Path of Exile 2 Early Access Review – Still Sane, Exile?

As a seasoned gamer with a soft spot for action RPGs and a penchant for immersive, challenging experiences, I wholeheartedly endorse Path of Exile 2. This game has been an absolute delight to play, providing me with countless hours of captivating gameplay that never feels repetitive or shallow.

Back in November 2013, I stepped into the world of Path of Exile for the first time, following its open beta launch. Grinding Gear Games, with an ode to Diablo 2 and a vision to craft a worthy successor, unveiled their free-to-play action RPG. Unlike many others, however, I wasn’t taken aback by surprise – it was more like a warm, familiar embrace that instantly felt right.

The dark atmosphere of Wraeclast, the fighting and its smoothness, the Skill Gems and ability to customize – it all felt just right. Even the vast Passive Tree didn’t scare me, maybe because I chose damage nodes, ignored health, and went for more of my main stat rather than resistances. Ah, those days of no end-game and not really knowing what I was doing.

As a devoted admirer, I must confess that there are certain design choices and pesky glitches that prevent it from reaching its full potential for grandeur. However, let me assure you unequivocally – for fans like us, this is the commencement of an all-consuming fascination, and it’s nothing short of breathtakingly captivating.

Over the past 11 years, I’ve intermittently returned to playing “Path of Exile” due to the game’s continuous updates and fresh content, even if some aspects like Lake of Kalandra, Archnemesis, and others have left me puzzled. Regardless, the 336 hours invested across various characters feel inconsequential in comparison to the vastness of the game. I barely touched upon its intricacies and depth, let alone reaching the endgame. However, when I was immersed with my Cyclone Raider Ngahamu’s Flame, I was completely engrossed, bordering on addiction, powerless to resist, yet reveling in every moment of it.

From the moment Path of Exile 2 was announced, it felt like a fresh start, free from concerns about linking, adding or changing socket colors. For some, it’s turned into something greater – either being hailed as the undisputed ARPG king or providing a platform to take jabs at Diablo 4. Now that it’s available in early access across all platforms, what are people saying about it?

Path of Exile 2 stands out as an exceptional action RPG at present. Its storyline masterfully blends elements of grim and fantastical lore, balancing despair with thrilling bursts of adventure and triumph. The game’s environments are visually striking and distinct, offering fresh takes on typical haunted woodlands, barren deserts, and oppressive jungles. The combat is fluid, boasting a level of freedom and customization unparalleled in the action RPG genre, rivaled only by its predecessor. However, certain design choices and bothersome bugs hinder it from attaining true greatness. Nevertheless, for devoted fans, this sequel marks the beginning of an enthralling new passion, and its beauty lies within its captivating gameplay.

20 years following the occurrences from the initial game (excluding the Eldritch invasions during the finale), “Path of Exile 2” finds Wraeclast enshrouded in darkness anew. This unfolds when the Count of Ogham unearths the Seed of Corruption. Enthralled and corrupted by its might, he nurtures it, leading to the contagion’s spread across the land. Consequently, this desolated region becomes known as “The Beast”.

Absolutely, at the outset, you’re essentially a captive, marked for execution by the Count in a chilling, inventive setting that serves as the selection screen. Once you manage to break free and navigate towards Clearfell Settlement, a community formed by refugees from a destroyed village, your adventure truly commences.

In simpler terms, the stories in many action RPG looters tend to be forgettable over time. However, the original ‘Path of Exile’ stood out by providing distinct battles and unexpected twists without slowing down the gameplay speed. Interestingly, its sequel has surpassed this by making a large portion of the plot connected to your tasks, which frequently open up new areas and revelations. Apart from an impressive opening sequence, most of the narrative is woven into your duties.

Instead of the loading screen advice focusing on just bigger monsters, it would be more accurate to state that all types of monsters, regardless of their size or environmental factors such as gravity, have the ability to knock you around.

In Act 1, events unfold in a straightforward manner, yet they all make perfect sense due to solid voice acting and character development, be it for the residents of Clearfell or the encountered bosses. Act 2 introduces a bit of a change to the usual formula, as you join the Ardura Caravan and choose destinations to explore. Act 3 resembles Act 1 but provides additional optional missions and challenges. It also includes some distinctive aspects, such as arguably the most compelling character in the entire narrative.

