Five years since its announcement and over a decade since the first game's release, Grinding Gear Games' Path of Exile 2 is nearly here, and it's looking for an opportunity to grow its audience with its increased accessibility, new classes and abilities, refined gameplay loop, and much more. Officially entering early access on December 6, Path of Exile 2 will launch with three of its six campaign acts available, alongside countless different environments, hundreds of monster types, and dozens of bosses, with many more to be added soon. Once players complete the three acts of the campaign during early access, they will be able to play through them again on "Cruel" difficulty and unlock the endgame loop upon completing that.
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Game Rant recently had the opportunity to spend close to 8 hours playing Path of Exile 2, and while that is far from the amount of time required to experience all the game truly has to offer, it was enough to get a firsthand look at everything it is doing to improve upon its predecessor's formula and to get a feel for how it might fare in the ever-evolving ARPG landscape once it enters early access on December 6. Based on our brief time with the game, Path of Exile 2 shows a lot of promise -- even in the early preview build we were granted access to -- with its most notable characteristic being its ability to honor the foundation laid by its predecessor while still offering what already feels like a fresh and modern experience.
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Path of Exile 2 Is PoE Rebuilt for the Next Generation
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Path of Exile 2's Aim Is to Be a Better Version of the First Game
One of the biggest hurdles Path of Exile 2 was always destined to face was to somehow bridge the gap between the first game's dedicated playerbase and potential newcomers rather than alienating veteran players for the sake of attracting a new audience. Now that the original Path of Exile is over 10 years old, its sequel needs to make some big moves to ensure the franchise captures the attention of an entirely different demographic in its current decade, especially with how unapproachable the first game has been known to be.
At the same time, it is Path of Exile's inaccessible nature that the hardcore playerbase it maintains to this day is largely founded upon, so it will need to find a way to balance the new with the old. Fortunately, Path of Exile 2 already appears to be succeeding in that area.
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Mechanically, visually, and narratively, Path of Exile 2 is a standalone Path of Exile rebuilt for the next generation. This is a principle that director Jonathan Rogers and Grinding Gear Games have repeatedly expressed is central to Path of Exile 2's development, and that much is clear based on our time with the game. Path of Exile 2 has made great strides in many areas to create a more newcomer-friendly experience, but it hasn't dumbed the first game's core formula down to a point where returning players might feel left behind. Included in these changes are a simplified skill system, increased playstyle and build diversity, a more manageable UI, vastly improved visuals, and a greater focus on narrative.
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The Story of Path of Exile 2
Regarding the campaign, Path of Exile 2 is set 20 years after the events of Path of Exile, in which the Beast, the source of all corruption in Wraeclast, had been contained. In Path of Exile 2, however, the Beast has been unleashed on the world once again, and while it is small, the Count is willing to do whatever it takes to grow it and harness its power. Corruption is now beginning to spread once more, and the Count is growing increasingly psychotic as he feeds the Beast.
Meanwhile, the player character has been captured by the Count's men, who have been regularly arresting people for made-up crimes. This is where the story of Path of Exile 2 begins for the player, and unlike the first game, there is a much stronger and more cinematic emphasis on the narrative this time around.
For the first time in the series, Path of Exile 2 features an opening cinematic -- one that is both intense and shocking -- to set up the story.
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The Refined Gameplay of Path of Exile 2
One of Path of Exile 2's biggest changes centers around its refined skill system, which is now much less cumbersome to deal with than it was in Path of Exile and should prove to be one of the game's main access points for newcomers. Path of Exile's skill system saw players slotting Skill Gems and Support Gems into their armor pieces and placing them into linked sockets on their various gear pieces. Since Skill Gems would provide active skills and Support Gems would modify any skills they were linked to, the sockets they were slotted in would need links between them in order to work. Path of Exile 2 simplifies this system for something more user-friendly by removing linked sockets altogether.
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Instead of finding normal Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2, players first acquire Uncut Skill Gems, which they can then use to engrave or upgrade a skill of their choice via the game's Gemcutting system. Similarly, players can use Uncut Support Gems in Path of Exile 2 to create Support Gems. Where Support Gems ultimately differ in Path of Exile 2 from the first game is that unlocking a new skill also grants access to unique Support Gems associated with that skill. However, despite being associated with a certain skill, Support Gems can be moved around at will to modify any skills players have unlocked.
Mechanically, visually, and narratively, Path of Exile 2 is Path of Exile rebuilt for the next generation.
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Path of Exile has always been about player power, but newcomers will likely find Path of Exile 2's build experimentation to be much simpler than it ever was before. For one thing, Path of Exile 2 is automatically set to recommend certain Support Gems to players, thereby narrowing their choices down and making it easier for them. Of course, this option can be turned off at any time to allow players limitless freedom to customize their build to their liking, and since Path of Exile 2 makes almost everything available to every class, the possibilities are endless.
The Enhanced Visuals of Path of Exile 2
Another of Path of Exile 2's standout features is its enhanced visuals. According to Path of Exile 2 director Jonathan Rogers, Path of Exile 2 still uses the same engine that its predecessor did, and its visuals are simply what the graphics in the first game's current content look like. Even with that bit of information, it still feels like Path of Exile 2 is visually on a different level. We would even venture to say that Path of Exile 2's visuals appear to be more realistic than Diablo 4's, which means they can also be more shocking at times. Particle effects, especially, are top-notch, making every elemental skill breathtaking to witness.
