Path of Exile 2 recently dropped a chunky 1-hour video showcasing the upcoming free-to-play isometric APRG’s highlights. One of its strengths is a whopping set of seven endgame activities. It won’t even be released in its 1.0 version yet nor will it be for a long time. To give you an idea of just how massive this is for an ARPG, Diablo 4, Path of Exile 2‘s biggest rival, only had around three endgame activities on its 1.0 release.
For those who’re familiar with Path of Exile already, these are the announced endgame activities for Path of Exile 2. Some were carried over from the original game’s Leagues:
- Atlas
- Waystones
- Breach
- Ritual
- Delirium
- Endgame Trials
- Pinnacle Bosses (Shaper-type boss with four precursor lieutenants)
Grinding Gear Games (GGG), Path of Exile‘s developers, are not taking their chances. That might also be due to the errors Diablo 4 rectified.
Going back to Diablo 4‘s release, the three endgame activities at the time were: Nightmare Dungeons, Helltides, and Legions. Two of those have already been overhauled after a long series of criticisms from the players. Common opinions back in 2023 were how half-baked or shallow they were.
These days, Diablo 4 has around 12 fun endgame activities. This came about after a year of learning from its players the importance of this gameplay loop. After all, live service games want players to keep playing and the endgame is the meat of the content.
So now, here’s Path of Exile 2 stacking its endgame activities long before it’s even complete. But it’s not just Path of Exile 2 that seemingly learned the importance of the live-service ARPG endgame. Diablo 4‘s other competitors, such as Last Epoch even flaunted in its trailer that it had several endgame systems upon full release earlier in 2024.
Path of Exile 2 Already Had a Strong Template
Granted, Path of Exile 2 imported more than half of its endgame systems from the original Path of Exile. It already had a solid foundation. So you could also argue that the devs had their path laid out for them (no pun intended).
Still, this kind of development foresight goes to show just how considerate the devs are with their players and how they know their fans. It’s worth noting that the original Path of Exile released back in 2013 also had a shallow endgame. Those droppable maps weren’t unlike the original Nightmare Dungeons from Diablo 4 on release.
But let’s not forget that Path of Exile and Path of Exile 2 are free games. Despite the nonexistent price tag, these games still go above and beyond expectations which is an astounding feat in itself, and it certainly earns them no shortage of goodwill. It would be interesting to see what kind of new standard Path of Exile 2 sets for the live-service ARPG genre now that it has flexed its strengths.
For the record, Path of Exile 2 Early Access and its seven endgame systems will be released on December 6, 2024. If you want more details about the endgame and content, here’s the video.
