The rage will pass

A lot of people who are freaking out don't understand what PoE 2 is supposed to be, how to tune gameplay, what Early Access means in the context of an ARPG like this, that PoE 1 is still alive and being developed, or that PoE 2 is only half out.

So let me go over it with a wall of text...

1. What is PoE 2: It's supposed to be a difficult and intricate ARPG, mixing souls-like core gameplay with the larger game loop of a stat-building looter. It's specifically meant to be the yin to PoE 1's yang. It's not supposed to act like PoE 1, and many of our assumptions about it don't apply. For example, people talking about "slogging through the campaign to get to the real game" - you're thinking in terms of PoE 1. We have no idea yet what kinds of systems or player responses will be put in place to level up new characters in the coming months.

2. How to tune gameplay: First, you *always* fix things that trivialize gameplay. If you're trying to make combat more intricate and "zoomed in", so to speak, then you balance everything based on whether it enables that in a positive way. The player will always look for the most optimal and fun solution in the short term, even if it means they ruin their own enjoyment of the game afterwards. So, you stop game breaking and let people really enjoy the game.

3. What is Early Access: In this context, you literally paid to quality test PoE 2 and hope to enjoy it as well. With tens of thousands of us rats running around, the rat master can see problems a lot more clearly, and "adjust" wayward rats accordingly. For the next couple of months, your builds will get nerfed into the ground and you probably won't get so much as an apology, because you are a test rat. Changing the way respecs work, just for EA, is a bad idea because it changes the dynamics of the gameplay they're trying to tune. So, it could create unintended side-effects that last well into full release.

4. PoE 1 isn't going anywhere: Why are you so scared that you might not like PoE 2? This isn't like a next iteration of a game franchise, it's a branching off point, which means that both games are the flagships. Most people will continue playing PoE 1. I think in a few weeks PoE 1 will be back to normal. This is like the oldest child hating the youngest for taking daddy's attention away.

5. PoE 2 isn't fully revealed: Judge what you know, not what you assume. There are entire classes of weapons, builds, maps, systems, etc. etc. not implemented yet and we don't have any idea of what they'll be except "Coming soon" in some cases. I also have the feeling that some of the systems we're already using are possibly placeholders. We don't know yet, it's week 1.

I saw some people saying this is like the Diablo 3 launch all over again, but this is fundamentally different in multiple ways: The same team that made PoE 1 is working on PoE 2, for one. Also, the game is actually good.

PoE 2 is fundamentally a great ARPG. It needs work, and that's exactly what it's getting. I guarantee things will be alright, and the rage will pass.