The zones maintain the unpredictability of the initial game, implying that a tomb entrance or spot of interest might be located in a completely distinct position. Alongside visually stunning and inventive elements, they also include optional bosses that reward permanent enhancements to your character, such as increased Health Points (HP), Spirit, resistances, and more.

Instead, you find optional missions known as side quests that direct you to explore various areas beyond the main storyline, where you can eliminate additional threats. These tasks aren’t new in action RPGs, but the game’s environments provide an intriguing level of complexity due to their unique layouts. The obstacles, narrow passages, and varying heights also maintain excitement (avoiding the monotonous “push a button to ascend or descend”), as do the diverse types of enemies you encounter.

Grinding Gear Games boasts an array of 400 diverse characters, ranging from lean wolves and magic-wielding mages to River Hags who summon twisting whirlpools that can ultimately prove fatal. Even ordinary human enemies show variety based on their origin, with some being slow, shuffling zombies while others are agile soldiers who dodge sideways when not trapping you with rope arrows. They’re fun to battle, becoming even more exciting when Rare enemies enter the fray, as their unique traits demand tactical adjustments in your strategy.

In simpler terms, I found aspects such as Temporal Proximity useful, since getting too close to an opponent lessens your chances of landing a hit. However, certain modifications, like Siphoning mana, can be quite frustrating because they limit your attack capabilities, particularly when playing a Sorceress. The straightforward fix is to keep your distance from their aura, but it’s infuriating when the enemy moves at the same speed as you do.

The other issue is how easily you can be pushed around by enemies. The loading screen tips warn of larger monsters doing this, but it should really say that every monster type, regardless of size and things like gravity, can push you around. It’s all the more egregious when they push each other, making it much easier to become swamped and suffer a quick death (especially when you can’t roll through). The new checkpoint system, which is great for bosses, comes under fire as a result, since you need to clear out all those enemies again.

For certain players, the leaders in Path of Exiele 2 might be a tad overwhelming, particularly during situations when numerous spells and effects are active. However, it’s important to note that most bosses are exceptional. This discussion leads us to the absolute pinnacle of the game – the combat.

Some bosses suffer from the same issue – one rolled me into a corner, where I became stuck, thus resulting in an awkward face-off and constant potion-mashing to stay alive before escaping. However, the boss fights as a whole are spectacular. I could tell you about Tor Gul the Defiler, slamming its giant skeletal body into the arena and breathing fire, or Zalmarath, the Colossus, with his lasers and giant stone sword. Yet even the smaller grounded foes present worthy challenges, like Blackjaw, who wields a massive axe, slamming the ground (with a hitbox that admittedly made me want to scream) and launching flaming slices. These aren’t even the best fights in the game – that’s how high the bar is.

As a seasoned Path of Exile 2 gamer, let me tell you, the action can be intense with all those spells and abilities whizzing by, especially when taking on several enemies at once. However, I must say, almost every boss battle is top-notch, making it worth the chaos! Now, what really takes the cake in this game is the combat – it’s simply extraordinary.

Initially, it appears straightforward with just a few essential skills like dodge rolls and aspirations. But the intricacies of how these mechanics interact are truly fascinating. For more than 51 hours, I delved into the role of Sorceress, casting an assortment of elements from the start. At times, I’d create a Fire Wall, blast Frostbolts through it, ignite them for additional fire damage, and occasionally hurl Solar Orbs. As I progressed, I transitioned to Arc and Conductivity, cursing foes with reduced lightning resistance.

In my present setup, I’m focusing on constructing vast Ice Walls, followed by unleashing a Firestorm that damages surrounding enemies and builds up freezing effects. To increase the damage, I remove the freeze using Winter Orb, although this action also causes more freezing. Any frozen entities contribute to my Cast on Freeze skill, which I’ve connected to Comet and Lightning Conduit for immediate elimination of smaller foes. Orb of Storms is usually present for backup, offering support more frequently than not. Thanks to my Stormweaver Ascendancy, any spell critical hits trigger an Elemental Storm, inflicting lightning, cold, or fire damage.

This is just one possible build configuration. I’ve rearranged the Support Gems, adjusted passive skills, and chosen only one Unique item that increases spell damage based on 10 Spirit points. Additionally, you can create a Dual Passive Tree setup, which allows for swapping weapons to utilize their unique passives as needed, offering different gameplay styles.

