Review : Path of Exile 2 : Natural Selection

The early access release of Path of Exile 2 is finally here. After years of waiting, fans of the long-running ARPG can finally jump in and see what Grinding Gear Games has been working towards. With Path of Exile 2, GGG has taken the route of going with a full, stand-alone sequel rather than the large expansion that was initially planned. So, does the move make sense? What’s changed over the years? And, is early-access worth jumping into, or should you wait for 1.0 sometime in 2025?

Before providing my review of the content available in early-access, note that I also wrote an extensive preview that provides details on the game engine, layout, end-game, classes, and more. If you’re looking for details of exactly what the early-access version of PoE2 offers, you should start there.

Also note: Sadly for this review, there was an update late in the review process that deleted several of the skill gems off of our characters (I confirmed this occurred with three other outlets as well). Thus, while I racing to be able to provide end-game impressions, after the skill reset I was not able to. So please consider this a review of the campaign and core systems outside of the “Atlas Map Endgame.”

Wrasslin in Wraeclast

Jumping in, after previously playing the Mercenary and the Monk in prior preview sessions, I decided to go the Ranger route for my review. After an excellent opening cut-scene, your chosen character escapes execution and finds themselves washed up on a riverbank. If you’re a veteran of PoE, this will feel instantly familiar; however, what immediately impresses is the fidelity of the sequel.

Path of Exile 2 is a noticeable step up in overall quality of presentation. From the detailed and more-varied environments to the animations and effects, it’s a truly gorgeous game. The team at GGG drew inspiration from cultures around the world, including Islander culture, given their roots in New Zealand. This certainly shows through with all three acts of early access representing a wide array of stunning environments. Most importantly, it manages this while retaining the dark, horror-esque vibe of the original.

Speaking on the animation quality explicitly, it sets a really high bar. The engine improvements implemented by GGG over the years shine through in full throughout PoE2. Characters are more fluid, with each character being able to attack on the move and feeling more agile all around. Enemies, meanwhile, have a huge array of impressive attacks that not only look gorgeous at times, but fill the screen with effects and AoE attacks that always impress as you scamper to stay alive. I never tired of killing a running enemy only to have them faceplant-slide directly in front of me into a puddle of ooze.

I want to specifically call out the boss battles as well. With over 400 enemies and 50 bosses even in early-access, I was very impressed at the variety of the bosses, their attacks, and the complexity of what can occur in those battles. Grinding Gear Games sets the bar for ARPGs in this regard, and I had several battles that left me sweaty-handed and on edge with my heart-racing. Sometimes isometric ARPGs can feel like button-mashers in important battles, but that’s certainly not the case with PoE2!

Beyond merely the look of the sequel, there’s a clear upgrade in how it feels to play. Not only is WASD aiming implemented for all classes, but with early-access launching on Xbox and PlayStation alongside PC, controller support has been improved, too. While a few aspects can be a little finicky still, generally speaking, aiming, looting, and menu management is far more intuitive than it was in the original.

Upon reaching the first camp, you set off, picking up directly where the opening cinematic leaves off. In speaking with GGG, the cinematics in PoE2 were developed to deepen the engagement between the player and the story. Even in this early-access version, I feel they’ve hit the mark. While I have countless hours invested in the original PoE, I never truly engaged with nor cared about its story. Whereas with the sequel, your quests and objectives feel more interconnected with your actual actions as the player.

Similar to the original, Path of Exile 2 unfolds across unique acts, with each act having its own map and progression through generated levels. Along the way you can uncover alternate paths, battle additional area bosses, complete side quests, and unlock permanent player bonuses. The map itself is more informative than the original with clear information on the things you can find in each area.

Even with early-access only containing three of the final six acts, there’s a good amount to consume with the three acts said to take upwards of 25 hours to complete. As I tend to explore and find almost all of the side content, I’d say it took me over 30. The journey through the first three acts is expansive, and I’ve generally enjoyed my time so far. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the scope, but it’s difficult to speak on the story arc at this point in time for obviously reasons.

For this build of the game, once you complete the third-act, you are teleported back to the initial riverbank at the beginning of act one. From there, you begin the “Cruel” version of the early-access campaign which essentially acts as a new-game plus. You replay the first three acts again, but enemies are completely randomized instead of being specific to an area, and you can find higher-level and more advanced loot. Understanding that this is an early-access release, the approach allowed GGG to flesh-out the endgame, which, for a game like PoE, makes a lot of sense.

That said, it also feels like a bit of a chore currently to play through the first three acts only to then play them again as you attempt to reach level 65 and, thus, the endgame. Compounding this are my continued qualms with the loot progression.

Where’s the Beef?

With loot largely being similar in structure to the original, perhaps my largest complaint with PoE2 is that the loot progression can still feel quite unrewarding at times. While PoE has never been as loot-focused as some other ARPGs, and it focuses on more skill-building progression over time, which I certainly appreciate; it continues to feel, however, that further adjustments need to be made. In speaking with GGG at the preview event, they made it clear that certain orbs would be more readily available so players could modify their items more frequently. While I’ve found that to be true to a degree, the system continues to feel lacking.

