The Path of Exile 2 Meta Arms Race Has Begun, Starting with Nerfs for an 'Unacceptable Balance State'

In the original Path of Exile, much of the community drama revolved around players looking to exploit “broken” and overpowered builds while the devs scramble to nerf them and balance the game. Now in Path of Exile 2 Early Access, the same meta “arms race” has begun earlier than expected. Path of Exile 2 devs have recently announced the very first series of nerfs.

Grinding Gear Games (GGG), Path of Exile 2‘s aforementioned developers, have taken to X/Twitter and posted about their findings and course of action for the game’s balance. The dev tweet mostly discussed skills they’re nerfing in the next hotfixes as well as player feedback.

Well we've finally hit that point where a skill with unacceptable balance has been discovered!

Supercharged Slam is unfortunately dealing far too much damage than was intended given the short channel window required to hit maximum stages. We are imminently going to be reducing…
— Path of Exile (@pathofexile) December 7, 2024

We've found another skill in an unacceptable balance state. Following the same ideals as earlier, we're also going to be reducing the damage of Magnetic Salvo in the next hotfix. Note that this isn't the only skill on our radar right now but we're really just trying to address…
— Path of Exile (@pathofexile) December 8, 2024

The devs also mentioned trying to avoid nerfs because such a word and initiative are frowned upon in any game community. Overpowered builds are, after all, fun for many players. However, in the long run, balance and the game’s overall progression curve will suffer if such builds are left in an unbalanced state.

Hence, Grinding Gear Games is nipping such problems in the bud early on. The devs want to ensure that the use of overpowered skills is not obligatory. Such nerfs will guarantee that players aren’t reluctantly forced into a single playstyle to keep up with others.

And Thus, the Meta Arms Race Begins…

So far, Supercharged Slam, Magnetic Salvo, Gas Grenade, and Gass Arrow have been or will be nerfed, much to the chagrin of players who relied on them. It’s worth noting that many are struggling against Path of Exile 2‘s mid-game and late-game bosses. Some players are even calling on GGG to nerf the enemies.

So far, GGG has unveiled its list of changes and upcoming adjustments. The latest upcoming patches and updates will buff certain rewards. The update also aims to improve the responsiveness and protection of the dodge roll mechanic. Hopefully, this might be enough to help the struggling players.

However, you can still expect some of the top players to rise to the challenge and find even more overpowered skills. Consequently, overpowered and popular builds will bring GGG’s attention to said skills, resulting in Path of Exile 2 nerfs. Such is the cycle of balance in Path of Exile, and Path of Exile 2 is no exception.