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

+1 to every points made by OP in a well done manner.
Thx for your time and effort !

I encourage everyone to take a closer look at who is so vocal about criticizing PoE1 and praising PoE2.
In most cases (though not all), it’s people who have either never played PoE1, barely touched it, or never experienced its true depth by reaching the late endgame.
Their supposed “experience” with PoE1 often seems to come from anywhere but actually playing the game.

As I’ve said before, we’ve seen this happen before—most notably with Diablo 4. Players from other genres flocked to the game, defended its flaws in the forums, dismissed valid criticism, and tried to silence veteran voices. But where are those players now? By Season 2, the majority had already moved on, leaving behind a smaller, frustrated community to deal with the game’s lingering issues.

It’s the same pattern here. Many of the loudest voices praising PoE2’s changes are looking for a one-time experience, not a game they’ll invest in long-term. Meanwhile, those of us who have supported PoE1 for years are being ignored in favor of transient players who won’t stick around for more than a league or two.

"

Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

I encourage everyone to take a closer look at who is so vocal about criticizing PoE1 and praising PoE2.
In most cases (though not all), it’s people who have either never played PoE1, barely touched it, or never experienced its true depth by reaching the late endgame.
Their supposed “experience” with PoE1 often seems to come from anywhere but actually playing the game.

As I’ve said before, we’ve seen this happen before—most notably with Diablo 4. Players from other genres flocked to the game, defended its flaws in the forums, dismissed valid criticism, and tried to silence veteran voices. But where are those players now? By Season 2, the majority had already moved on, leaving behind a smaller, frustrated community to deal with the game’s lingering issues.

It’s the same pattern here. Many of the loudest voices praising PoE2’s changes are looking for a one-time experience, not a game they’ll invest in long-term. Meanwhile, those of us who have supported PoE1 for years are being ignored in favor of transient players who won’t stick around for more than a league or two.

Good thing you can play PoE1. Making PoE2 for PoE1 players, which will still receive development, is wasted money. GGG already has the select few who put up with the bullshit that is PoE1 endgame, 2 is supposed to be different.

"

MEITTI#3999 wrote:

"

Nothv13#0740 wrote:

A F2P title filtering players so quickly is never a good thing. F2P requires both whales and non whales. It needs as many of each as possible. Actively trying to reduce the population of live service games is a terrible choice

Diablo 4 made everything so easy that nobody got filtered. So everybody got bored of the game extremely quickly and nobody likes it. You think you want an Instant Win-button but you really don't, it misses the whole point of playing the game.

D4 is easy but it is not sadistic in its design wanting to punish players for everything, expecting that "learning" from being kicked in the nuts is an enjoyable or rewarding experience. Both are too extreme in their own end and suffer from it. PoE2 will eventually be worse off than d4 simply because the few "hardcore arpg" players will not keep the lights on where as returning players for 80-120hours buy an expansion of a perceived worse game.

yeah this game has so much potential that was ruined by sweaty developers trying to prove points rather than make a challenging game. Trapping and exhausting players is not making a game difficult, it's an attempt at making difficulty by developers who actually have zero clue how to make a game difficult and fun. Game is trash in it's current state and half the community has left in the first week.

"

Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

I encourage everyone to take a closer look at who is so vocal about criticizing PoE1 and praising PoE2.
In most cases (though not all), it’s people who have either never played PoE1, barely touched it, or never experienced its true depth by reaching the late endgame.
Their supposed “experience” with PoE1 often seems to come from anywhere but actually playing the game.

As I’ve said before, we’ve seen this happen before—most notably with Diablo 4. Players from other genres flocked to the game, defended its flaws in the forums, dismissed valid criticism, and tried to silence veteran voices. But where are those players now? By Season 2, the majority had already moved on, leaving behind a smaller, frustrated community to deal with the game’s lingering issues.

It’s the same pattern here. Many of the loudest voices praising PoE2’s changes are looking for a one-time experience, not a game they’ll invest in long-term. Meanwhile, those of us who have supported PoE1 for years are being ignored in favor of transient players who won’t stick around for more than a league or two.

