Why POE2’s Direction Is Worrying for Veterans and Newcomers Alike

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Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

I’ve been playing Path of Exile since its beta days. My Steam account alone shows over 6000 hours, and with the standalone client, I’m well above 8500 hours.
I’ve seen every league, every major patch, and every meta shift. I want POE2 to be different. I want it to evolve beyond POE1. But it also needs to respect the core elements that made the original game successful. It feels like some fundamental missteps are being made, and they’re hard to ignore.

One of the most frustrating things I see lately is new players, many of them ex-D4 players or people who barely touched POE1, saying GGG shouldn’t listen to veterans who want POE2 to hold onto certain aspects of the original.
These players also argue that POE1 veterans "don’t understand Souls-like games" or "slower, more methodical gameplay." This is just laughable. Many of us have played and loved games like Elden Ring or Dark Souls. We fully understand what makes those games great.
But comparing them to an ARPG like POE2 is like comparing apples to oranges. Souls games are about tight, deliberate combat, exploration, and immersive design, whereas POE is about progression, loot, and player creativity. Slowing down POE2 doesn’t make it feel like Elden Ring—it just makes it feel tedious.

Here’s my Steam profile, just to put things in perspective:


We’ve been playing this game for years. We’re the players who’ve kept coming back, league after league, supporting GGG with time and money.
This isn’t about “clinging to the past.” It’s about wanting POE2 to succeed while still respecting the core of what makes Path of Exile such a beloved ARPG.

Let me break down some key issues:

1. Slow Doesn’t Mean Better
A slower-paced game can be good, but it doesn’t automatically make it better. If you’re tired of POE1’s "zoom-zoom," I get it. But removing movement skills entirely, especially in massive maps that often require multiple trips through the same areas? That’s not challenging—it’s tedious. Even with rolls and movement speed buffs, traversing the world feels like a slog.

2. Difficulty Isn’t About Tedium
I keep hearing that POE2 is “more difficult.” But is it? Difficulty isn’t about giving enemies inflated health pools and forcing players into a boring loop of poking, retreating, and poking again. That’s not engaging—it’s frustrating. True difficulty should come from well-designed mechanics and meaningful decision-making, not from artificially drawn-out combat.

3. Flasks and the “Vision”
Yes, flasks now refill on kills, which is better than the original POE2 reveal. But the addition of refill wells still feels unnecessary and redundant. The whole system feels like a solution to a problem that didn’t exist in POE1. Instead of adding depth, it just slows down the pacing. It’s another example of the “vision” overriding what’s actually fun.

4. Crafting Is a Mess
No deterministic crafting is a joke. The devs say they want us to craft more, but how? Without reliable tools like crafting benches or alt rolls, crafting feels like throwing currency into the void and praying for a miracle. If the idea is to encourage players to build items from scratch, it’s not working. The lack of control isn’t engaging—it’s exhausting.

5. Drops and Vendors
If you like the current loot drops, more power to you. But even if you do, they’re still poorly designed. Vendors have been given more power, but drops feel so sparse that crafting currency barely exists. The balance isn’t there. You can’t expect players to engage deeply with crafting when you’re starving them of the resources to do so.

6. The Skill Tree Is Disappointing
The new skill tree looks like POE1’s tree but feels hollow in comparison. The nodes are uninspired, and the restrictive layout makes it harder to create unique or unconventional builds. The inability to travel across the tree freely stifles creativity. And the absence of masteries? It’s a huge loss. Masteries gave builds flexibility and depth, allowing players to specialize and fine-tune their characters. Without them, the tree feels rigid and unexciting. Even basics like Life nodes, which helped define different defensive strategies, are missing, limiting creativity in ways that hurt the game.

7. The Gem System Isn’t Fun
The new gem system isn’t engaging. It’s clunky, and the fact that gems don’t stack just highlights how half-baked it feels. The uncut gem mechanic might seem like an interesting idea, but in practice, it’s just another layer of grind. Gems should feel like an integral part of progression, not a source of frustration.

8. The Campaign Is Too Long
Some players praise the longer campaign, but for leagues, this is a disaster. Every league, we’ll have to slog through this overly long campaign multiple times. POE1’s campaign is already considered a chore by many veterans, and POE2’s is shaping up to be even worse. A longer campaign doesn’t mean better retention—it just means more burnout.

