POE 2: Class Gender Lock is a Step Backwards

I was so hyped for Path of Exile 2, but the gender-locked classes are a huge disappointment. It feels like such an outdated design choice for an otherwise modern game. I get that they’re going for a specific aesthetic with each class, but why not give players the freedom to choose their gender? It’s 2024 – customization should be a priority in any RPG.

What do you guys think? Does this bother anyone else, or am I overreacting? Would love to hear your thoughts!

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Jagdkommando90#7200 wrote:

am I overreacting?

Yes.

I dont care one bit, as soon as you put armour on etc and with the camera view its a complete non issue.

Sometimes too much freedom of choice is bad for a human
This is not Baldur's Gate tho

No, we don't need to be able to choose genders. Everyone is equal and gets to play as one of the pre-existing themed characters. No one gets to choose gender or how big their head is, or the color of their eyes. This isnt necessary or relevant.

It's just the way it is.

Duplicate post

I'm less concerned with gender locked classes, as long as the gameplay is compelling and fun. Maybe gender options down the road, but I'd prefer they get the core systems down first.

couldn't care less. i am here to slay monsters. not to play identity politics.

in POE 1 by the time you get to endgame you can't even see your character with all of the armor and on screen effects going on all around you. by that point you've got a thousand other things with your character to care about. gender ain't one of them. this is so insignificant to the game that i feel like this kind of topic is just trollbait.

In a story-heavy, dialogue-driven RPG with a character editor, where you're expected to spend ages tweaking your in-game avatar, this might be a bigger deal. In a AAA game made by an army of thousands with a development budget to rival Marvel's Avengers: End Game and a $100 price for three days of early access, and yet somehow less content, this might be a bigger deal. But given how much stuff GGG has made, for a game whose full release will be free to play? This is not a problem.

Now, GGG might be able to add alternate-generate character packs (which would have to include the character model, alternate voice lines, and variants of all the armour sets so that everything fits properly) as paid mtx, if there's enough demand for it. Would you be willing to pay for that (and if so, how much)?

But, no, the fact that the game's twelve character classes aren't going to have multiple variants each included for free in a game which is advancing the ARPG genre in every other possible way is not any kind of a step backwards.