To the Esteemed Team at Grinding Gear Games

With profound admiration for your work and a sense of shared responsibility, I write this letter. Let me clarify: my intent is neither to demand concessions nor to seek personal gain. I wish simply to engage in a constructive dialogue with your team—a group I hold in the highest regard as exemplary professionals and innovators. I trust you value such exchanges with passionate players who deeply cherish your creations.

‌I. The Legacy and Current Challenges‌
Path of Exile has long stood as a paragon of quality and depth in the ARPG genre. As a veteran who devoted a decade to Diablo II and its mods, I was electrified when Path of Exile emerged as a worthy torchbearer, inheriting and expanding upon Diablo II’s legacy in both gameplay complexity and community reverence.

Path of Exile 2 initially elevated this reputation to unprecedented heights. Over the past six months, it has achieved near-ubiquitous recognition among younger gamers—arguably surpassing even Diablo II’s cultural footprint for this generation. Realistically, the game now stands to captivate 100-200 million players worldwide.

Yet the current season reveals troubling contradictions. While last season’s brilliance attracted an influx of newcomers (“newborn players,” as I term those with limited gaming literacy), the extreme difficulty curve now bars these novices at the gate. Even seasoned veterans like myself find ourselves metaphorically “spitting teeth” in frustration. ‌When the season began, as a Summoner, I had no choice but to take up melee weapons and become a close-combat infantryman—an absurd transformation for a minion-centric profession.‌

‌II. Critical Design Concerns‌
‌1. Misaligned Difficulty Philosophy‌
Games exist fundamentally as vessels of joy and accomplishment. The current iteration, however, feels akin to thrusting a five-year-old into a boxing ring against prime Mike Tyson. While challenge fuels engagement, excessive barriers transform exhilaration into despair. Entire archetypes haven’t merely been nerfed—they’ve been deleted. These builds now lack even the viability of that metaphorical child facing Tyson, collapsing the delicate ecosystem of playstyles.

‌2. Regression from Seasonal Excellence‌
Last season resembled a precision-engineered supercar—cohesive, exhilarating, masterful. The current changes, however, evoke dismantling that masterpiece to assemble a clunky minivan. Players endure not just imbalance but whiplash from frequent, destabilizing adjustments—like a toddler conducting a world-class orchestra. True success lies in equilibrium, not extremes. Most players, like society at large, crave fairness above all.

Take the Huntress rework: while her Lightning Spear build (a Diablo II classic and cow-level farming staple) deserves celebration, elevating one archetype shouldn’t require burying others. A three-Michelin-star restaurant doesn’t sabotage existing dishes to highlight new additions.

‌III. Constructive Proposals‌
‌1. Legacy Integration‌
Rather than erasing beloved systems, implement parallel tracks. Take Unique Belts: preserve legacy versions (coveted as luxury goods attract shoppers) while introducing new variants. Differentiate acquisition methods—for instance, let top-tier bosses have a 0.1% drop chance for classic items, or guarantee one legacy piece per 100 crafts.

‌2. Respect Player Investment‌
Many Path of Exile 1 mechanics now feel arbitrarily excluded from the sequel. This breeds unnecessary developer-player antagonism, contradicting the natural supplier-consumer symbiosis. As the Chinese proverb warns: “A weak soldier fails alone; a weak commander dooms the legion.” Leadership’s vision must realign to restore what made this franchise great—balanced challenge, build diversity, and evolutionary (not revolutionary) iteration.

‌In Closing‌
My criticisms stem not from malice but from decades of ARPG devotion. You’ve crafted something extraordinary—a legacy worth protecting. I implore your team to heed the community’s collective wisdom: revive deprecated builds, stabilize systems, and let difficulty serve joy rather than supplant it.

With unwavering respect,
[‌The Luminous Vanguard]
A Devoted Summoner Since the Eternal Crucible

Well said.
I am waiting on PoE2 for now.

When PoE2 was announced it was to be an expansion, an addon on top of PoE1 systems and I was explaining to someone that this is how you follow-up on a successful game; by upgrading graphics, mechanics and adding on top of everything that contributed to the game's success.

A perfect example is Starcraft 2. It's essentially just a graphics update to the original while adding story/campaign. Basic mechanics never changed. And they didn't need to.