I find this rather ironic given that in your original post you appealed to your played hours in other games. One of which is Nioh which by itself is a proof that relatively slower combat and progression does not make an Arpg game worse.

Other big red flag is you complaining about the Campaign, a usual argument thrown by Instant Gratification-type of players who prefer skipping the game over playing it. Those type of players are the exact players that Blizzard listened and as a result D4 is dead in the water. Instant win buttons and difficulty casualisation does not make better gaming experiences, they make dead games. If Campaign feels too boring, then it simply needs more optional variety missions each League and even harder challenge.

The core basis of the game is great and the focus on making the game more mechanically challenging is all good changes to the game. You have played Nioh, you should know this already. Unless you played it on Co-op and let your friend carry you or something.

Now whether endgame drops enough loot, how rippy it is, is the 1 death per map system good (especially when it screws party play) or should it be just Rare/Boss reset, those are all matter of tweaking numbers and adjusting to find the good sweet spot. Thats what the beta is for. But if you're trying to say that this game is fundamentally flawed, you're simply wrong and I heavily doubt you beat Elden Ring or Nioh games by yourself without help if you think otherwise. You probably summoned and essentially skipped those games too if thats the case.

"

MEITTI#3999 wrote:

I find this rather ironic given that in your original post you appealed to your played hours in other games. One of which is Nioh which by itself is a proof that relatively slower combat and progression does not make an Arpg game worse.

Other big red flag is you complaining about the Campaign, a usual argument thrown by Instant Gratification-type of players who prefer skipping the game over playing it. Those type of players are the exact players that Blizzard listened and as a result D4 is dead in the water. Instant win buttons and difficulty casualisation does not make better gaming experiences, they make dead games. If Campaign feels too boring, then it simply needs more optional variety missions each League and even harder challenge.

The core basis of the game is great and the focus on making the game more mechanically challenging is all good changes to the game. You have played Nioh, you should know this already. Unless you played it on Co-op and let your friend carry you or something.

Now whether endgame drops enough loot, how rippy it is, is the 1 death per map system good (especially when it screws party play) or should it be just Rare/Boss reset, those are all matter of tweaking numbers and adjusting to find the good sweet spot. Thats what the beta is for. But if you're trying to say that this game is fundamentally flawed, you're simply wrong and I heavily doubt you beat Elden Ring or Nioh games by yourself without help if you think otherwise. You probably summoned and essentially skipped those games too if thats the case.

Bringing up Nioh to defend PoE2 is an odd choice because the two games are fundamentally different. Nioh thrives on preparation and precision—adapting gear, using buffs, and mastering mechanics to overcome challenges. Its slower pace feels intentional and rewarding. PoE2, however, leans on bloated health pools and repetitive combat, which turn fights into a slog. If PoE2 focused more on preparation—like tuning flasks, jewels, or builds for specific encounters—it could create meaningful difficulty. Instead, it often feels like an endurance test, not a challenge.

Criticizing the campaign isn’t about “instant gratification.” In a seasonal ARPG, the campaign is a stepping stone, not the focus. Dragging it out unnecessarily burns players out before the real game—the endgame—even begins. Adding variety or optional challenges would improve the campaign, but just making it longer doesn’t make it better. Respecting players’ time in a seasonal cycle is crucial.

As for “instant win buttons” or “casualization,” that’s a strawman. No one’s asking for that. PoE1 succeeded because it encouraged experimentation, preparation, and resource management. PoE2, in its current state, doesn’t. Inflated stats and drawn-out fights don’t reward skill; they punish patience. Difficulty should feel rewarding, not tedious. Learning mechanics and adapting builds should matter more than just enduring bloated encounters.

Finally, the personal attack about how I played Nioh or Elden Ring is laughable and irrelevant. Whether I soloed bosses or played co-op has no bearing on the argument. Those games reward preparation and mastery. PoE2, right now, doesn’t—it just drags things out under the guise of “difficulty.” If you think that’s engaging, you’re ignoring the actual issues.

