Why POE2’s Direction Is Worrying for Veterans and Newcomers Alike

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Seanprice798#2395 wrote:

I can boil down your entire diatrabe to "this game isn't for me". To which the obvious the conclusion would be to just go play the game you're describing...which is Path of Exile 1...which you can still do as it's literally the same game it has always been.

Go play what you like, don't ruin something that other people like just because it doesn't fit your needs.

^ this guy gets it

I just find it ironic that he tries to claim the slower playstyle doesn't fit Arpgs but then he has Nioh on his games list, which is essentially an action game with a diablo loot system and monsters in both Nioh games take much longer to kill.

My time my choice.

While your post has some valid criticisms about some specific game features (passive tree feeling a bit hollow etc.), I largely disagree with the sentiment of your statement.

But to each their own, PoE1 will most likely still exist.

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MEITTI#3999 wrote:

I just find it ironic that he tries to claim the slower playstyle doesn't fit Arpgs but then he has Nioh on his games list, which is essentially an action game with a diablo loot system and monsters in both Nioh games take much longer to kill.

Wow! It's almost like you might know what he's talking about.

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Seanprice798#2395 wrote:

I can boil down your entire diatrabe to "this game isn't for me". To which the obvious the conclusion would be to just go play the game you're describing...which is Path of Exile 1...which you can still do as it's literally the same game it has always been.

Go play what you like, don't ruin something that other people like just because it doesn't fit your needs.

Oh hey, still posting here Seanprice? Enjoying the trip yet?

More nerfs incoming, many more to come in the coming days, weeks, months. Are you going to like it? Savour every blow to your beloved game?

Your salt sustains us.

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Xenus_Paradox#7530 wrote:

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MEITTI#3999 wrote:

I just find it ironic that he tries to claim the slower playstyle doesn't fit Arpgs but then he has Nioh on his games list, which is essentially an action game with a diablo loot system and monsters in both Nioh games take much longer to kill.

Wow! It's almost like you might know what he's talking about.

Oh yeah, it wasn't a problem in Nioh games at all, so therefore its not going to be a problem in PoE 2 either. Therefore OP is simply wrong about the game being "too slow". Nioh and Nioh 2 are comparatively slow in monster clear speeds and they didn't suffer for it.

You nailed every aspect of what is happening in POE2 right now. Very well written and constructive. I feel the exact same way. Thanks for the well-written breakdown.

I agree with you on the skill tree and drops/vendors.
Ascendancy trees need some polishing, for example: Blood Mage feels like a total lackluster, and Demon Form is not even working properly.
As for the vendors.. GGG should lower the cost of the items @ gamba vendor. Ain't no way a single ring costs 2k gold in Act 1, especially when amulets/rings barely drop in early game.
I'm aware they have already increased the drops from bosses and rares, but that's still not enough to craft a good item. Yes, there's "scarab farm" in Act 2 but that is most likely gonna get nerfed soon.
Having to say, it's much easier if you play with a full party or with friends since yall can just check if the vendor has some good items on sale, but then again, I don't want to rely on other people everytime I'm going thru campaign.
Might be a good idea to add some rare items to the story quests, and give the player like "4 choices". That'll help some folks who are struggling with gearing during the campaign.

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Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

Let me break down some key issues:

1. Slow Doesn’t Mean Better
A slower-paced game can be good, but it doesn’t automatically make it better. If you’re tired of POE1’s "zoom-zoom," I get it. But removing movement skills entirely, especially in massive maps that often require multiple trips through the same areas? That’s not challenging—it’s tedious. Even with rolls and movement speed buffs, traversing the world feels like a slog.

Travel skills and fast movement means the devs have to create harder and more punishing encounters to balance around the fact that some players can have 120% movespeed or dash around half the screen in a split second. bosses and enemies need to become faster and have larger aoes to actually pose a threat. but what about some other guy that has 30-50% movespeed? hes getting wrecked.

if ggg allowed faster ms, they will be forced to create content accordingly. which will force ALL PLAYERS to get a benchline movespeed or simply fail content. a good example is exarch or elder's bullet hell. even if you can see your path out of damage, if you have not enough MS you're still getting hit.

so i hard no for me, i dont want the gap between players to get wider. i dont need ggg creating a boss that shoots huge ass aoes because of the zoomers.

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2. Difficulty Isn’t About Tedium
I keep hearing that POE2 is “more difficult.” But is it? Difficulty isn’t about giving enemies inflated health pools and forcing players into a boring loop of poking, retreating, and poking again. That’s not engaging—it’s frustrating. True difficulty should come from well-designed mechanics and meaningful decision-making, not from artificially drawn-out combat.

isnt the mechanics in path2 more engaging? if it feels drawn out, its just a dps issue. you dont like poking and retreating? then what do you actually want? to stand in place spamming a skill quickly draining the boss's hp while you ignore everything he does because you can tank it? getting out of damage is meaningful decision making. or can you tell me if you were a designer WHAT would you do for a boss design to make it meaningful combat?

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3. Flasks and the “Vision”
Yes, flasks now refill on kills, which is better than the original POE2 reveal. But the addition of refill wells still feels unnecessary and redundant. The whole system feels like a solution to a problem that didn’t exist in POE1. Instead of adding depth, it just slows down the pacing. It’s another example of the “vision” overriding what’s actually fun.

halfway agree with you on this, but i do understand the notion that ggg doesnt want us to rely on flasking too much. mistakes cause us to suffer heavy damage. being able to easily flask up can trivialize making mistakes. and thus trivialize "meaningful" combat. which they did throw us a bone by giving us flasks that can gain charges over time.