9. Ascendancies and Trials
Why can’t we change ascendancies anymore? Is this supposed to be a challenge? It’s just restrictive for no reason. And Trials… who thought combining Ultimatum and Sanctum mechanics was a good idea? Trials are tedious, clunky, and far from enjoyable. It feels like GGG took the least-loved mechanics and doubled down on them, which is baffling.

I Want to Love POE2, But It’s Hard
As a veteran, I want to see POE2 succeed. I want it to be different, but it also needs to respect the core systems that have kept players invested in POE1 for years. Right now, it feels like GGG is prioritizing their “vision” over what actually works.

To the newer players defending these changes without understanding their long-term impact: you’re not helping. Ignoring valid criticism isn’t supporting the game; it’s enabling bad design. Constructive feedback is what helps games improve. POE2 has the potential to be great, but it needs to address these issues before it alienates the very players who’ve been its foundation for years.


Thank you for taking the time to type this up.

1)Agreed, I still don't understand why when we uncover a mechanic like an altar and leave its location it disappears from the map. I may be alone, and would love to know your thoughts, but I often clear maps to ensure I can progress or take out boss etc then go back for these. The size of the map means i end up rolling around searching for them all over again. Its just more waste of time.

3) Exactly - what is the point in a well. Just auto refill when in HO. This is ridiculous.

4) This may be the MOST SIGNIFICANT point here. Crafting is just gambling. I am becoming increasingly frustrated having no luck. My only option is to find what i want in an increasingly inflating Market. This is just NO GOOD.

6) This is also massive. I remember them saying they wanted to dumb it down and make sure no one could effectively brick a build but the result is not good. Its not terrible by any stretch but as you say removing masteries was a big boo boo imo.

9)Yes, Just YES.

I understand we have many new players and thats wonderful. I also understand a lot of there feedback. The truth is though that us veterans really do know what works and this isnt some strange PRO attitude. Its absolute basics.

GREAT POST mate.
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Tried, cannot see your chars for some reason. Maybe site is lagging, whatever :D
The big difference is that you're not blaming the game for forcing you to play that way ;). As I said, fine with him having fun whith whatever he wants (or anyone else). But complaining about how you have no choice is just... I don't know how to qualify it.

It's like in the automotive industry, being a fan of drag races. And then complaining this is the only way to drive, fastest, in a straight line, fastest to the line. Well DUHH, drifting is a thing, you can enjoy it or not, but don't complain car industry forces you to play drag only.
The analogy can actually go deeper : Forcing all cars to have 50HP at maximum doesn't improve anything, it just limits anyone and the ideas they could have for new implementations.
Last edited by rob_korn#1745 on Dec 19, 2024, 5:13:40 AM
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rob_korn#1745 wrote:
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[...]

Tried, cannot see your chars for some reason. Maybe site is lagging, whatever :D
The big difference is that you're not blaming the game for forcing you to play that way ;). As I said, fine with him having fun whith whatever he wants (or anyone else). But complaining about how you have no choice is just... I don't know how to qualify it.

It's like in the automotive industry, being a fan of drag races. And then complaining this is the only way to drive, fastest, in a straight line, fastest to the line. Well DUHH, drifting is a thing, you can enjoy it or not, but don't complain car industry forces you to play drag only.


I feel like in some ways it's actually forced. For some reason GGG balanced PoE 1 around meta builds, making content harder instead of nerfing strong builds. And I remember how everyone used to complain when GGG nerfed everything, but now I realize it was the right decision. They were basically trying so hard to save the game from this terrible powercreep, and even in "nerf leagues" after a couple of days everyone forgot about the previous "killed builds" and enjoyed the new gems. Unfortunately, the backlash to such nerfs seemed to be too strong, so eventually they just gave up.

What this experience teaches us is that by making the game harder all the time, you only increase the gap between the truly broken builds and what enthusiasts create.
Третьего дня, по совету проверенных комрадов, приобрел мегадевайс - пробку "Кудуку3000". По приходу домой жадными цепкими лапами распаковал и заюзал мегадевайс. Размер - моё почтение. Даже мой привыкший к рфу чифтейн отказался принимать с первого раза.
Last edited by theslavagame#6814 on Dec 19, 2024, 5:16:35 AM
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Impressive games collection exile, but are you a 'default'?