The point remains: PoE2 needs to preserve what made PoE1 great—freedom, creativity, and meaningful preparation. Dismissing valid criticism as “casualization” just avoids addressing the real problems.

"

BK2710#6123 wrote:

Good thing you can play PoE1. Making PoE2 for PoE1 players, which will still receive development, is wasted money. GGG already has the select few who put up with the bullshit that is PoE1 endgame, 2 is supposed to be different.

Your comment perfectly illustrates the issue with many pro-PoE2 arguments: they often come from people who’ve barely played PoE1, let alone its endgame. Calling PoE1’s endgame “bullshit” shows you don’t understand the depth of its systems or why it’s been so successful for over a decade. PoE1’s complexity and freedom are what made it stand out as one of the best ARPGs, earning a loyal and long-lasting player base.

Claiming PoE2 shouldn’t cater to PoE1 players because PoE1 will “still receive development” completely misses the point of a sequel. A sequel isn’t meant to alienate its core audience—it’s supposed to evolve the game while respecting what made it great. Ignoring the veterans who built this community is not only disrespectful but also financially short-sighted. Just look at Diablo 4, which alienated its core audience and saw its player base vanish after two seasons.

Being “different” doesn’t mean abandoning what worked. PoE2 could innovate while keeping the creativity, freedom, and depth that define the franchise. Instead, it’s introducing slower pacing, restrictive mechanics, and systems that appeal to players who don’t seem to have truly understood PoE1. Catering to transient players at the expense of long-term veterans isn’t a smart move—it’s a recipe for failure.

Fromsofts lack of difficulty sliders has somehow done immeasurable damage to the gaming industry. Not that it's their fault they deliberately design their games around that feature and do it well.

But now that they are successful every other developer wants a piece of it, and very few of them understand how to do it. Now we constantly see tedium, awkwardness, punishment and progress loss confused with souls like difficulty, in spite of that never being what soulsgames have. And it's created a weird elitist kind of gamer who will defend this scuffed difficulty to any extreme, because they also don't know the difference between difficulty and tedium.

"

Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

I encourage everyone to take a closer look at who is so vocal about criticizing PoE1 and praising PoE2.
In most cases (though not all), it’s people who have either never played PoE1, barely touched it, or never experienced its true depth by reaching the late endgame.
Their supposed “experience” with PoE1 often seems to come from anywhere but actually playing the game.

As I’ve said before, we’ve seen this happen before—most notably with Diablo 4. Players from other genres flocked to the game, defended its flaws in the forums, dismissed valid criticism, and tried to silence veteran voices. But where are those players now? By Season 2, the majority had already moved on, leaving behind a smaller, frustrated community to deal with the game’s lingering issues.

It’s the same pattern here. Many of the loudest voices praising PoE2’s changes are looking for a one-time experience, not a game they’ll invest in long-term. Meanwhile, those of us who have supported PoE1 for years are being ignored in favor of transient players who won’t stick around for more than a league or two.

Your proposed "Solutions" would produce a game that is utterly and completely useless and unplayable for anyone and everyone who isn't a PoE1 Supervet.

PoE1 Supervets, by definition, are ultra-invested In PoE1 and have the least incentive of any gamer out there to support or play PoE2, since their game already exists and they have 10k+ hours into it.

You are arguing to seniority - arguing the idea that anyone who isn't already super heavily invested in PoE1 has no right to invest in PoE2, nor do they have any reason to.

Creating a second game that tries to appeal ONLY to existing PoE1 Supervets while completely and utterly ignoring the many, myriad, and multitudinous problems that the original game had in appealing to anyone outside its incredibly narrow niche would result in a failed game that appeals to no one. Since POE1 Supervets will never want to play this new game. After all, why would they? They already have a game that caters exclusively to their every whim and has done so for the last six or seven years, to the specific exclusion of everyone else.

The definition of insanity is performing the same action and expecting a different result, they say. Does that not mean that making the exact same game they've already made and turning POE2 into a complete genetic dupliclone of PoE1 and then expecting it to reach a much broader, wider, and more profitable audience is, in fact...insanity?