As a gamer, the sheer variety of paths to take in this game is mind-blowing! Should I focus on increasing my chances for critical hits to trigger Elemental Storm? Or maybe build up more freeze for Cast on Freeze? Perhaps I should consider passives that penetrate resistances to free up a couple of Support Gem slots. And then there’s the issue of my high Mana costs. As my build morphs into something unpredictable, it presents an engaging challenge to adjust things, considering cast speed, resistances, evasion, stun thresholds – the list just keeps growing!

Apart from the Salvage and Reforging Stations (with the Reforging station needing three identical items to create a single new item), the crafting process has been simplified.

One of this game’s advantages is that it’s user-friendly and gradually becomes more complex as you progress. The freedom to connect Support Gems without worrying about socket color or number makes the experience liberating. Although you can eventually link five Support Gems to a skill, each skill begins with only two slots. This wasn’t necessarily a problem for me during Normal and Cruel difficulty, but I only received one orb to add another socket throughout my entire playtime. While it was sufficient for completing the story, it would have been nicer to receive more orbs, especially considering the number of skills that require additional slots in the end game.

Concerning the final stages, I’ve barely explored, having peeked into some Lost Towers and still haven’t confronted my first Burning Monolith. However, the intriguing aspect of this gameplay expansion with endless nodes offering various paths to reach points of interest really captivates me. What makes it even more compelling is the addition of complex features like Strongboxes, Delirium, Rituals, and so on. The downside is that passing away in a map effectively seals it, requiring the use of a Waystone to clear the node.

Even though you’re advancing well, with the current rate of Waystones dropping being sufficient to maintain that progress, it’s disappointing when a single error causes you to miss out on potential benefits from those activities. Conversely, these mistakes make map exploration more critical and encourage careful build selection and consideration of modifiers before diving in headfirst.

In contrast to the complex crafting system in the initial game, Path of Exile 2 adopts a simpler strategy. You can enhance magic items or promote them to Rares by using currency. Use Exalts for additional modifiers, or a Chaos Orb to eliminate and replace a random modifier. Divine Orbs will randomly alter the numerical values, potentially increasing a stat roll. If you’re feeling adventurous, corrupt an item with Vaal Orbs, which can unpredictably alter items (be cautious, as they may also damage your items). Artificer’s Orbs create slots for Runes on armor and weapons, which add various effects.

Beyond Salvage and Reforge Stations (with the latter needing three identical items to create a single new item), the crafting system is streamlined. At present, the developer might introduce a specialized station for classic guaranteed modifiers and so on, but for now, it operates efficiently, thanks in part to the RNG element. It would be great if there was a form of currency to re-roll modifiers on magic items rather than discarding them due to having an undesirable stat or two.

It’s truly delightful to spend countless hours on Grinding Gear Games’ action RPG, as they’ve done a fantastic job getting so many aspects right. What makes it even more satisfying is that the game doesn’t treat me like I have a short attention span by requiring mindless progression or offering false choices that don’t truly matter.

Apart from a few design choices and certain gameplay hiccups, Path of Exile 2 is extraordinary. Yet, it encounters significant glitches that can mar the gaming experience. Some are reminiscent of early access stages, such as fish persistently swimming in place even after the water has been drained. Others are frustrating, like a boss that reverted to its initial position due to movement outside the battle arena during combat and became stuck, instantly regenerating health and continuously spawning enemies. The only solution was to wait for the instance to reset and hope it wouldn’t happen again.

Later on, you’ll encounter significant issues such as the self-casting of Lightning Conduit and unexpected game disconnections (different from other types of disconnects). Occasionally, there would be excessive RAM usage, necessitating a reboot. Additionally, after installing a 52 GB update, I discovered several missing Skill and Support Gems in my equipment.

It didn’t take much time to regain the skills, as gems were frequently dropping at an acceptable rate and the new system instantly elevated them to their maximum potential based on progress. However, since Support Gems were less common, it took longer to collect them again, which created an unnecessary obstacle during the final stages of Cruel difficulty. Despite this, the overall performance remained consistent throughout.

Despite the challenges, Path of Exile 2 remains a top pick due to its many well-executed aspects. It’s delightful to invest numerous hours into an action RPG that avoids oversimplifying progression and offering fake choices. With further development and refinement, I have no doubt it could set the standard for the genre. For now, it’ll have to make do with being one of the best and setting a strong example for its peers.

This game was reviewed on PC.

2024-12-06 22:14

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