engaged and intrigued.
Stay tuned, Exiles. The road ahead is long, but Wraeclast wasn’t built in a day.
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