I Love Path of Exile 2... But It’s Far From Perfect

I’m a long time gamer, but a new player to Path of Exile 2, having dabbled in PoE1 to level 20 and played other ARPGs like Dungeon Siege and V Rising. After being let down by D3 and D4, I was hyped for PoE2—and for the first 30 hours, I was in love. But as I’ve progressed, cracks in the game’s foundation have started to show. It’s not just about a lack of content; I’m realizing that the systems themselves need refinement.

I have about 80 hours in the game. I also want to mention from the outset that I'm a SSF HC enjoyer. I will stick to only acts I and II and maybe III for the moment as I feel they are the most polished. I've not experienced the end game yet.

I want to make it clear: I love this game and the ARPG genre. This review is critical, but it comes from a place of wanting PoE2 to reach its full potential.

Music:
The music is mostly great, especially in Act 1. I’d give it an A+ across the board. It really sets the tone well.

Sound & Combat Effects:
The combat feels great! The graphics and sound design during fights are absolute cinema. The feedback when you hit something feels satisfying, which is so important for an ARPG.

Uniques
The way Uniques are implemented now feel frustrating. They seem generally weaker than rare gear, often relying on gimmicks that you have to build around if you want them to be useful. As someone who enjoys playing SSF Hardcore, this lack of power makes them feel underwhelming whenever they drop. I think I've seen 5 or so in 80 hours of playtime, and I've only used one.

Campaign Progression
- Act 1: Overall, Act 1 is fantastic. If anything the pacing is a little quick. By the time I hit the final boss in Act 1, I felt like I had no choice but to grind lower-level content for gear before I could proceed - I exhausted everything and just grinded mobs. I think it would be cool if there were more options for additional quests or content, especially an additional zone with higher-level monsters and decent loot drops so you can actually gear for the A1 boss if you need to.

- Act 2: While Act 2 has its moments, there does seems to be a noticeable lack of extra content. The combat also starts to get chaotic with too many procs flying around, making it feel a bit overwhelming at times.

- Act 3: Introduces interesting biomes, but the pacing starts to falter. Some maps feel unnecessarily large. Balance seems to start breaking down a bit.

Character Look Progression:
By the end of Act 1, my warrior looks like a powerhouse in full armour, but starting in Act 2 and 3, the look drastically shifts to skimpy gear that looks like a downgrade.

Crafting:
The crafting system is okay at the moment, but has so much potential and room for improvement. For instance, while Orbs of Transmutation are easy & consistent to farm using drops + disenchant, I can't convert them into Orbs of Augmentation, which feels very limiting. A system where I could trade 2 Transmutations for 1 Augmentation, or something similar, would be a useful addition. Generally speaking. I think anything should be able to be crafted to solve for any missing resources. Additionally, there should be a better way to manage and reuse skill gems, especially in the late game when they start piling up. I think combining them to get higher level gems or quality bonuses would be great. On top of that, I didn’t fully grasp the crafting mechanics until mid Act 2. A basic tutorial or quest to introduce crafting earlier would be a great help, especially for new players who might feel overwhelmed.

Support Gems
The concept of support gems is great, but their balance and pacing are all over the place. For example, gems like Scatter Shot feel so strong that they should be locked behind a higher tier (T2 or T3), yet I unlocked it at T1, which feels off.

The entire T1-T2-T3 tier system for gems needs a rework. Some T1 gems are weak, while others, like Scatter Shot, are super strong and cool.

I love experimenting with the Skill gems, And I was so excited to experiment with the T2 gems, only to find that there were very few useful Strength gems. Like half of the T2 strength gems were to do with armor break. It was such a let down.

I honestly think the system would be improved if you just found random gems and then could craft them instead of just being able to pick exactly what you wanted. At the very least I think combining all the gems into one big pool would be better than having T1, T2, and T3 gems.

Co-op specific issues:
- Netcode and Server Issues: Co-op play has noticeable issues, even with a low ping (5ms). During fights, I frequently bounce around the map, especially when colliding with other players. While it doesn’t cause major problems if you avoid other units, it’s still a jarring and distracting issue when it happens.

- Map Visibility in Parties: If you’re in a party, it’s kind of odd that each player can’t reveal the map for the others. My friend and I might split up to scout, but we can’t see what the other is doing, even though we’re in the same instance. It seems like a small change that could make the co-op experience much smoother.

- Poison Clouds: One minor issue is that friendly and enemy poison clouds look the same, with no clear visual distinction. In chaotic fights, this can be frustrating and confusing.

Combat Mechanics:
Is so close to being perfect. So much of the combat feels clean and engaging. However...

Enemy Melee Attacks: A major gripe I have is how enemy melee attacks can miss even when I only move a few inches away. I can slowly crawl away, and their attacks completely whiff, which feels off and makes combat feel like you're never getting it. Then all of a sudden you get hit once or twice and you get chunked. I wish damage was a LOT more consistent. Regen from flasks should be like half of what it is now and you should receive damage more consistently. You should die over the course of 3-6 seconds, not 0.3 to 0.6 seconds.

Boss Damage Consistency: Boss damage feels inconsistent—either doing no damage or one-shotting you. If your tankiness is right, you can face-tank regular hits without dodging at all, but heavy attacks feel like they’re ridiculously punishing. I think heavy hit damage should be toned down, and regular hit damage should be buffed to create a more consistent experience.

Zero-Play Unit Size Roll: The "zero-play unit size" mechanic, where I can slip past enemies by hitting space after misplaying, trivializes combat. While it works for small mobs, it feels odd to escape with no consequences after a misplay. There should be some punishment for obvious mistakes, with a middle ground where misplaying can actually get you trapped or punished. The issue was more with the fact that enemies could haste around you without any ability to prevent or overide them. But actually getting surrounded by slower enemies is completely fine gameplay.

Armor Break
Armor Break (AB) feels off, especially when abilities that consume it seem counterproductive. Sometimes, it feels like I’m doing more damage by just auto-attacking while the enemy’s armor is fully broken. Using a skill that consumes Armor Break to deal bonus damage often feels counterproductive—if I consume the AB, I have to reapply it, losing DPS in the process. I think any ability that "Consumes" the AB should keep it on the foe for a while after, or deal significantly more damage. AB can also be super quick to apply for some enemies, even ones with lots of armor. I manage to get my hard hitting slow attacking two handed warrior to apply full armour break with just one hit on heavily armoured bosses.

Wells
Wells are entirely pointless. Flasks should refill as soon as you get back to town.

Ascendancy
I think Ascendancy should just be 1 boss fight. The trails are cool but that should be a separate mechanic for the chance of getting gear and crafting mats, etc. Just make Ascendancy a straightforward fight. It would be great. People just want to get their Ascendancy points ASAP, and gating them behind a fight is the perfect test to see if they deserve those points.