As a long time Diablo II player, I was excited to hear about people describing this game in its beta. I bought Diablo III at its launch and was faced with a number of the infamous server problems. Despite these initial hiccups, I enjoyed the game compared to the majority of people who played. It had it's flaws, but I believe the main reason it failed was due to the auction house.
I didn't intend to delve too deeply into Diablo III but I think it needs to be mentioned given the similarities and numerous comparisons that are constantly brought up with Paths of Exile. PoE, much like people suggest, is a more 'pure' sequel to DII. I'll start out with what I liked most about the game.
The main mechanic that drew me into the game was the passive skill tree. While many people are daunted by its vastness I immediately became intrigued. I thought it was so intelligent how a character was situated on the 3 corners encompassing the 3 main stats, with the hybrids in between. The possibility of builds and build refinement seemed is very deep. I enjoyed the active skill mechanic as well. Having gems that level with you and the ability to combine gems is ingenious, allowing hundreds of combinations. It also increases the diversity of itemization, increasing the value of items with different slot combinations, which can be further altered. This happens through the games currency. All the currency has an ingame function, which is awesome. The majority of the currency are used in crafting, allowing you to rearrange stats on your items.
Now on to the bad. The first thing you will notice when compared to diablo III is the inferior graphics. Although PoE, has a dark atmosphere, as found in diablo II, the animations and overall graphics cannot compete with diablo III in my opinion. DIII made it very enjoyable to actually fight monsters, it was the things around the combat that caused issues. PoE animations seems very stiff in comparison, and combat can be quite dull in the beginning levels. The main issue I have for the game is very debatable. I know that many people like the fact that there is no full respec option. It adds permanency to your decisions, penalizing you for making mistakes. With a game that is free to play, it will no doubt attract a lot of casual players. I feel that most people who don't look up guides will be punished and hit a wall. In my experience the community has been a hit or miss, with many old vets that can be quite elitist at times. A respec when you beat the game would be a nice perk for those who don't have the free time to restart players.