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Path of Exile 2 Ramps Up the Difficulty
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Path of Exile 2 Is Much More Challenging Than the First Game
Path of Exile has always been difficult, but Path of Exile 2 is on a different level. In fact, during our preview of the game, Rogers said, "We want you to die on the first boss fight" -- if that's any indication of the challenge posed by the sequel. Even regular enemies in the game are much more aggressive, hit harder, and move faster than ever before, with Path of Exile 2's bosses then taking those principles up a few notches. None of this really subtracts from Path of Exile 2's increased accessibility, it just means players won't be able to easily mow down enemies and overpower bosses like they can in an ARPG like Diablo 4.
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As it turns out, Rogers wasn't lying. Based on our time with the game, anyone planning to play Path of Exile 2 should also plan to die a lot and just accept it as part of the process. That being said, as players grow in their skill and their characters grow in power, they will find certain aspects of the game much easier. Of course, this is the natural progression of ARPGs, since the primary method of progress is gear-related, but that doesn't mean everything will eventually become easier. Path of Exile 2 has clearly been built to become progressively more difficult as players progress, even when they get to the endgame (which is a story for a different day, as we didn't have access to that in the build we were provided).
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Path of Exile 2's Dodge Roll Mechanic Is Indicative of the Game's Difficulty
One of the biggest new additions to Path of Exile 2's combat is the dodge roll ability. While many other ARPGs allow players to dodge roll, Path of Exile has never featured the mechanic. However, while it might make things a little more engaging for players, it's also there due in part to Path of Exile 2's increased difficulty. Essentially, players will be expected to dodge roll frequently. It's not quite to the point where spamming the ability is necessary, as the combat is balanced enough to allow players plenty of time to attack their enemies, but it is something that is vital to success in Path of Exile 2.
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Path of Exile 2's New Classes Offer a Wider Variety of Playstyles Than Before
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Path of Exile 2 Adds Six New Playable Classes
Another major addition to Path of Exile 2 is six new classes, bringing the total up to twelve. While we did get some time with other classes during our preview (like the Mercenary and Sorceress), we spent more time on the Monk than anything else, and it was time well spent. Path of Exile 2's Monk starts out very slow and can't take too much damage, but even by Level 10, we are convinced this character class is one of the game's best. While the Monk is still a bit squishy, even into its higher levels, its damage output and range potential effectively balance out that weakness for a satisfying rotation of damage and dodge.
We were able to reach Level 22 with the Monk during our preview, and by then, it was powerful enough to take down the early game's toughest bosses in Path of Exile 2 . Of course, this ultimately comes down to which abilities players are using and what their skill level is.
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Path of Exile 2's Mercenary class is fun, but its learning curve might be a bit of a tall hurdle for some. This is primarily because it is designed to be played like a first-person shooter, so Path of Exile veterans (or ARPG fans in general, for that matter) may find it tough to get used to. Fortunately, Path of Exile 2 makes it very easy to change movement controls on PC from mouse to WASD, with WASD being the preferred method for the Mercenary, since it plays like an FPS. Using WASD for movement, players can then use the mouse to aim, and it's a bit more reliable than attempting to play the class using the mouse to move.
We also spent some time with Path of Exile 2's new Sorceress class, which plays similarly to the class of the same type in other ARPGs. However, Path of Exile 2's build diversity and experimentation allow its Sorceress to exceed others by making them massively customizable. This means that, rather than throwing a simple fireball at enemies, players can modify that spell to throw multiple fireballs at once, or to have one fireball explode and send several others careening toward enemies. Furthermore, like the Monk, the Sorceress takes a lot of damage when she's hit, perhaps even more so.
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Despite its new approaches to accessibility, Path of Exile 2 is still going to take new players some time to get used to. Its many systems are still very complex, even though they are now introduced at a much slower pace. Since Path of Exile 2, like its predecessor, strongly encourages experimentation, some players might still find it to be a bit overwhelming. That being said, we found the new player experience to be refreshing, especially having played the first game for some time ourselves. At the very least, Path of Exile veterans who plan to play the sequel may find it a bit easier to get their buddies to play it with them this time around.
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Overall, Path of Exile 2 is shaping up to be an excellent ARPG and may very well end up being a worthy contender in its arena. For some time now, larger ARPGs like Diablo have overshadowed Path of Exile, but Path of Exile 2 may finally reach above the treeline, even in early access. With intense, fast-paced gameplay, a more approachable experience for newcomers, six new classes to choose from, and a greater focus on narrative than ever before, Path of Exile 2 looks promising enough to turn some heads when it enters early access on December 6.
Path of Exile II
Action RPG
Systems
Franchise Path of Exile
Platform(s) PC , PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
Developer(s) Grinding Gear Games
Publisher(s) Grinding Gear Games
Multiplayer Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op
Engine Proprietary Engine
ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Nudity, Violence
Early Access Release December 6, 2024
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