Look.. alot friends payed so much money.. and they love everything about poe2 the way it is. The game is deceloped for millions.. not for 10 players.

Today almost no one plays and speaks about diablo1.. although it was a success to make something new which attracted more gamers
. See d4.. 600 million revenue.. make it real to adress that market demands..

Alot already seasoned poe2 tried poe1.. and they hate it.. if they could they would ask for discontinuation of poe1.. just to further enhance 2.. maybe this should just be done as it is not needed and so that the comparison stops.

I for example love poe2 crafting.. we had in a group a super deep and successfull crafting session in the morning.. it was awesome and thanks for implementing it this way.. (i throw up if more currency is implemented.. its fast paced.. perfect for running). Poe1 crafting is garbage. so old so clunky.. not modern.. and so easy.. lol.. recombinator.. add two rares and get best of two back.. i would be done after day 1 not day 3..
This cant be demand and target group (40/ 50 years..). If you like to read books about a game play dwarve fortress.. it was not super bad.. but.. maybe 500k sold copies. Got that also lol?

Its about develping 600 mil revenue game .. no one would play poe1 2.0 . Oh ok.. maybe you are the fraction or d1 guy.. but .. the market are not the defaults... its the backers who love ggg.. face it.. there.was never a promise to create a second part nor a demand for a new.poe1 season (its complete..and old).. thats why it will not receive a new season in 2024.

Thanks ggg for that awesome game..you would even have my vote to close down poe1 to focus on 2. Please dont develop it for 10.players but for the millions target group.. i fear if we dont speak up here it.will fail.

Want to laugh? 2 seasoned poe1 players discussing they were searching for poe1 skills.. righteous fire and bone shatter..

Ggg already said..rf was wrongly implememted .. it was a fail.. not a w, and boneshatter exists as it is a combo now!! Not.even this they knew..

And i tell you.. 40% of passive tree can be reduced.. i would throw up if i see poe1 tree.. without design and spirit.. looks boring.

If you want easier game.. play poe1.

Its same with hc players...dont balance this tiny fraction.. so many ssf are.in 80s and so many of.my friends done with poe2 leveling.. very performance oriented but would never play hc due to.power.outage chance.. they are decent.. and not no lifers...not defaults. You want to balance around this group.. not the 400 lvl 40 hc players.. which complaint. Lol..

Remove hc.. offer only core and ssf.. balance around this via portals and give players a kill counter + achievement.. if they are deathless and all these meetings discussions and weird balance tweaks which drag performance ..vanishs.. give us fun and engaging challenge.. and not boredom after 3 days with lvl 99.. xx million happy.



IM SHOCKED. How on earth can you think crafting in POE2 is good vs POE1? Its literally just GAMBA. PRAY PRAY PRAY. there is no 'crafting'. Ok, so I want a better bow. To get that I need 2 critical PREFIX (PHYS% damage and another decent roll Damage prefix.)

POE1 = Can roll magic until i get a decent roll then regal, exalt and divine. I could also use some deterministic crafting for certain critical mods. The base types matter and Ilevel matters as i can work out what can roll and increase odds. I have orbs that can further help this process and I have other crafting mechanics to rescue items like harvest.

POE2 = I get the base, I make magic and pray. If i dont get the mods I want or decent rolls Its already bricked. If i get say suffix instead of prefix i have to regal and pray. Could Brick - repeat. Thats it. Maybe I could use an essence i suppose to help?

How is this better exactly? I'm genuinly curious. Perhaps Im doing something wrong.
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i agree on every point, especially about the complete trashed core of the predecessor

imagine tekken 8 as moba, and people say wooo i never liked tekken before, but this feels great



Totally what I am hearing every day. Almost everyone saying these things will not even buy the lowest supporter packs. It only took me one league of play to buy a supporter pack with great happiness for 3 more leagues,. and what we are playing now, though I am fully addicted for the month, will not make me come back for a league and pour more hard earned money on it.

