From the lurking monsters of Clearfell to the untamed beasts that lurk within the halls of Ogham Manor, there isn’t much that I haven’t been rather impressed with in Path of Exile 2. The gameplay, while somewhat similar to Path of Exile, is vastly different in many ways as well and it brings a breath of fresh air to the grindy, repetitive feel that I’m used to. The story, while still somewhat hard to focus on, feels much more relevant, and the experience provides a bit of a Dark Souls vibe. The difficulty is much higher, even without parties or co-op being a factor, and overall, I’m quite pleased.
Honestly, I hopped into Path of Exile 2 with some pretty high expectations. After spending the last couple of years religiously playing Path of Exile, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to see in the sequel. What I had hoped for and expected weren’t quite what I got. What I did get, however, was even more than I was hoping for.
As I stumbled onto the beaches outside of Clearfell, after narrowly escaping my own execution, I didn’t notice anything too different until I progressed closer to town and realized that things are much more simplified. The first big thing I latched onto and dropped absolute praise into was the changes made to skill gems. Before, you would have a different gem for each skill, sockets in all your gear to drop them into, and you’d have a hell of a time leveling them up. While it might still take some time to level up your skill gems, the interface used to mess with them is so much more simple, and instead of waiting for a particular skill gem to drop, you can take any gem that’s dropped and cut it into the one you need for your particular build. The process is cleaner, faster, and so much less complicated, not to mention, I won’t have to spend dozens of Orbs of Fusing and Chromatic Orbs to make sure my gear all has the correct sockets and links anymore. Honestly, this one will probably be the key change that pulls my friends into PoE 2, but that’s really just the beginning.
As I neared the Clearfell Encampment, I encountered my first boss. When I say that this boss is so much more annoying (In the best kind of way, of course) than taking on Hillock, I mean it. He has some gnarly ranged attacks, the ability to summon loads of minions, and he’s fast. The only thing that really got me through him as a weak Level 2 Witch with all of two effective skills and nothing more than a Tattered Robe for armor, was the Dodge mechanic, which gave me a bit of insight into the Dark Souls fighting style that shows up more often than not. That playstyle alone gives the game a whole new feel and sets it apart from its predecessor.
When I learned that I would get a chance to play PoE 2 a bit early and preview it before it was released, I honestly didn’t think that GGG creating a story that would actually draw me in and keep me hooked enough to pay even the slightest bit of attention to it was even within the realm of possibility. While I wasn’t entirely wrong and it’s still been quite hard for me to focus on the story, given that my brain’s been hardwired to speed run PoE, there was just something about the narrative that demanded a bit of attention. It might have been due to the fact that the opening cinematic was so exciting when we learned that the Count had stolen a relic that could annihilate Wraeclast, or maybe the overall pacing of the game being much more spread out and slow so that you have more time to sink into everything that’s going on between the various quest steps and battles that you embark on, but it seems much more relevant than it previously did.
In Path of Exile, I can tell you that I paid attention to nearly nothing aside from the wild disdain for Kitava that everyone seems to have and the fact that Clarissa was really torn up over Tolman. This time around, while it’s still a bit more of a background feature for me, I’ve been able to vaguely follow along with what’s happened, stemming from my first conversation with Renly, all the way to defeating the boss who tried to execute me during my character creation. The story is there, it’s exciting and easy to follow along with, but if you don’t want to, the NPCs don’t get in the way and demand your attention. They’re just simply there if you’re interested, and I love that you have a choice with it.
Once you start really getting into the gameplay, there’s enough that I could talk for hours on what I enjoyed, but I’ll try to sum it up as well as I can. First, I’d like to point out that the option to respec your passives with Gold that first appeared in the Settlers of Kalguur league in Path of Exile has stuck around, and it might be one of my favorite features. I don’t know how many times I’ve run through my Orbs of Regret trying to respec my tree and try out a different build. Being able to use Gold, which drops from just about every enemy, is a complete game-changer and I will never not love it. Additionally, Spirit is a thing now. It allows you to choose skills that seem pretty overpowered after you’ve defeated specific bosses, which is the only actual way to get your hands on it. For a Witch like me, this is the only way to get any additional skeletal minions, like Archers, which I honestly think are amazing.
There are quite a few other things that really stuck out in the gameplay, like the increased overall difficulty. I can appreciate that you really can’t get anywhere without putting some solid effort into your build and ensuring that you have the correct skills equipped and the best armor you can find. You have to play strategically, use your brain, and overall, be tactical with your fights, which brings me to my next point. Given that the gameplay is quite different from Path of Exile, there’s a lot to learn. That said, GGG made it pretty easy to pick up on those things when it comes to boss fights. Yes, boss fights are more difficult, but they’re also easier in a sense too. Each boss’s phases and attacks are broadcast in a way that makes combat a much easier learning curve. Think The Maven’s audible attack call-outs, but in every boss.
I can’t conclude my impressions without speaking on the wildly improved graphics, audio, and fluidity that Path of Exile 2 offers. Starting with the attacks and movement, everything feels so much more smooth, and I can’t get enough of it. Add that in with the beautiful graphics and landscape that each individual location offers, PoE 2 is honestly gorgeous. The characters each look phenomenal, the terrain is more than just a map layout and is much more interactive now, and the OST is mind-blowing. There wasn’t a single point in which I wanted to turn down the music volume throughout my gameplay, which is quite surprising since I’m very much a “mute the game and turn on my own music” kind of girl. Each track matches the overall vibe and aesthetic of the area you’re in, and it’s so easy to get lost in.
Overall, I seriously appreciate the work that GGG put into creating Path of Exile 2. It’s a very clear improvement on almost every front, offering much better graphics, simplified systems and interfaces that previously were extremely headache-inducing. Add in exciting gameplay that forces you to use skills you wouldn’t have thought necessary, and to top it all off, it’s terrific being able to respec with Gold. (I really can’t get over that one.) I really wish I would have had time to dive into the endgame portion of the gameplay, but I have every bit of confidence that it’s even better than I’m expecting.
