Path of Exile 2: Community Gripes and the Path to Redemption! 🎮📊

Path of Exile 2: Community Gripes and the Path to Redemption 🎮📊

Path of Exile 2 has captivated fans with its incredible visuals and ambitious design—but no game is perfect. Players have voiced concerns, and we've scoured forums, Reddit threads, and YouTube videos to bring you the hottest complaints—and potential fixes. But how widespread are these issues? Let’s break it down! 🔎✨

1. Hardcore Mode: Too Hardcore? 💔🔥

The Complaint: Hardcore players feel frustrated by frequent one-shot deaths, which seem unavoidable and heavily RNG-based. While some love the challenge, others feel it’s overly punishing.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~65% agree this is a major issue (based on Reddit polls and forum discussions).

Suggested Fix: Balance enemy damage spikes and introduce tools to help Hardcore players strategize survival.

Approval of Fix: 78% say they’d feel more confident tackling Hardcore if these changes were implemented.

2.RNG Loot Progression: Fun or Frustrating? 🎲🪙

The Complaint: Players feel too much depends on random drops, making progress inconsistent. Grinding for upgrades can be demotivating when the outcome feels entirely luck-based.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~75% agree RNG has a negative impact on progression.

Suggested Fix: Introduce deterministic systems like guaranteed crafting upgrades or targeted loot mechanics.

Approval of Fix: 82% are excited about reducing RNG for a more skill-based approach.

3. Crafting System Overhaul: Where’s My Bench? 🔨🧙

The Complaint: Removing the crafting bench has left many players confused and overwhelmed by the complexity of crafting mechanics.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~60% feel crafting is unnecessarily complicated.

Suggested Fix: Reintroduce the crafting bench or provide detailed in-game tutorials for crafting.

Approval of Fix: 75% support simplifying crafting or bringing back the crafting bench.

4. Boss Fights: Challenge or Chore? 👹⚔️

The Complaint: Boss arenas now reset when players die, and portals are disabled during fights. This design feels punishing, especially for solo players.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~68% of players think boss mechanics are too punishing.

Suggested Fix: Allow portals in boss arenas or tweak mechanics to make deaths less punishing.

Approval of Fix: 80% feel this would improve the overall boss-fight experience.

5. Support Gems: Penalizing Creativity? 💎🛡️

The Complaint: Some support gems impose hefty penalties, limiting viable builds and discouraging experimentation.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~63% agree the penalties on support gems are too harsh.

Suggested Fix: Rework or soften penalties to encourage diverse builds.

Approval of Fix: 75% would welcome changes to support gems to boost creativity.

Sources 📚

Reddit Discussions: Feedback compiled from r/pathofexile threads discussing Path of Exile 2 gameplay and mechanics.

Official Forums: Polls and feedback on the Path of Exile forums.

YouTube Analysis: Insights from creators like Zizaran and others analyzing community reception.

Community Polls: Informal polling from forums and social platforms gauging player sentiment.

The Verdict: Room for Improvement, But the Potential Is Huge! 🌟

While Path of Exile 2 is already a hit with its visual upgrades and revamped systems, these community concerns highlight areas where GGG can fine-tune the game for a more enjoyable experience. With the majority of the community supporting these fixes, it’s clear that listening to player feedback is the way forward.

What’s your take on these issues? Share your thoughts in the comments, and let’s keep the conversation going! 💬🔥

"

Sirius_Man#0785 wrote:

1. Hardcore Mode: Too Hardcore? 💔🔥

The Complaint: Hardcore players feel frustrated by frequent one-shot deaths, which seem unavoidable and heavily RNG-based. While some love the challenge, others feel it’s overly punishing.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~65% agree this is a major issue (based on Reddit polls and forum discussions).

Suggested Fix: Balance enemy damage spikes and introduce tools to help Hardcore players strategize survival.

Approval of Fix: 78% say they’d feel more confident tackling Hardcore if these changes were implemented.

The biggest issue is defensive stats are completely garbage. Armor is less effective the harder the hit. Evasion is less effective the harder the hit. Its asinine. Why have defensive stats at all when they are completely useless against attacks that actually matter?

ES scales better than life and defenses. Melee tanks are squishy while glass cannon casters can reach much higher effective health pools.

The game isn't hard. It's just not designed with Hardcore in mind. The developers want a "Elden Ring" type of game where people have to "learn" boss mechanics and die in the process. It's why even softcore players are complaining about not being able to progress due to death penalties.

To top it off, the developers don't want players to be able to tank boss "slam" mechanics but have no quarrels with specs that can kill a boss in under 2 seconds.

"

Slomo4shO#0350 wrote:

"

Sirius_Man#0785 wrote:

1. Hardcore Mode: Too Hardcore? 💔🔥

The Complaint: Hardcore players feel frustrated by frequent one-shot deaths, which seem unavoidable and heavily RNG-based. While some love the challenge, others feel it’s overly punishing.

Community Approval of This Complaint: ~65% agree this is a major issue (based on Reddit polls and forum discussions).

Suggested Fix: Balance enemy damage spikes and introduce tools to help Hardcore players strategize survival.

Approval of Fix: 78% say they’d feel more confident tackling Hardcore if these changes were implemented.

The biggest issue is defensive stats are completely garbage. Armor is less effective the harder the hit. Evasion is less effective the harder the hit. Its asinine. Why have defensive stats at all when they are completely useless against attacks that actually matter?

ES scales better than life and defenses. Melee tanks are squishy while glass cannon casters can reach much higher effective health pools.

The game isn't hard. It's just not designed with Hardcore in mind. The developers want a "Elden Ring" type of game where people have to "learn" boss mechanics and die in the process. It's why even softcore players are complaining about not being able to progress due to death penalties.

To top it off, the developers don't want players to be able to tank boss "slam" mechanics but have no quarrels with specs that can kill a boss in under 2 seconds.

Thanks for your detailed reply! You bring up some really valid points that expand on the frustrations I mentioned. I completely agree that the issues with defensive stats like armor and evasion scaling poorly against big hits need serious attention. If defenses can’t handle the situations that matter most, it really does make them feel pointless—and Hardcore players feel that more than anyone.

I also see what you mean about the game not being designed with Hardcore in mind. The comparison to Elden Ring is interesting—if the philosophy is ‘learn by dying,’ that’s inherently at odds with Hardcore gameplay, where avoiding death is everything. It’s no surprise that both Hardcore and softcore players are feeling the pain of the death penalties.

As for boss mechanics, I couldn’t agree more that there’s an imbalance in allowing glass cannon builds to trivialize fights while discouraging tank builds. If players could actually mitigate big slams or focus more on defensive strategies, it would open up more diversity in viable builds and make the game feel more rewarding.

Your points align with the community’s broader concerns about fairness and build diversity.

Hopefully, GGG can balance things in a way that gives every playstyle a chance to shine—without making it feel like one-shot mechanics and DPS races are the only way forward. Thanks again for your insight—it adds a lot to the conversation!

Feel the same on all points... -.-

Was playing today going for low tier maps since I can not get gear to go higher and higher on the tiers. Now it just feels like a chore. Go in be lucky or not and repeat. Hope Items get better since I would like to go SSF on my next char..

Until then Ill just cool myself down and wait for patches to come and maybe change a few things.

Sincerely
Sig.