PoE 2 Isn’t a Souls-like — It’s a Casino Where the House Always Wins

As a huge fan of Souls-like games — and someone who completed NG+4 and The Depths in Nioh 2 with a 1 HP build (for those who know) — I have to say this clearly: Path of Exile 2 has absolutely nothing to do with a Souls-like experience.

What could have been an interesting direction feels like a completely failed attempt. In Souls-like games, the harder the content, the better the reward. Here, it feels like I'm walking through a giant casino, constantly gambling and mostly losing. And if only that was the only issue...


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Patch 0.2 – A Build Diversity Massacre

The massive nerfs introduced in 0.2 are, simply put, absurd. They completely broke most viable builds from 0.1. Playing a mana stacker is no longer even possible. Nearly everything that gave players build freedom or identity is now gone.

Okay, Temporalis deserved a nerf — no argument there. But nerfing everything? That’s just poor design. In every good ARPG or Souls-like, the goal of deep investment is to eventually become powerful. That’s the point. But here? The entire system feels like it’s built to punish you for playing.

PoE 2 is full of massive enemy encounters, yet the game strips you of all the tools to deal with them. This isn’t "difficult". This is frustration disguised as balance.


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The Loot System Makes No Sense

Let’s talk about loot, because this is one of the worst parts right now.

How is it that some players drop a Mirror in Act 3 Cruel, while others — level 90 with 200+ hours — have only seen 3 Divine Orbs? This isn’t "healthy RNG", this is nonsense.

There is zero correlation between difficulty and reward. A T16 map should drop 10x more valuable loot than a T1. That’s basic game design. No one cares if Divines are worth more if you never see them. Loot in PoE 2 right now feels like a bad slot machine: pure luck, no logic.


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Heading Toward Pay-to-Win?

On top of that, with how things are shaping up — the RMT spam, the unrewarding grind, the massive nerfs — it’s starting to feel like we’re heading toward a disguised pay-to-win (or pay-to-go-fast) model.

And make no mistake: frustration ≠ difficulty. It’s not Souls-like. It’s just bad.

If you really want PoE 2 to stand on its own, you’ll need to do more than recycle 80% of PoE 1. You’ll need to rethink your design and actually reward investment instead of punishing it.


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Final Thoughts

PoE 2 Patch 0.1, with all its flaws, was on the right track. It encouraged experimentation, and we felt like the game was evolving. Patch 0.2 is a massive step backwards, and honestly, it makes no sense.

If your goal is to create a frustrating experience, then congratulations — you're succeeding. But a frustrating game is not a difficult game. It's just a bad game.


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To the community:

That’s all I’ll say for now, but there’s so much more to unpack. I’ll let other players add their experiences. Maybe if enough of us speak up, GGG will finally realize the direction they're taking just isn’t it.