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4. Crafting Is a Mess
No deterministic crafting is a joke. The devs say they want us to craft more, but how? Without reliable tools like crafting benches or alt rolls, crafting feels like throwing currency into the void and praying for a miracle. If the idea is to encourage players to build items from scratch, it’s not working. The lack of control isn’t engaging—it’s exhausting.

tbh i can understand where you're coming from. we played games like poe and LE, so deterministic crafting is a great deal/boon for us players.

but i would say that most modern gamers forgot how its like in diablo 2. you only actually looked for 1-2 mods on items the rest were just filler/bonuses. for example, one of the most desirable stats on a weapon right now is +skills. a magic item with that can be better than a 6mod rare with mods all over the place.

when crafting we only target 1-2 mods and the rest are fillers. in fact, the fact we have crafting at all is considered good.

you may feel free to hate this new system but i personally like it as i come from d2 and the way i see it. good rares are much more valuable as a result without needing them to be mirror tier.

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5. Drops and Vendors
If you like the current loot drops, more power to you. But even if you do, they’re still poorly designed. Vendors have been given more power, but drops feel so sparse that crafting currency barely exists. The balance isn’t there. You can’t expect players to engage deeply with crafting when you’re starving them of the resources to do so.

i agree with you somewhat. tho its still manageable. i would prefer if the shop refreshed once in a while.

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6. The Skill Tree Is Disappointing
The new skill tree looks like POE1’s tree but feels hollow in comparison. The nodes are uninspired, and the restrictive layout makes it harder to create unique or unconventional builds. The inability to travel across the tree freely stifles creativity. And the absence of masteries? It’s a huge loss. Masteries gave builds flexibility and depth, allowing players to specialize and fine-tune their characters. Without them, the tree feels rigid and unexciting. Even basics like Life nodes, which helped define different defensive strategies, are missing, limiting creativity in ways that hurt the game.

i would argue that you CAN travel across the tree much better now. the attribute highway lets you select stats that you need. either way you WILL need to slap points into attributes.

as for missing life nodes, theres actually an interesting reason behind this.

with the lack of life nodes, players will find it difficult to multiply health. and thus GGG can more or less balance content around a certain health range.

compare that to poe1. most players try to strive for 4-5k hp, but some players go for 10-15k hp. one reason why damage spikes and one shots exist in poe1 is because the devs are FORCED to balance the game around the fact that 10-15k hp players exist. so some attacks hit for 4-6k. which would 1hko most players but just essentially poke the 10-15k hp player to use a flask pot.

by removing life from tree, the devs can focus on making damage only hit a certain range. players have to actually git gud and get out of the way when heavy hits are incoming.

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7. The Gem System Isn’t Fun
The new gem system isn’t engaging. It’s clunky, and the fact that gems don’t stack just highlights how half-baked it feels. The uncut gem mechanic might seem like an interesting idea, but in practice, it’s just another layer of grind. Gems should feel like an integral part of progression, not a source of frustration.

i agree with you halfway. i prefer being able to level up gems via xp. but on the flipside, if you grind enough you'll be swimming in so many its not funny.

on the flipside, it not being too engaging is a good thing. we dont need to worry about sockets too much and just keep playing. unlike in poe1 where having items drop with less than 3 links at the start feels real bad. we spend more time actually playing the game rather than tinkering with our gems. isnt that a good thing?

also, i really appreciate how we dont worry about sockets and colours anymore for the most part. no more chromatics. no more fusings. whether an item has sockets no longer is an issue.

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8. The Campaign Is Too Long
Some players praise the longer campaign, but for leagues, this is a disaster. Every league, we’ll have to slog through this overly long campaign multiple times. POE1’s campaign is already considered a chore by many veterans, and POE2’s is shaping up to be even worse. A longer campaign doesn’t mean better retention—it just means more burnout.

i'm neutral on this. on one hand its really long. on another, whats the other option? letting us into the atlas with free tier 0 maps that have no league mechanics until we hit level 66?

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9. Ascendancies and Trials
Why can’t we change ascendancies anymore? Is this supposed to be a challenge? It’s just restrictive for no reason. And Trials… who thought combining Ultimatum and Sanctum mechanics was a good idea? Trials are tedious, clunky, and far from enjoyable. It feels like GGG took the least-loved mechanics and doubled down on them, which is baffling.

no argument. agreed.

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I Want to Love POE2, But It’s Hard
As a veteran, I want to see POE2 succeed. I want it to be different, but it also needs to respect the core systems that have kept players invested in POE1 for years. Right now, it feels like GGG is prioritizing their “vision” over what actually works.

To the newer players defending these changes without understanding their long-term impact: you’re not helping. Ignoring valid criticism isn’t supporting the game; it’s enabling bad design. Constructive feedback is what helps games improve. POE2 has the potential to be great, but it needs to address these issues before it alienates the very players who’ve been its foundation for years.

i m a veteran too. 10 year player. your opinions ARE valid. but they are opinions. mine are too. its ok to have different opinions. i would say that you have strong bias stemming from your experience from poe1.

try looking at it from a different pov. do you actually want poe2 to become another poe1 where the gap between a noob and a sweater is so large that build guides become a necessity? thats where poe1 is at. when you talk about creativity, i ll point out that the more creative you become in making a build immortal or making a build one shot bosses, the more it forces ggg to:

1. nerf
2. make content harder

no one likes nerfs but a nerf but on the flipside, nerfs prevent players from being forced into metas. if ggg made content harder. guess what players are forced to do? go meta. where is the creativity when everyone goes meta?

look at how ggg nerfed cast on x/trigger skills recently. if instead ggg made content harder, EVERYONE ELSE would be having a more difficult time just because of this harder content while the triggerers would probably clear them with relative ease.

alot of design decisions ggg made is actually brilliant if you think about how they limit player power but by doing so allows them to create a more balanced end game where you dont need to be godlike. you dont need deterministic crafting. you dont need a build guide.