For example, as I hit level 50, I noticed I was still wearing the gloves I equipped at level 11, the boots I equipped at level 13, and the quiver I had equipped at level 21 (I’m a bit obsessive with tracking my loot). Items like charms, rings, and amulets, in particular, are even more rare, and it’s exceedingly rare to find one that’s worthwhile for your character. Similarly to PoE1, uniques continue to be rare to a fault as well. GGG states this is due to them wanting uniques to be “class builders,” but I certainly haven’t seen that to be the case. In my 80+ hours through the preview and review periods, I had 3 uniques drop. Of those, 2 of them weren’t an item I could use for my class/build, and the rolls on all 3 were rather lackluster. When items are so rare, it should be celebrated when they are acquired, and they should have an impact for the player. That impact is very rarely the case as it stands today, which feels to be in direct contrast to the stated goals of build and class variety and experimentation.

In fact, the last two major upgrades I got for my character, after over a dozen or more levels and many hours of play, I bought from the NPC in town. While I like that purchasing meaningful gear is a viable option in PoE, is it rewarding? After killing thousands upon thousands of enemies and opening countless chests, buying your gear in-town feels boring and counterintuitive to playing a loot-based ARPG. And just to be clear, I’m not expecting nor wanting PoE to move to a system where you’re swapping gear every ten minutes. But some adjustments could absolutely be made to make PoE2 feel more rewarding in this key aspect.

Fortunately, no such issues exist with the skill and class-building systems.

Class of its Own

Early-access launches with six classes, with six more to come, one by one in “rather quick succession,” according to GGG.  If you missed it previously, here are all twelve classes and how they tie to the PoE model of classes aligning with the core three stats of Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence.

• Strength: Marauder – axes
• Strength: Warrior – maces, hammers (EA Launch)
• Dexterity: Ranger – bows (EA Launch)
• Dexterity: Huntress – spears
• Intelligence: Witch – minions and occult spells (EA Launch)
• Intelligence: Sorceress – elemental spells, staves (EA Launch)
• Str/Dex: Duelist – swords
• Str/Dex: Mercenary – crossbows, grenades (EA Launch)
• Int/Dex: Shadow – daggers and traps
• Int/Dex: Monk – unarmed, quarterstaves (EA Launch)
• Str/Int: Templar – flails, shields
• Str/Int: Druid – shapeshift spells, staves

Skill gems return in Path of Exile 2, but they are implemented a little differently. Instead of socketing skill gems to your loot, and thus frequently searching for loot containing linked sockets, there is now a dedicated skill gem menu. Here you activate your skill gems from a table and, as you find more skill gems over time, choose whether to expand your skillset or level-up your current skills.

Supplementing your main skill gems are support gems. Support gems come in many flavors and can enhance your skills in countless ways. While the game makes recommendations for you based on your class and chosen skill, in true PoE fashion, it’s up to you what to put in place. Thus, there are no limitations on the supports you can socket. Want to add a level three strength support gem to your main Ranger skill? Go for it.

Lastly, PoE2 introduces “spirit,” a resource that supports the player with on-going buffs, and Charms, a new addition to your belt. Depending on how much spirit you have, you can have multiple buffs active at once, thus supplementing your skills even further. For instance, as I built into shock damage with my ranger, I was combining three different skills together, each with different chain bonuses that also had electrocution buffs. It’s an excellent system, and it’s one that encourages experimentation and long-term optimization. Meanwhile, up to three charms can be equipped at once, depending on your belt, and each will activate after certain criteria are met. For instance, should you catch fire, you can have a charm that makes you resistant to fire damage for a period of time. Again, it’s when all of these aspects combine that PoE2 provides the most fun in building out your character, and that’s even before maximizing your class and ascendancy path.

Of course, when it comes to long-term optimization for your class, Path of Exile is known for its passive skill-tree, and, yes, it returns and then some. Featuring 1,500 nodes by the time 1.0 releases, each of the 12 classes will begin at a specific point on the tree with skills localized to them to begin. But just like in PoE1, the player has full freedom in the path they take from there. With a huge array of build-changing skills and ways to optimize, including the larger “Notable” and “Keystone” nodes, the passive skill-tree in PoE2 will be another time sink for players who invest in long-term characters and multiple classes.

Learning all of the possibilities can take a little time for new players, but the combination of classes, attributes, skill gems, the skill-tree, and loot combine to formulate a potent tonic for players looking to invest into a deep ARPG. This is where Path of Exile has shined for years, and I certainly see that to be the case with the sequel. Even though I’ve now played through the first act of the game four times, I’m already excited at the thought of building a sword-and-board warrior for my first permanent character. Most importantly, the systems in place feel easy enough to grasp for new or novice ARPG players, while the team at GGG has managed to retain the complexity for those wanting to invest for years. That’s not an easy thing to do, but, at least with what I’ve played to date, they seemed to have accomplished it.

Excellent Access

Path of Exile 2 represents the next evolution of an ARPG that has been continually evolving for over a decade. Everything Grinding Gear Games has learned through the years comes through while playing, and, while it was initially planned as a large-scale expansion for the original, Path of Exile 2 being a full-blown sequel absolutely makes sense. It takes Path of Exile to that next level, and, knowing that this is merely early access, I can only imagine what that means for the 1.0 release and the years to come.

Path of Exile fans should be very excited. ARPG fans who are yet to be Path of Exile fans will be converted. And players who are new to loot-based ARPGs will find a new series to love. I hope to see you in Wraeclast.

Thank you to Starfall PR and Level Infinite for the Early Access support! You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.