Path of Exile 2 shakes up gaming: more than just an update, could it overshadow Diablo 4?

Are you properly pumped?

Or on the fence?

Me, I'm pretty pumped!! lol :P

Thoughts SW?

The Story.

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Path of Exile 2 is rapidly approaching. The date of the beta tests is now known, but unfortunately, there's still a considerable wait ahead. The launch is set for June 7, 2024, but given repeated date changes, this timeline is by no means certain.

So, what did we learn about Path of Exile 2 during Exilecon 2023?

• Path of Exile 2 won't just be an update to PoE. The developers have announced a shift in direction, with plans to separate the two versions into distinct games.
• The game will feature a total of 12 character classes, with half originating from the first PoE and the remaining six being unique new classes.
• Elements of the two games will be interconnected - skins purchased will be usable in both games.
• Path of Exile 2 will include 1500 passive skills and 240 active ones, around 100 different environments, and over 600 monsters.
• A "dodge forward" mechanic, reminiscent of Dark Souls, will be introduced in PoE 2.
• The game will feature a storyline campaign divided into six chapters.
• There will be new types of weapons and an upgraded gem system.

This announcement signified a major shift in direction. Initially, the developers intended to release a massive update, with PoE 2 replacing PoE. However, it now appears that they've opted to retain Path of Exile while building Path of Exile 2 separately. That said, some shared features will persist.

Similar toCall of Duty: Warzone, both games will share certain purchases. Consequently, weapon or armor skins could be transferred between both games. Nevertheless, items specific to one game through microtransactions will only be available within that particular title. These items are likely expected to be those that are linked to the story or events of each game.

Could Path of Exile 2 compete with Diablo 4? It's a possibility

The creators of Diablo 4 are currently grappling with a severe image crisis. Recent, largely unsuccessful updates have left the player community feeling disconnected. Intense criticism on social media, coupled with numerous videos from gaming influencers, forced the developers to rescind these unfavorable changes.

Contrastingly, the creators of Path of Exile consistently interact with their community, seeking out their opinions and incorporating them into each update. Hence, announcements related to PoE 2 are presented through the Exilecon event, rather than a simple online broadcast or article.

Diablo IV got overshadowed the moment it launched by the shadow of my little toe.

Diablo 4 is very very bad so that's not hard. POE is already a lot better, POE2 will stomp it.

Sounds great!

Why do you need it on Gamepass? Isn't it free to play like the first one?

@Icarian:

I don't recall it being F2P?

I played the 1st via GP so dunno?

It says this on the Steam page.

"Path of Exile 2 is a next generation Action RPG created by Grinding Gear Games. Set years after the original Path of Exile, you will return to the dark world of Wraeclast and seek to end the corruption that is spreading. Path of Exile 2 is a free-to-play online multiplayer game with co-op for up to six players."

Oh okay, nice!! ;)

@SecretPolice: I'm looking forward to it, but PoE sucked a lot more money from me than I want to admit. So, I am a little afraid of the sequel.

Nah. Never played the first one.

That sounds like a drag. I'd prefer something simpler.

I'm more looking forward to Titan Quest 2. Diablo 4 sucks, PoE2 is unecessary complicated, TQ2 should be good.

I would think it would be free to play. The 1st one is.

The Dev makes their money on cosmetics and microtransactions. I certainly spent far more than $70 on the first one... like, a LOT more. So, the strategy works.

Is this some kind of a sick joke? I have never even tried PoE, but after spending over 300h in D4, and looking at what's coming in PoE2, its like comparing a quality AAA title from Larian to a dogshit indie dev that made The Day Before.

Animations, artistic visuals, technical visuals, particles, boss design and skills are so far ahead of anything in D4 that comparing the two isn't only unfair, but literally dumb.

I haven't played D4 since before season 1 was even out, but looking at reddit and youtube, season 3 is a mega clusterfuck. Completely clueless dev team with zero passion is working on this game. I look at the state of D4, and you know whom i think about? Andrew Fucking Wilson. He might be an EA ceo, but THIS IS EXACTLY the kind of person i expect making 100% of decisions for the game. Completely unplugged from what gamers want. All he sees are fking metrics. Pathetic.

I'd lit rather stick my dick in a cheese grater than play Diablo Scam 4.

OG POE was a true free2play title and a great game to boot. Exact opposite of Bill Cosby room.

You're very easy to manipulate, dabear. Work on yourself, bro.

Sounds good. Looking forward to giving it a go.

I enjoyed Diablo IV and it looks like I may enjoy Path of Exile 2.🤷🏽‍♂️

@hardwenzen: I'm not proud of how much that game took me for...

Dont care for PoE, find the crafting extremely convoluted.

I recommend Last Epoch over it for a ARPG fix

You can ignore it entirely.

Spill the beans already

It has been around $1k, give or take a few hundred.

What can I say? Like my character to look nice and have pretty toys...

It's the only PC game I play. I was dropping around $100-$150 a year for about 10 years.

What the ****.

i hope POE2 crafting is a bit less weird.

Oh, that's nothing. You should see my yearly motorcycle bill...

