Poe2 EA F2P or Support to Play? EA also on consoles?

Hey Folks.

Any info on whether the Early Access will be both on consoles and Pc?

Also will it be available for everyone?

Probably not.... They haven't fixed things in this league...yet.

I would think that the initial phase of EA will be a staggered approach of invites, paid packs, and giveaways.

The console question is an interesting one. If the intention is bug fixing and improvement before release, it stands to reason to have this available to ensure any console specific issues are addressed. It seems prudent to me at least. But given the absolute abomination the console version is now, I would understand any hesitation players might have.

I would also think they would want to stress test servers, so at some point I'm sure it will be more of an open beta, likely towards the end. (Maybe a weekend or two like D4 did)

Dunno about consoles, but based on the wording "ear;y Access" I'd assume it's for everyone, and since it's a F2P game you can just pick it up and play.

I'm saying this, because with PoE 1 back in the day they had Closed Beta and Open Beta. So if they wanted to have only a limited number of people I'd assume they would have used Closed Beta and not Early Access. And in this modern age "Early Access" paid or not, is usually available for everyone.

I also find PoE2 to be in a uniquely difficult spot when it comes to accessibility and new player experience.

When PoE2 launches, there will be few build guides (unless EA is like 6 months+), no PoB, no filters, no 3rd party tools, and so on.

Unless of course the UI is good, the tooltips make sense, and scaling/EHP are intuitive. I guess we will see in November. I have my doubts.

The way Jonathan was talking about the D4 launch likely means that it will be free and open for everyone at the same time. Basically D4 gave priority access and it meant the game was figured out by the time the game officially launched for everyone else. People just rushed through the Acts into endgame and were bored a couple days after release.

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BimboBoy1994 wrote:

The way Jonathan was talking about the D4 launch likely means that it will be free and open for everyone at the same time. Basically D4 gave priority access and it meant the game was figured out by the time the game officially launched for everyone else. People just rushed through the Acts into endgame and were bored a couple days after release.

That's a pretty significant error in how D4 went.

D4 in fact had multiple open beta periods, and a final server stress test weekend. Which GGG absolutely needs to do given their...um, err...history?

The D4 launch did have a few days of Early Access if you preordered, true (which I suppose is debatable), but the intention wasn't some sort of P2W conspiracy, it was to have a staggered launch so that one of the biggest launches in gaming history wasn't tainted by a server melting fiasco.

Again GGG hasn't exactly had the greatest track record with servers, league starts, and even established priority queues for their content creators & friends, soo... yeah they should probably follow the D4 model to some degree imo.

Don't forget PoE1 had a paid closed beta period as well. I wouldn't be shocked it something similar happened again. The only difference being they don't really need that kind of indy startup type money anymore.

Server meltdown is a given on launch day.

Just give streamers and paid people early access to stagger the launch and make it a smooth experience for everyone.

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Winterman89 wrote:

Hey Folks.

Any info on whether the Early Access will be both on consoles and Pc?

Also will it be available for everyone?

I was surprised to see such a hard push advertising the Early Access at Gamescom -- an odd move for something they're apparently making fairly exclusive.

I don't quite know how to reconcile the two factors, but I guess it's not unheard of to advertise a closed beta via a massive games convention.

Gut says they haven't actually decided how they're going to proceed yet. Probably keeping an eye on the overall ARPG situation come November.

But I would deeply...deeply caution against paying too much money to essentially playtest an unfinished version of the game. As someone who did that for years, I know better now. Sure, you will get to play it before others, but here's the two-edged sword of being an early access supporter: there is every chance the game you are testing won't be the game they release. Unless you are fortified against that chance, paying for early access can be an exercise in disappointment.

And I promise the game will still be there afterwards, free to play and ready to take your support money in all sorts of creative and morally acceptable ways.

Of course you're not listening but it's okay. I still wanted to say it. You can go play now. Grandpa needs a nap.

If you want to make sure you're in line to receive beta/early access keys early, I recommend heading over to the PoE2 website and register to receive updates by email. I don't know that it's necessary, but it can't hurt and might even help.

https://pathofexile2.com/

As for other details... early access is still three months away, folks. There's plenty of time for GGG to finalize the detais of the rollout, and to communicate them to us. Just let 'em cook; they'll let us know what we need to know in good time.