It only took about an hour of diving into Path of Exile 2’s early access for that familiar feeling to set in—the one where I knew I’d soon be knee-deep in spreadsheets, meticulously planning builds, and saying goodbye to my free time for the foreseeable future. Just when I thought I was out, the developers have managed to pull me right back in with a sequel that expands on everything that made its predecessor a standout in the ARPG genre. From its deep customization to an overhauled combat system and a massive endgame, Path of Exile 2 is already shaping up to be something special. Of course, being in early access means dealing with a fair bit of unfinished content, frustratingly stingy loot, and some rough edges, but even in this state, there’s an absurd amount of fun to be had.
https://youtu.be/AOVg2aLjIiU?si=SmulIzqfDeIHPbWA
A Familiar Yet Fresh Adventure
Like any good ARPG, expect to spend your time carving through hordes of enemies, facing down grotesque bosses, and constantly warping back to town to offload loot thanks to an inventory that always feels just a little too small. As it stands, the early access version offers three out of the planned six campaign acts, and getting through them twice (once on a higher difficulty) takes about 60 hours before unlocking the robust endgame. While some placeholder content and technical hiccups make it clear this is still a work in progress, the vast majority of my marathon playthrough was incredibly engaging.
Narratively, Path of Exile 2 doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It sticks to the classic tale of monstrous horrors threatening the world and ancient beings toying with mortals, but that doesn’t mean it lacks intrigue. Unraveling the different cultures and histories within each act kept me engaged, and the cast of characters offers some real standouts. Alva, a thrill-seeking treasure hunter who vanishes the moment things get dicey, quickly became a favorite, while the brutal, survivalist Maraketh added a compelling layer of world-building. With half the story still under wraps, it remains to be seen whether it all comes together in a satisfying way, but so far, it’s off to a solid start—even if it’s not exactly breaking new ground in the dark fantasy genre.
Deep, Addictive, and Brutally Complex Gameplay
Where Path of Exile 2 truly shines is in its gameplay. Picking from one of the six available classes (with plans for 12 in the full release), you’re thrown into a character-building system so deep it practically begs for a flowchart. The passive skill tree alone features over 1,500 perks, and that’s before even touching support gems, Ascendancy perks, and the Atlas tree that governs endgame progression. If you love min-maxing, theorycrafting, and tweaking your build to perfection, this game is a dream come true. If the sight of a complex skill web makes you break into a cold sweat… well, you might have a rough time.
Once you get a grasp on your build, combat is an absolute blast. Each encounter is a fast-paced dance of dodging, attacking, and managing cooldowns, all while keeping an eye out for the next shiny loot drop. The addition of dodge rolls adds a much-needed skill element to fights, and with WASD movement support, navigating the battlefield feels smoother than ever. Compared to some of its genre peers, Path of Exile 2 manages to keep combat feeling engaging rather than repetitive—boss fights, in particular, demand pattern recognition and strategy rather than just overwhelming damage output.
Class Variety Keeps Things Fresh
Each class in Path of Exile 2 brings a distinct playstyle, offering more variety than most ARPGs. The Dexterity-based Ranger is all about evasive movement, keeping distance while relying on luck-based avoidance—great until a boss lands a hit, at which point you’re toast. Meanwhile, the Warrior charges in with heavy armor, focusing on brute force to survive. The Mercenary shakes things up even more, wielding a crossbow that effectively turns combat into a top-down shooter. My personal favorite was the Witch, specializing in summoning undead minions to do the dirty work while I focused on buffs and support. This level of gameplay diversity is something a lot of other ARPGs struggle to achieve, making each character feel truly distinct.
An Overwhelmingly Deep Customization System
If you enjoy getting lost in complex character customization, Path of Exile 2 goes above and beyond. Between the massive passive tree, skill and support gems, endgame perks, and intricate loot modifiers, there are more ways to tweak your build than most games dare to offer. That’s fantastic if you love experimenting with mechanics, but it also means the learning curve is steeper than ever. It’ll take a while—possibly a long while—to fully grasp how everything fits together, especially in early access before optimized builds become widely available.
One current frustration is that not all skill trees are fully implemented yet. You might map out a build only to find out a key ability or synergy doesn’t exist yet, which can be pretty disheartening. Hopefully, this gap will be filled as early access progresses.
Loot: The Biggest Weak Point
If there’s one area Path of Exile 2 struggles with, it’s loot. Not because the items themselves are bad—finding gear that enhances your build is still exciting—but because loot drops are far too stingy. There’s no system in place to ensure loot aligns with your chosen class, so you’ll often end up with gear that’s completely useless. Worse, I didn’t see a single Unique (the game’s highest-tier gear) drop until I had sunk over 60 hours into the game, and when I finally did, it was a bow—completely worthless for my magic-based character.
Sure, trading with other players can help, but relying on that to get meaningful upgrades feels bad, especially in a genre where loot is supposed to be a core reward loop. There are some upgrade mechanics to improve mediocre gear, but they don’t fully solve the problem. Given how loot scarcity was a frequent criticism of the first Path of Exile, it’s surprising this issue hasn’t been addressed more in the sequel.
A Bizarrely Repetitive Mid-Game
One of the biggest drawbacks of playing in early access is that reaching the endgame requires replaying the first three acts in full. Instead of letting you finish the current story content and jump straight into post-campaign systems, you’re forced into a second playthrough at a higher level—but with no major changes aside from tougher enemies. This “Cruel Mode” isn’t even significantly harder, making it feel like a pointless roadblock rather than a real challenge. It’s a weird design choice that makes progression feel unnecessarily repetitive. Hopefully, future updates will smooth out this pacing issue.
A Surprisingly Robust Endgame (If You Can Reach It)
Once you do get past that hurdle, though, Path of Exile 2 really delivers in the endgame. The Atlas system provides a massive map filled with procedurally generated challenges, hidden bosses, and special merchants. It’s an evolution of the first game’s endgame, refining and expanding upon what already worked. Trials add additional challenges, and an endgame boss awaits those dedicated enough to push their builds to the limit. Even in early access, there’s a wealth of content here that could keep players engaged for hundreds of hours.
That said, the early access experience isn’t without its technical issues. Frame rate dips, UI glitches, and even disappearing items are all part of the package. One particularly painful moment came when a patch wiped out my best weapon and skill gems, forcing me to rebuild from scratch. If you’re not a fan of dealing with that kind of instability, it might be worth waiting until things are more polished.
Verdict
Even in early access, Path of Exile 2 is shaping up to be a fantastic sequel. Combat feels better than ever, build customization is deeper than ever, and the endgame already offers an absurd amount of replayability. That said, forcing players to replay the first three acts, overly stingy loot, and some technical wonkiness hold it back for now. But if you’re willing to endure a little early access jank, there’s already an incredible ARPG experience here—one that’s only going to get better.
