Long-time ARPG fan’s take on Path of Exile 2 Early Access (500+ hours played)

As someone who grew up on Diablo and poured over a decade into Diablo II, I’ve always been chasing that deep, grim, tactical ARPG feel. Like many others, I was incredibly hyped for Diablo III—only to be deeply let down by its shift to a cartoonish aesthetic, simplified loot system, and shallow itemization. Seeing green arrows telling me if an item was better removed the very soul of build theory and gear evaluation.

Path of Exile 1 was a breath of fresh air when it launched. It captured that dark, gritty art direction and had deep systems that made every decision meaningful. But over time, POE1 became a bloated mess—especially with the sheer number of currency items added from past leagues. Managing inventory turned into a chore, and the complexity often felt artificial.

So when Path of Exile 2 was announced as a true sequel, not just a major update, I was hopeful—but cautious. After spending over 500 hours in EA, I can confidently say: The initial launch was phenomenal.

- Combat felt weighty and satisfying.
- The 3-act campaign was engaging and had a good flow.
- Boss fights were challenging and memorable.
- Loot felt exciting again.
- The overcomplicated currency system was drastically streamlined.
- Skill gems were removed from gear slots, allowing free gear swaps and eliminating the awful 6-link grind from POE1—a massive QoL win.

It felt like GGG had learned all the right lessons. For a while, it was shaping up to be the true spiritual successor to Diablo II that I had always wanted.

But things changed with Patch 0.2: Dawn of the Hunt.

They added a new class and ascendancies, but in doing so, rebalanced the entire game around the Warrior class. Suddenly, every other class felt underpowered, builds that previously thrived were gutted, and loot drops were nerfed significantly. Community backlash followed, and in response, GGG overcorrected:

- Buffed tons of skills, especially Lightning-based ones.
- Now 33% of players run Amazon, and over 87% of those use Lightning Spear.
- 53% of all characters use Lightning Spear, which speaks volumes about build diversity right now.
- Loot was buffed to the point where you're nearly guaranteed certain items from certain sources, which feels more like a temporary dopamine hit than a long-term solution.

Meanwhile, server instability plagued the game for over 2 weeks. I’d clear areas, get disconnected, and log back in to find my progress wiped. During this period, the game was practically unplayable, and it's disappointing that server fixes weren’t prioritised over balance changes.

Now, I’m concerned. The current direction is drifting toward accessibility at the cost of challenge and identity:

- You can respec ascendancy classes just by doing the trials again, removing the permanence that encouraged replaying with new builds.
- You can re-enter maps after dying, eliminating risk and tension in boss fights.
- Loot is abundant, but most of it isn’t worth picking up.
- Too many socketable systems (runes, spirits, talismans, chaos soul cores) are being stacked on top of each other, echoing the same feature creep that sank POE1’s elegance.

And the trade system? Still browser-based. Still clunky. Still reliant on currency bloat like Exalted orbs and Divines. Most other orbs feel useless outside of crafting niches. You’ll find yourself swimming in currencies you’ll never use, and it’s clear this is one area GGG refuses to modernise.


Path of Exile 2 started strong with great visuals, satisfying combat, a focused campaign, and smart simplifications to systems that had become too bloated. But with recent updates, the game is showing worrying signs: balance swings, loot inflation, server instability, and a growing lack of direction. GGG still has something special here—but they need to refocus on challenge, identity, and long-term depth rather than chasing short-term satisfaction.