Path of Exile has represented a revolution in the ARPG space since its early development in 2010. It has reached rights that few indie developers dream of. From a small indie team to a behemoth that rivals Blizzard in terms of hype and player base. An indie darling and a fan favorite. Deep, tactical, skill-based. Beloved by the community and envied by its competitors.
And it's changing. 😱
Or rather, after ExileCon 2023, information has come out on Path of Exile 2 that has ruffled the feathers of many hardcore and die-hard fans. What is all the hubbub about? Why are people upset? We will cover all the news of GGG's newest games, and the talked about changes between it and the original that set the ARPG world a blaze.
Developers: Grinding Gear Games Genres: Free-to-play, Action game, RPG, Live Service Platforms: Microsoft Windows, XBOX, PlayStation Publishers: Grinding Gear Games Release Date: Q3 2024
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🔷 NEWEST TRAILER 🔶
I urge you, even if you have never watched or played Path of Exile, to watch this trailer. It will show you the graphics and feel of the world. As well as a quick overview of everything coming our way in the sequel. Behold!
The big takeaway here for returning players is the 6 new classes that each have 3 ascendancy classes. If you are new to Path of Exile that means nothing for you, just know you have a lot more options for builds. On top of the already extensive variety present in the game.
The rest is more of the same but better. We will go into debt on all of the mechanics soon, but in this introductory section, we can just say that the game looks good, sounds good, and feel like Path of Exile. Not much more you could ask of a sequel. 💯
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🔷 SEPERATE GAMES 🔶
The plan was originally that both games would run in the same client, have different campaigns, and have a shared endgame. That plan has been scrapped wholesale as now Path of Exile 2 is its own game.
🔴 The games will still share their MTX purchases.
This is huge as it allows people to just transfer and use all their skins that they spent years acquiring. 💯
However, a lot of people weren't happy with this decision. They feel like GGG is slowly killing Path of Exile for the sake of the sequel. This is amplified even more when you realize that Path of Exile 2 is a different type of ARPG - slower, more methodical, and more action. While the original is more arcadey. Some people have played the original for over a decade, and are still having fun with it. This wasn't the plan GGG!
GGG addresses this by saying there will still be content developed for Path of Exile 1. It will retain its league format, with alternating leagues between the original and the sequel. But of course, the new game will obviously get more attention and love - hence people being afraid.
In my opinion, this is a good thing. I doubt GGG will just let the original game die. Of course, there will be more focus on Path of Exile 2 because that's fresh and interesting. But that doesn't mean people even know what the game is like. The beta comes out in a year, so I won't presume to know whether PoE2 > PoE1.
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🔷 DIFFERENT GAMES 🔶
I present to you wonderful people a gameplay demonstration from the third act of the new game, featuring the Monk class. 🔽
As you can see the combat is much slower, much more movement focussed. For one thing, there is a dedicated dodge roll for every class. It has no cooldown and can dodge projectiles and melee swings. This is amazing! Especially when you hear that it can cancel cast times of spells as well.
Speaking of spells, you can redirect spells at the last minute. This was not possible in the original. As well as most spells have a movement component to them. Also not a thing in the original. Both are welcomed changes.
Since we are talking about spells, you can assign your gems to different weapon sets - meaning weapon swapping is finally a thing. When you use your fire spells, your character will automatically switch to your fire staff. Use ice spells and they switch back. Amazing! Moreover, you can assign passive skills to each weapon swap, meaning you will get different passives activated depending on which weapon you use. 😱
Another important note that will sound totally crazy to non-PoE players - there's gold now! Now, I loved the different currencies as much as the next man, but gold is not replacing our long-loved orbs. If anything, it will make the item drops more meaningful when they do happen, as the drop rate has been significantly changed.
There will be 6 acts and each will be very different than the last. Each area will have its own distinct boss, with over 100 unique bosses that will enrich both the leveling experience and the end game. 💯
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🔷 CONCLUSION 🔶
I can't wait for this beauty to come out. This latest presentation has blown me out of my expectations. All the decisions made align with my preferences perfectly. A lot of people aren't happy, yes, but then again a lot of people can't accept change. I believe that most will convert and come to like the sequel just as much as the original.
Now, am I biased? Of course! I loved what I saw and I can't wait to play it. And I doubt I will ever play the original game again, honestly. I've had my fun with it, it's now time for a different, more mature RPG to take the scene.
Diablo has one year to get its $#!@ together, or get blown out of the water. 😁
I'm not rooting for any one game over the other btw, just stating facts! I hope both D4 and POE2 can motivate the opposite dev team to create something even better.
Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe roll) 👏👏👏
Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
Tagging my PoE buddy @kaelci to share her opinions! The people demand it!
👊 Follow me on my HIVE blog 👊
Have a great start to your week! 🙌
Return from FIRST LOOK | Introducing Path of Exile 2 to Јоцко's Web3 Blog
