The success story of Path of Exile simply never ends: Even in the age of top-class titles like Diablo 4 or Last Epoch, the eleven-year-old free2play monster smasher enjoys enormous popularity. Developer Grinding Gear Games has expanded the game over the years into a complex content monster that combines countless hours of free gameplay, tons of build combinations and a varied endgame.
In just one week, fans of Path of Exile can jump into the next big expansion, Necropolis. This should give the game tons of new endgame features, additional maps, tons of detail improvements and a fresh crafting system. With this, Grinding Gear Games once again underlines that Path of Exile is far from being canceled and that it wants to continue to be at the top in the future.
New impressions from Path of Exile 2
At the same time, the developers have been working on the official successor Path of Exile 2 for years. It was initially planned as a modest upgrade to the first part, but developed further over time, so that you now have a separate, independent game with many Improvements, ambitious ideas and fundamental innovations are expected. In our last big preview we already gave you a detailed report and explained why Path of Exile 2 stands out noticeably from the first part. Now the developers have published another batch of information, shown new video material and invited people to interview sessions. Just check out the gameplay for yourself! (You can switch on German subtitles if you wish.)
Recommended editorial contentHere you will find external content from (PLATTFORM). To protect your personal data, external integrations will only be displayed if you confirm this by clicking on “Load all external content”:Load all external contentI agree to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Path of Exile 2 will offer a whopping 12 character classes upon release. This time the developers have presented the Ranger, a well-known ranged fighter class from the first game, but which now has a lot more to offer. In their preview, the developers attach great importance to the fantastic, nicely streamlined synergy system, with which all skills can now be quickly and easily adapted to your own wishes. As you can see in the video linked above, even a few simple lightning and poison bullets can be cleverly modified to create countless different ways to play.
More demands, more movement
All of this should not only bring more variety to the fights, but also involve a lot less effort than in the first Path of Exile – because the somewhat annoying system with skill stones is significantly simplified in the sequel. Grinding Gear Games also wants to shed a lot of weight when it comes to loot and crafting mechanics and ensure more accessibility without losing depth.
The new movement of the agile ranger class is also striking: In Path of Exile 2, the archer can run and shoot at the same time, which – together with the new dodge role – should enable a more action-packed, more direct feel. You can also control your characters in Path of Exile 2 directly with the WASD keys if you want – but of course there will also be classic mouse controls.
Source: Grinding Gear Games The level of difficulty should be noticeably higher compared to the first Path of Exile, for example your bottles will now fill up more slowly. You should notice the difference clearly, especially in boss fights; here you have to be prepared for frequent dodging and changing, tough combat phases. Simply dashing around the boss and firing off his strongest skills will no longer be enough. In new impressions, some testers are downright enthusiastic about the new playing feel.
Others, however, are rather disappointed with the new approach: Charles Burgar from thegamer.com, who has already played Path of Exile for more than 1,500 hours, reports a particularly frustrating boss fight that kept throwing him back to a checkpoint after 20 unsuccessful attempts until he eventually gave up in annoyance. He compares the feel of the game to Ruthless mode from the first Path of Exile and even draws parallels to Soulslikes.
Also popular with PC games readers
Path of Exile 2 – Preview: Already more exciting than Diablo 4?
More dynamic battles, improved systems, many old strengths: a new presentation of Path of Exile 2 is causing excitement. We have all the information.
The future of Diablo 4: developers finally reveal what fans really wanted to know
Finally there is news from the developers about upcoming content, changes and gameplay for Season 4 in Diablo 4.
Will Grinding Gear Games strike a chord with fans? Or do you want to differentiate yourself even more clearly from the first Path of Exile? Ultimately, this should remain relevant in the future; the developers want to continue to operate the game alongside Path of Exile 2 and support it with content. In an extra-long video, the developers introduce you to exactly what awaits you in the new Necropolis expansion.
Recommended editorial contentHere you will find external content from (PLATTFORM). To protect your personal data, external integrations will only be displayed if you confirm this by clicking on “Load all external content”:Load all external contentI agree to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
You have to be patient even longer
Despite everything, there is unfortunately also bad news. After years of waiting, Path of Exile 2 was actually scheduled to enter open beta on June 7, 2024. But unfortunately nothing comes of it: The developers have announced that the date will be pushed back again. Path of Exile 2 will no longer start the beta phase in June as planned; the game is simply not ready for release yet.
“Although we were able to complete the game's content in a timely manner, we underestimated how long it would take to get the gameplay polished to a standard that we were happy with. We're still hosting an alpha in June, but we're postponing “The beta will be postponed to later this year,” said Jonathan Rogers, Game Director of Path of Exile 2.
So you will still be able to play Path of Exile 2 in June, but this is not yet the widely announced beta – that is not expected until the end of the year. But there is at least one big consolation: This gives you significantly more time to try out the promising new content of Path of Exile: Necropolis.