Constructive melee feedback (Warrior centric)

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Waymaker08#6358 wrote:

I am probably just adding to what you already said, but I had typed out a longer version to vent about character balance across the classes. Here is an edited / shortened version:

"Path of Exile 2 Review

I have between 75 and 100 hours of gameplay time across about five characters in Path of Exile 2. I have finished the campaign on one character—my first character—which happens to be a Warrior - Titan. Suffice to say, my first playthrough of the campaign was challenging. In many ways, PoE 2 is not the same game as PoE 1, and melee combat has not been improved since the first game.

Yes, combat is more engaging. I’m dodge rolling, managing my positioning, using travel skills, employing utility skills to block and knock back, stunning enemies, building up my stun meter with one skill, and then delivering a big, chunky blow with a two-handed mace. From an interactive perspective, combat has been improved. However, despite these improvements, melee gameplay feels worse than in PoE 1 and lacks the versatility of other classes in PoE 2.

In PoE 1, skills like Cyclone, Infernal Strike, or Earthshatter started as situationally good but scaled into awe-inspiring playstyles. In PoE 2, this sense of growth feels diminished. For instance, the skills available to a Warrior wielding a mace—such as Rolling Slam, Boneshatter, Earthquake, and auto attack (AA)—create an immediate imbalance. Auto attack is the obvious choice early on due to its higher damage, no mana cost, and faster attack time. Boneshatter is situationally effective but only when the target is primed for stun, which is solid combat design. However, Earthquake and Rolling Slam feel underwhelming both in terms of damage and mechanics.

These issues stem from how damage and Area of Effect (AoE) interactions are balanced. In many scenarios involving 2-3 enemies—a typical encounter—auto attack performs just as well as Earthquake or Rolling Slam while requiring fewer resources. Earthquake, in theory, could provide situational area control, but its long attack time and lack of synergy with fast-moving enemies make it impractical. Dodge rolling becomes the go-to solution, further reducing the utility of these AoE skills.

This lack of viable skill choices persists throughout the early game, and the mace skill tree’s design doesn’t align with the game's combat and monster mechanics. For instance, PoE 2 emphasizes the importance of acting faster than enemies. A dead monster or a controlled monster is less dangerous. However, the Warrior—a melee class—often cannot act quickly enough to achieve these advantages. Comparatively, ranged classes like Monk, Ranger, Witch, Sorceress, and Mercenary attack or cast faster, allowing them to kill monsters before they can close the gap.

The Warrior’s slower attacks necessitate significant defensive investments early on. While other classes can prioritize offensive nodes and gear to kill monsters faster, the Warrior must prioritize survival. This creates a slower, more punishing gameplay experience. For example, it took me nearly 10 hours to clear Act 1 on my Warrior compared to only 4 hours on my Sorceress. Admittedly, player knowledge contributed to the faster second playthrough, but ranged combat’s inherent advantages also played a significant role.

Ranged classes can maintain distance, attack while repositioning, and leverage higher damage uptime. In contrast, the Warrior’s melee reliance increases contact time with monsters, raising the likelihood of taking damage. Even with skills like Earthshatter—which offers a pseudo-ranged option—the Warrior’s slow attack speed and animation locking remain significant disadvantages.

The design philosophy applied inconsistently across classes further exacerbates the Warrior’s struggles. Other classes benefit from mechanics like attacking while moving or synergistic skill setups, while the Warrior often feels locked into slow, high-risk animations. For instance, other classes can kite—attacking and moving to mitigate damage—with ease. This ability not only increases survivability but also speeds up gameplay.

Defensive stereotypes about the Warrior—such as high armor, block, and life pools—don’t hold up in practice. While a Warrior might reach 4-5k life with significant investment, a Sorceress using Mind Over Matter and Eldritch Battery can achieve a 6-10k effective life pool alongside synergistic damage boosts. Similarly, classes with high Energy Shield, evasion, and status effects like freezing or slowing can mitigate damage more effectively than the Warrior’s armor and block.

Despite these frustrations, PoE 2 offers plenty of fun and rewarding moments for the Warrior. After obtaining a high-armor chest piece, investing in block nodes, and using a shield with 41% base block chance, my Warrior became significantly more survivable. My map failure and death rates dropped, and I found joy in slow, heavy-hitting combat. The satisfaction of wielding a two-handed mace with a shield—face-tanking hits and delivering devastating blows—remains unparalleled.

Still, comparison can dampen the enjoyment of these accomplishments. Seeing the relative ease and efficiency of other classes—whether through higher effective life pools, faster clear speeds, or more forgiving mechanics—highlights the Warrior’s disadvantages. The Warrior’s power fantasy feels overshadowed by the practical advantages of other classes.

Ultimately, Path of Exile 2 is an incredible game with engaging combat and countless hours of entertainment. While the Warrior has its shortcomings, the game’s overall design keeps me hooked. The combination of challenging mechanics, satisfying combat, and the promise of further improvements make PoE 2 a 10/10 experience for me. Despite its flaws, I’m excited to see how the game evolves and will undoubtedly continue playing for a long time."

I would add a final note about Skill gems more efficiently getting damage than weapons without needing to craft an upgrade, which can mean that I use one weapon from Act 2 or three fore the entire campaign. Vs a caster only needs to upgrade their gems to get damage to scale. This is the same issue from PoE1 but now we do not have vendor recipes to guarantee a weapon with increased physical damage. Maybe attack skill gems could have a baseline damage added at low levels that falls off at high levels?

Then the same thing about Stun duration feeling low and certain nodes on the tree not seeming very exciting compared to what other classes are getting, which means that I am basically locking into Giant's Blood + a shield.

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chobo999#2010 wrote:

I also feel that many folks have already expressed the woes from PoE1 and that they're still here in PoE2 essentially (like ranged > melee) - that's just unfortunate to hear (and believe now that I've tried it myself and confirmed via various sources, pros, etc) -- again, I'm not saying game-balance is easy, but at least make an effort from the past...seems like not much has changed from PoE1 in that aspect and that's too bad.

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nickzzzzzz#7923 wrote:

Also seems to me the only build for warrior seems to be branching out on the passive tree and getting all strength/attribute nodes possible to be able to utilize Giant's Blood. I am in the process of doing that because I am thinking a shield will be mandatory in higher tiered waystones. My apologies if this point has been brought up.

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Eep#5463 wrote:

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nickzzzzzz#7923 wrote:

Also seems to me the only build for warrior seems to be branching out on the passive tree and getting all strength/attribute nodes possible to be able to utilize Giant's Blood. I am in the process of doing that because I am thinking a shield will be mandatory in higher tiered waystones. My apologies if this point has been brought up.

You aren't alone

At the moment, most streamers and players agree that the *only* way to play Warrior correctly is

-- Max block
-- Giant's blood
-- Ignore armour
-- Get as much life as possible

And you'll still be worse off than right side of tree in 90% of cases due to less EHP, less speed, less clear