What was the point of Poe2?

I'm just not sure what PoE2 wants to be at the moment. And I don't think GGG really knows either.

They started developing the game as an addon for PoE1 and then decided to develop it as a standalone game because they had “so many new ideas that didn't fit with PoE1”.

At this point, I think they should have made a very drastic cut that would have made PoE2 as different from PoE1 as possible. This would have made it clear that it really is a completely different game, perhaps aimed at a different target group.

And so it would have made much more sense to develop both games in parallel.

In reality, however, PoE2 is very close to PoE1. There are some new features, (the whole gameplay feels different - and I have to admit that I like it) but much of the game world is familiar. You now socket gems into gems and not into items. But many of the abilities have familiar names. You'll find Uniques that you already know from PoE1. You will meet characters you already know from PoE1. You will find the same currency items. (...)

And in the endgame, you more or less only encounter mechanics that were carried over from PoE1. Unfortunately, almost all of them are significantly worse than in the first part of the game. And that puts a huge damper on the fun of the game, because you simply have expectations that the game doesn't fulfill at all. This would probably be less of a problem if these were completely new mechanics in a completely different game. But since these are familiar mechanics in a game that feels very familiar that don't work as expected, it all just doesn't feel right.

You play PoE2, are constantly reminded of PoE1, and are constantly disappointed because everything feels somehow worse.

In my opinion, PoE2 is currently stuck between the developers' visions and the wishes of the PoE1 fanbase.

Perhaps they should have consistently developed a new game according to their ideas, one that doesn't borrow completely from the first game and should have deliberately not called it "Path of Exile 2." That would likely have saved both GGG and the PoE1 fanbase a lot of frustration.

At the same time, they could have continued developing PoE1 in the usual way and would likely have had two satisfied communities.

At the moment, I'm really curious to see how they plan to balance their own visions, the wishes of the fanbase, and the goal of developing PoE1 and PoE2 in parallel.

Never played POE1 and never will. I do play POE2 and happily support it. So to me I guess that's the point of POE2.

You know bring in some customers you didn't have before and wouldn't have had otherwise.

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Ondrashek06#5795 wrote:

Simple - GGG just didn't like PoE 1. They didn't like the fast-paced ARPG gameplay, nor did they like the amount of loot.

They made Ruthless mode to realize the vision of an ARPG with "meaningful combat", but it was not enough for them. They wanted an entire new game.

And so PoE 2 was made. It was everything that GGG aimed for. Slow combat that feels "meaningful" and a gameplay experience where every decision is "impactful".

Why would they work on the version of PoE that does not align with the vision?

Would you say that POE2 was "successful" at this slow but meaningful combat thing, like is that the kinda thing someone, a more casual player, who was more into Diablo 2, or the pace of Grim Dawn might find immersive?

The POE2 vision is a colossal failure, and one driven by arrogance and hubris.

I love poe1, I love poe2...

But I might not be comming back to poe 1

Poe2 is a huge upgrade. It still in development and you cant compare a 10+ yo game with some that still in development (nearly at 40% of where it should be)

So, glad we have both. But I'm moving forward
If you want to stay, thats 100% ok. It's good to have some options.