That's fine, i have multiple expensive af hobbies myself. Only in gaming do i consider spending hundreds on some stupid pixels as unaccepable. Want to know how much i spent on mtx in any game? $14🤣One armor set for $10, and another for $4, both of which were in guild wars 2 back when i played the fk out of it. Those are my mtx expenses since mtx were introduced into gaming🤣🤣🤣🤣

I don't know why people act as though supporting something you like is such a bad thing. $1k over 10 years is only $100 a year which means like around $8 a month. You can't go to McDonald's for that anymore.

PoE is a good game but also pretty convoluted. I hope PoE2 cleans it up a little and adds some camera options, but overall a solid title that has a LOT of customization. Having too many options can be overwhelming, but I'd rather have to deal with that than having little to no customization. Hell, I prefer that.

PoE2 is a pretty highly anticipated game on my list, but then again, that list is about a mile long since there are finally a lot of games I'm interested in releasing over the next couple years.

It's horrible. It's like a house of mirrors that doubles as a casino.

How much did they pay for Diablo 2 over that same time frame?

Feel free to break it down.

Last Epoch pretty good, not over flooded with mtx and Early access cost me $23

Just had a peak.

Like few games seen pop up, it's Early Access (not finished) and it's selling hundreds of £ of microtransactions.

Look at this shit.

They try to skirt around it as well with phrases like "supporter pack".

Guess what? It's Early Access. You've bought an unfinished game, you are supporting them.

Valve should straight up ban these developers, but no, that would never happen.

I grew up in the 90s right? Old.

We had thing called "beta" and "alpha" tests.

They cost.... 0. Because it's you, helping them. Not the other way around.

It's honestly baffling to me how much this type of shit has been normalized.

@uninspiredcup said:

@sargentd said:

Last Epoch pretty good, not over flooded with mtx and Early access cost me $23

Just had a peak.

Like few games seen pop up, it's Early Access (not finished) and it's selling hundreds of £ of microtransactions.

Look at this shit.

They try to skirt around it as well with phrases like "supporter pack".

Guess what? It's Early Access. You've bought an unfinished game, you are supporting them.

Valve should straight up ban these developers, but no, that would never happen.

I grew up in the 90s right? Old.

We had thing called "beta" and "alpha" tests.

They cost.... 0. Because it's you, helping them. Not the other way around.

It's honestly baffling to me how much this type of shit has been normalized.

If gamers want to pay to beta test, why should a developer say no?

@Pedro: No one that made that argument.

In fact bought several EA games. What haven't done is buy EA game, selling DLC for games not finished on top of the base unfinished game.

You're free to do it, "because they can" knock yourself out with that.

Ok! If gamers want to pay for DLC for unfinished games why should a developer say no?

Ideally because they have some form of decency as opposed to just looking to exploit them in every avenue possible before the game is even out the door.

And yes Pedro, "gamers can choose", I know that. it doesn't make them "not stupid".

Meth addicts like meth, it's not good for them and it's not good for society. Wouldn't condone that either.

Meth /= Gaming.

Serious | Not Serious.🙃

If folks want to spend money on things I don't want to spend money on.🤷🏽‍♂️

@uninspiredcup said:

@sargentd said:

Last Epoch pretty good, not over flooded with mtx and Early access cost me $23

Just had a peak.

Like few games seen pop up, it's Early Access (not finished) and it's selling hundreds of £ of microtransactions.

Look at this shit.

They try to skirt around it as well with phrases like "supporter pack".

Guess what? It's Early Access. You've bought an unfinished game, you are supporting them.

Valve should straight up ban these developers, but no, that would never happen.

I grew up in the 90s right? Old.

We had thing called "beta" and "alpha" tests.

They cost.... 0. Because it's you, helping them. Not the other way around.

It's honestly baffling to me how much this type of shit has been normalized.

I've gotten about 80 hours of fun messing around on Last Epoch and never bought any MTX.

I also played PoE and never bought an MTX

I also played every Diablo game and never bought an MTX.

Don't mind mtx honestly since I have self control.

The one MTX I bought was the K.I.T.T car on Rocket League.

But that's because I'm shill for knight rider theme song.

Also early access is not a beta test, you own the game and can play it when ever you want. It's a great way for smaller developers to improve the game and secure funding to support the game *shrug*

@hardwenzen: Sometimes, I do impulsive things...

The game is in an unfinished state, the consumer has a build of the game, not the finished product. In most cases with missing/unfinished features, bugs, optimization and in some a few levels finished or deliberately omitted content until launch by design. (I beleive BG3 done this)

By purchasing EA it entails at the end getting the product in it's finality upon retail. Thus, you are testing the game aside supporting from monetarily, that's generally (or should be) the primary purpose. Steam itself however, notorious for asset flips.

And that's my issue. Game ain't finished trying to segmented and cream shit on top. I'm not supporting that shit. Not gonna wish them well either.

You should try Genshin Impact. Lots of content for you in there.🙃

@SecretPolice: got to admit, you make probably the best threads here for games.

Diablo 4 is the worst game ever so no surprise there.

People keep saying POE is similar to D2, but I just cannot get over the fact how crap the skill tree and skill system in this game is.

Seriously, who's fucking idea was it to tie skills to gems???? Worst mechanic ever.

Hopefully they removed this abysmal idea of using skill gems instead of a proper skill tree for POE2?

If so I might end up spending thousands of hours here like D2.