Being Exile on Linux

Since Microsoft wants to kill us and my rope broke, I escaped successfully to Linux (Debian 13) and started playing as an exile.

Fun apart, there are really lots of people who switch over their gaming systems to Linux and I am one of them (was planning before it became a mainstream movement). The way I installed PoE2:
1) Installing Wine and Wine32 (because I don't want Steam for this game)
2) Installing Lutris Launcher (because no Steam)
3) Downloading PoE2 installer and installing via Lutris (Proton under the hood)
4) Running PoE2 (with or without Lutris)

My experience so far: CPU seems to run smoother on Linux than on Windows, especially in heavy fight situations. I was upgrading GPU, so I cannot compare it - but there is nothing I can complain about (running Vulkan of course). I'm using the open source drivers that are automatically installed through Debian and just works out of the box. The only bug is, that settings show I'm using a "ATI Radeon HD 5600 Series" - a GPU from 15 years ago with 512MB video memory that handles 4k@60Hz gaming on highest settings without upscaling. :D Nobody cares about such bugs, but it is funny to think about.

But that sounds to good to be true, right? Right! I have issues to configure my shortcuts. For example I want to use "open inventory" on [Tab] and the map-button on [^] and when pushing that button, it becomes a [ö]-shortcut. That is strange, because on chat etc my keyboard is working just fine. I was messing around in the config file and tried to fix my issue manually, but realized that every button is available, except [^] and [<] (last one does not exist physically on US-keyboards).
So these two buttons are not available to use. I "fixed" it by adding a PoE-layer directly on my keyboard, so that the [^]-key is mapped as a completely other key. It's no optimal solution, but it works fine. I just have to remember to change the keyboard layers for PoE.

At the end, the experience is great. I just wish there will be a native Linux release at some point to avoid bugs as I described. Especially since the Linux market share is still growing and I don't expect that this will stop soon (Win12 will be worse than Win11, which is worse than Win10).

Thanks for this description. As an EU citizen I'm disengaging from everything US made, so I'm migrating to Linux, and you just solved POE for me (since I ofc want to avoid Steam too). Thank you.

Debian favors stability, so it doesn’t always ship the newest AMD GPU stack in its stable release. That’s probably why you’re seeing that weird bug. Fedora updates much more aggressively while still staying reasonably stable.

Installing the non‑Flatpak version of Lutris also means you need to know exactly which dependencies to install, and there are quite a few if you want to cover every scenario. I’d suggest the Flatpak version of Bottles, or, if you really prefer Lutris, its Flatpak version. The Flatpak packages include all necessary dependencies, so there’s far less that can go wrong.

I run Path of Exile 2 with Bottles (gaming bottle, Proton runner) on Fedora with an AMD GPU. Zero issues.

Glad you switched to Linux, hope more will. Windows is an abomination.


Edit:

For anyone who might be interested in switching:

https://fedoraproject.org/kde/download

Choose the ISO listed under For Intel and AMD x86_64 systems

Fedora will automatically install the correct drivers, whether you have an NVIDIA or AMD GPU.

When the OS prompts you to update, accept and let it finish. After rebooting, open the terminal and run this command:

sudo dnf install steam

That’s it. You can launch Steam just like on Windows. Proton, Steam’s compatibility layer, comes pre-enabled nowadays, so all you have to do is download Path of Exile 2 and click Play. It really is that simple.

If you don't want to use Steam, launch the Discover app and look for the Flatpak version of Bottles or Lutris. Plenty of guides on YouTube show you how to use them.

Installing Windows is more difficult to do than anything of the above.

runs great on linux

Does Path of building or exile exchange 2 work on linux? Also I feel like too much stuff to setup, I just want to play the game and not fiddle with linux settings and installing and such.

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2836742981#3689 wrote:

Does Path of building or exile exchange 2 work on linux? Also I feel like too much stuff to setup, I just want to play the game and not fiddle with linux settings and installing and such.

I'd like to know as well. I don't have the hardware to get PoE on my Linux rig but I'm buying soon. I have some exp with wine/etc.

Also sorry about USA folks. I am one since 1901. Plz don't be mad, we don't like the orange man either.

"

comnom#5629 wrote:

"

2836742981#3689 wrote:

Does Path of building or exile exchange 2 work on linux? Also I feel like too much stuff to setup, I just want to play the game and not fiddle with linux settings and installing and such.

I'd like to know as well. I don't have the hardware to get PoE on my Linux rig but I'm buying soon. I have some exp with wine/etc.

Also sorry about USA folks. I am one since 1901. Plz don't be mad, we don't like the orange man either.

Happy 125th birthday

With Bottles:



Bottle used for Path of Building (Application, sys-wine runner):



Bottle used for Path of Exile 2 (Gaming, ge-proton runner):



No tinkering was needed. You can expect any new software or game to run out of the box today. Older games will often require some tinkering though.

After creating the Bottle, run the Windows executable inside it and install just like you would on Windows.