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Thanks to the wonderful people at Grinding Gear Games and Starfall PR, I was given the incredible opportunity to preview Path of Exile 2 in Los Angeles, California earlier this month. The team had us stay at the Sheraton Hotel nearest LAX, which also doubled as the venue for the preview event. After waking up on the event day, I walked downstairs and headed toward the ballroom, where I was told to meet. Upon arrival, other journalists, content creators, and I were asked to wait while team members passed around goodie bags and Path of Exile 2 wristbands.
Path of Exile 2 has been on everyone’s radar since it was officially announced at Exilecon in 2019. Since then, it’s undergone various changes, including jumping to a full game instead of the previously announced update of the first Path of Exile. The story occurs several years after the first game’s ending, with new horrors being unleashed on Wraeclast. You take on the role of an exile tasked with discovering ancient secrets, defeating monstrous enemies, and collecting powerful weapons and armor.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I was to expect of an event about a game like when the ballroom doors opened and we were let in. The main lights were dimmed, and streaks of red lighting were perfectly positioned around the room and on cutouts of dilapidated trees to take advantage of shadows. At the entrance of the room was a photo opportunity area (which I took advantage of) that ended in a tunnel that led to the rest of the ballroom, housing about 100 PCs with the game ready to roll, a dining area, and a stage where Technical Director Jonathan Rogers spoke in immense detail about early access.
So, what did I learn? In short, a lot.
What’s New In Path of Exile 2?
There was so much to see before we even got our hands on the game. Jonathan spoke for about two hours (at top speed, might I add) about everything players can expect from the early access launch on December 6, 2024. Most everything you can expect to experience can be found in the video below. Some things we couldn’t necessarily show in video form are missing from it. So, we listed them below:
- Characters will be able to move while attacking for more fluidity.
- Three Acts are available at launch, and three more will be available before early access ends for about 25 hours of story content.
- Everything purchased from the Shop in the first game will transfer to the second.
- Flasks have been completely overhauled. Instead of five slots, there are two permanent ones dedicated to HP and mana.
- There will be nearly 1,000 enemies that players can encounter to avoid repetitiveness in encounters.
- When early access launches, there will be a massive focus on the endgame, which is why there will be only three Acts at first.
- Players will be able to combine elemental magic to create new combination spells. For example, a player can create a ring of fire around them and then shoot an electrical attack at enemies outside the ring, resulting in a fiery electrical attack.
- There are tons of new challenges and hardcore dungeons to experience in the endgame that can be found on the explorable map.
- There will be cross-play, cross-progression, and couch co-op, which allow players of all levels to play with each other, scaling down the highest-level player to the same as the lowest level.
Newer Is Sometimes Better
Now that I’ve had the chance to experience Path of Exile 2, the first game feels so incredibly stiff. Trust me when I say that I still love to head into the Forbidden Sanctum with my dual-wielding mercenary, but I already know that the experience will be so much better in the sequel. I knew that from the moment I realized that I didn’t need to play this weird game of catch whenever an enemy would run away just as I would strike my sword down. The addition of fluid attacks was a breath of fresh air.
For me, the biggest game changers are the dodge roll and the new take on Gems. I’m an incredibly aggressive, fists-forward type of player, so even though most of my passive skills and Gems are aimed at increasing health, I still lose massive amounts sometimes. So, I’ll typically just click out of the battle, play the potion piano, and run around until my health returns. This time, I can dodge my enemy’s attacks and roll away whenever I lose health. In Jonathan’s presentation, he even showed that players utilizing shields can actively use them in battle to do various attacks.
Concerning Skill Gems, I’m the type of player who will take newly earned Gems and switch them around through all of my items to make all my favorites fit better (Don’t judge me). I like the cleaner look of the Skill Gems and Gemcutter in Path of Exile 2 and the fact that it helps me better organize my skills. I think it also helps save a lot of space in my inventory for all those orbs and scrolls I know I’m going to hoard.
Wraeclast, I’ll Be There Soon
It was very clear during and after the presentation that Grinding Gear Games wants to ensure an incredible early access release for Path of Exile 2. More importantly, they want to ensure they do right by their player base while encouraging new players. Jonathan and the team are incredibly aware of what their community wants and implement as much of it as possible in Path of Exile 2. However, it wasn’t until I got my hands on it that I realized just how much love and dedication was poured into its making.
I’m excited for everyone to get their hands on the game when it releases on December 6. We didn’t see any information about temporary leagues, though I am excited to see what is to be expected and if anything will even come close to Settlers of Kalguur. Despite being an early access title, it feels complete with an incredibly solid endgame, according to what was shown. While the event only allowed us a few hours of play, what Jonathan showed of the many different dungeons, additional secret characters, multiplayer, and more after characters reach approximately level 65 feels like hours and hours of content. I can’t wait to see what more will captivate me in Wraeclast when it launches.
