This sequel is far from a reiteration, it's a reinvention!

Path of Exile 2 launched into early access in December 6th 2024 to critical acclaim and has been a favorite of many people that are fans of this specific kind of games. Let’s dive into some of the reasons why I think you would love this game and should give it a shot whenever you get a chance.

If you do decide to get the game and try it, then I recommend you buy PoE 2 currency to catch up to speed with any friend that’s already pretty deep in the game. Or if you played the first one and get the feeling you already know how the game works.

Purchasing the game
The game as of now is in early access, but when it releases, after some unannounced amount of time, it will become free-to-play. But don’t let that model fool you; the devs don’t plan to make the game a “Pay-to-have-fun” instead, the microtransactions are mostly cosmetics with some exceptions but none of them are game breaking or overpowered. However, if you do plan to participate in the early access by buying into it, you will get different things depending on the edition that you get:

● Early access support pack: Contains 300 points and access to the game.

● Lord of Ogham Supporter Pack: contains Early Access to Path of Exile 2, an Armor Set, a Back Attachment, a Portal Effect, a Weapon Skin, two pets, a Hideout Decoration, a Portrait Frame, a Forum Title, a Badge, and 600 points.

● King of the Faridun Supporter Pack: contains Early Access to Path of Exile 2, two Armor Sets, two Back Attachments, a Level-up Effect, a Hideout, three Weapon Skins, three pets, two Hideout Decorations, a Portal Effect, two Portrait Frames, two Forum Titles, two badges, and 1000 Points.

These “points” that are mentioned are the premium currency in Path of Exile 2 and even the cheapest edition of the game comes with enough points to purchase very useful things. Purchasing stashes with this currency seems to be the common advice between experienced players.

So it’s pretty clear that purchasing the game instead of waiting for early access is pretty much worth it.

Size of the game
This sequel really earns its name by the sheer amount of content that they already put into the early access and the content that’s still to come.

The campaign in the first Path of Exile took an average of around 29 hours to complete the 10 acts in the game. Path of Exile 2’s campaign only has 3 of the 6 acts it will have on release but these 3 acts take the player an average of 25 hours to beat! That’s already so much game, and it means the full release will be almost twice as long as the first game. This isn’t the only aspect of the game that’s been drastically increased from the first one. Path of Exile 1 featured 7 playable classes at launch.

While path of exile 2 has 7 right now, with one of them having launching not long before this article released, once this game is fully released, it will have a whopping 12 classes to pick. Some are new and some are fan favorites making a return but every play style will have something to grab onto once the game comes out. Even the size of the skill tree, maybe one of PoE’s most notable features, is a lot bigger in the sequel than in the first one. Everything about PoE 2 screams “more” and “better”.

Gameplay
Path of Exile 2 really brings the classic formula of the dark ARPG that we have seen in games like the classic Diablo entries and brings it to the present, full features to adapt it to modern times. While still hitting that nostalgic feeling that you will feel as soon as you see the great artistic direction that this game has. Every class feels very different to play. From the more straight forward “Warrior” class that focuses in close quarters combat and the sorceress that fights from a distance with powerful spells, to the mercenary that disposes of some of the game’s controls and switches them up for a surprising top-down shooter control set. You move with WASD and aim with your mouse. Really putting the “Action” in “ARPG”. Fans of the genre will feel right at home with this entry.



Alone or with friends
Yes, PoE 2 is an MMO of sorts as well, with a constant open world where you see players moving around, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play by yourself as well. The game is balanced with both in mind, but I do recommend that at some point you dip your toes into the multiplayer, specially the more social aspects in the game.

Updates and developer thoughts
There are many games in early access that have been dropped by their devs without even saying a word, but not only is that not the case with path of exile 2, but it’s also completely the opposite. The game is constantly being updated, and the devs listen to the players as they fix problems and add content. They even have livestreams and blogs where they share their thoughts and talk about upcoming content all the time, so you can be sure they’re actively working on making the game better, adding more content and what is next in the table.

Just recently, the game saw a massive amount of content thanks to the “Dawn of the hunt” event where they added:

● A new playable class: the huntress makes her debut in the game with 2 ascendancies. She’s fast and deadly but attacking from a distance with her deadly spears as she darts around the battlefield with her dexterity based abilities.

● New ascendancies: This update dropped a third ascendancy for the warrior, witch and mercenary classes. Every class will have 3 ascendancy when the game fully releases.

● New skills: they brought a skill named “raise specter” that lets you capture the spirit of almost any enemy that there is in the game to release them to fight by your side later on. The other skill is “Summon Rhoa” which lets you summon a mount that will also help you in combat.

● More than 100 new support gems: Support Gems are used to modify your Skill Gems in meaningful and interesting ways, and they just added a ton of them!

● More unique items: They added more than 100 unique items to focus on completing the midgame.

All of this besides new endgame content, featuring a new area and reworked mechanics. Some of the bigger updates might take some time, but they’re worth the wait!



In conclusion
Path of Exile 2 is here and, in my opinion, leaves the previous entry in the dust with the amount of content that’ already in the game. Make the leap and try the early access before having to wait an uncertain amount of time! Personally, haven’t had as much fun with an ARPG since playing Diablo 2. I even thought I wasn’t a fan of the genre anymore, but PoE2 has this amazing aesthetic and gameplay that just draws you into it. Do you plan on getting into the early access?