I’m not some diehard PoE vet that’s been playing for eleven years. I’m not even close. I probably have a couple of years in-game, and even though it isn’t much compared to most players, it was enough for me to realize that some features just really stick out to me more than others. After the last few leagues that I tried out and ended up not liking, Settlers of Kalguur was a breath of fresh air, and I’ve been grinding with my Bleed Eviscerate Gladiator ever since it dropped. Typically, League content doesn’t stick around after the league ends; not for a while anyway. Sometimes league content gets added in as a permanent fixture, but this time around, some of the key features from Settlers ended up making their way into the core features in Path of Exile 2, and I really can’t wait to see how much it changes the game.
While I’m very used to the Settlers of Kalguur league mechanics by this point, I wasn’t expecting to be able to keep playing them after the league finally ends, and in a different game, at that. Throughout this league, the various mechanics offered changed my gameplay greatly from what I’m used to in Standard. Don’t get me wrong, Standard is great, but having to go back to not having passive map runners, ships pulling in currency, and the currency exchange, I assumed I’d hit a bit of a lull and go back to grinding on other games instead. I’m still not sure if the map runners or any of the other key features of Kingsmarch will be featured in PoE 2, but I do know that the currency exchange and the ability to respec with Gold instead of Orbs of Regret will be sticking around.
Both of these features were some of my favorites in Settlers, and I use them probably just a bit too much. Honestly, what’s more efficient than heading out to chat with Faustus, the Financier whenever you’re low on currency and PoE Trade just ain’t doing it for ya, to get a few extra Chaos, Divs, or in my case, dozens of The Maven’s Writs because I can’t beat a boss to save my life? Nothing. It’s perfect. It’s convenient, and I’ll never go back. As far as respecing your build, spending a few Gold is nothing compared to having to spend your hard earned currency to switch around a few nodes. However, I do have some concerns.
Again, I don’t fully know what features will be available in Path of Exile 2, but I’m curious as to whether or not the Black Market will still be available, since we’ll have Faustus around still. If it does carry over, that’ll be a broken method of trying to get some gear to sell early on, or even to “farm” for specific items and rolls that are rather expensive. I personally think it might be a quick end to PoE Trade, but I may be wrong. I’m truly curious to see how the changes pan out and how different everything feels with those features permanently available.