If the campaign is not finishable in 3 days of semi-dedicated play, and I cant farm anything when I'm tired from work because I dont have laser focus to dodge shit constantly, then this was my last purchase from GGG.
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IM SHOCKED. How on earth can you think crafting in POE2 is good vs POE1? Its literally just GAMBA. PRAY PRAY PRAY. there is no 'crafting'. Ok, so I want a better bow. To get that I need 2 critical PREFIX (PHYS% damage and another decent roll Damage prefix.)

POE1 = Can roll magic until i get a decent roll then regal, exalt and divine. I could also use some deterministic crafting for certain critical mods. The base types matter and Ilevel matters as i can work out what can roll and increase odds. I have orbs that can further help this process and I have other crafting mechanics to rescue items like harvest.

POE2 = I get the base, I make magic and pray. If i dont get the mods I want or decent rolls Its already bricked. If i get say suffix instead of prefix i have to regal and pray. Could Brick - repeat. Thats it. Maybe I could use an essence i suppose to help?

How is this better exactly? I'm genuinly curious. Perhaps Im doing something wrong.


If using transmute, augment, and regal is all you do, then you didn't even touch crafting in poe2. Creating failed base after, doesn't make you stop from continuing crafting. In poe2 for actual crafting you need to use omens from rituals. So yes, you are actually doing something wrong. And having alts and bench in poe1, doesn't make crafting better. Most people still go to the market and buy items rather than crafting those themselves.
First_Defiler
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[...]What this experience teaches us is that by making the game harder all the time, you only increase the gap between the truly broken builds and what enthusiasts create.

Bringing new things makes the game more interesting and bigger to explore, but at the same time, it makes innovating harder and harder.
At some point, no matter what, when you bring a mechanic, you have to check if the interaction with one of the other 100 mechanics is not through the roof. And it's bound to happen.

This is where there are with PoE1, and it's not GGG's fault, that's the natural consequence of bringing new engaging stuff over time.

PoE2 is a hard reset, which is needed sooner or later, to resimplify the net of possibilities. PoE2 will end up the same way as PoE1, sooner or later. Thinking otherwise is not understanding what arpg is.
The only other outcomes are being a dead game, or becoming a new genre (unlikely because it's too close of a concept, but who knows).
Last edited by rob_korn#1745 on Dec 19, 2024, 5:31:12 AM
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rob_korn#1745 wrote:
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[...]What this experience teaches us is that by making the game harder all the time, you only increase the gap between the truly broken builds and what enthusiasts create.

Bringing new things makes the game more interesting and bigger to explore, but at the same time, it makes innovating harder and harder.
At some point, no matter what, when you bring a mechanic, you have to check if the interaction with one of the other 100 mechanics is not through the roof. And it's bound to happen.

This is where there are with PoE1, and it's not GGG's fault, that's the natural consequence of bringing new engaging stuff over time.

PoE2 is a hard reset, which is needed sooner or later, to resimplify the net of possibilities. PoE2 will end up the same way as PoE1, sooner or later. Thinking otherwise is not understanding what arpg is.
The only other outcomes are being a dead game, or becoming a new genre (unlikely because it's too close of a concept, but who knows).


You are right. Well, so, we are waiting for the golden era of Poe 2 and after... Poe 3
Третьего дня, по совету проверенных комрадов, приобрел мегадевайс - пробку "Кудуку3000". По приходу домой жадными цепкими лапами распаковал и заюзал мегадевайс. Размер - моё почтение. Даже мой привыкший к рфу чифтейн отказался принимать с первого раза.
I agree with most of OP's point, but loot doesn't feel bad to me. The increased in drop rate from the earlier patch is welcomed but… on one hand I love the idea that rare items ARE rare, it feels more rewarding when something good actually drops. On the other I reckon it's a lot of additional grind because you rarely get the rare you want.

I wish rare was rare, I don't want to drop legendary items on the first werewolf that happens to be passing by. However drop rate in endgame-specific areas needs to be consistent to encourage engaging with it.

As far as the campaign being too long… well this doesn't have to reflect how long it will be during leagues. GGG may want to provide a fully-fledged out campaign that will provide as much content as any other single player game out there, and decide that seasonal campaigns will be made much shorter through various means (smaller size areas, skipping some quests etc.)

But the campaign mostly feels long because areas are massive and movement is slow. So perhaps the campaign isn't the issue here.
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You are right. Well, so, we are waiting for the golden era of Poe 2 and after... Poe 3

COPIUM :D

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