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Path of Exile 2has launched in early access, bringing you a variety of classes that you may level and build as you explore Wraeclast. The game is currently in early access, meaning that in order to play it, you’ll need to spend some money. Once the game has its 1.0 launch though, the game will become free to play.
So, is Path of Exile 2 worth playing? At this point, is spending money to play the early access version worth it? Ultimately, the question is up to you, but we’ll help you come to a conclusion by looking at reviews, costs, and time expenditure.
Review
For those familiar with the first Path of Exile, you’ll find this game quite similar, but there are afew key differences that set it apart. Still, Path of Exile 2delivers a challenging and satisfying gamethat will most likely leave you dead time and time again while trying to defeat bosses.
Here at TheGamer, staff writerHarry Alston wrote about the state of its early access version, mentioning that it is “magnitudes harder than its predecessor”. In its current state, it’s easy to see the class differences, as well as howthe game design is rewarding to ranged characters.
For example, Monk can be a tough class to start. Harry began as a Monk but eventually “rerolled to the Mercenary and managed to clear fights a bit easier - the playstyle just suited [him] more”. If you plan on looting rare gear from enemies, this may pose a problem as well.
Although GGG released a patch to increase rare item drop rates, Harry noticed that rare items were simply not dropping enough,saying, “I start to think it’s not about the difficulty of boss mechanics or mob density, but about the fact my character just isn’t doing enough damage because I’m using level five or six gear—it’s the best that’s dropped so far for my level 16 character”.
Path Of Exile allows you to blast through maps with ease, with plenty of loot drops and generally little to think about once your build has reached full potential. The road in Path Of Exile 2 is rockier, slower, and harder to navigate in general—and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. PoE2 is ultimately more rewarding.
This isn’t to say that there are no positives about Path of Exile 2. The game features awide variety of amazing and unique bosses, each with a very memorable fight.The final boss of Act One has a wonderful fight that willleave you thinking of new strategies to use in order to take him down.
The streamlined skill system is also a plus if you ever felt overwhelmed by the first game. In Path of Exile 2,skill gems are no longer slotted into gear.Now, you’ll have a separate gem screen where you can place skill gems and their supporting gems into. When you receive the general skill gems, you cancut them into skills that are separated by your class type, providing options that work best for you.
Overall, Path of Exile 2 in early access has agreat foundation.The game has yet to see its 1.0 launch; there is room for improvement, but we’re excited to see where the journey takes it.
Time Expenditure
As an early access ARPG, there is no real time to ‘beat’ Path of Exile 2. The first game can literally be played for thousands of hours, so it’s only natural that this applies to the second game as well, especially once 1.0 launches.
Currently, there are three acts in the game. These areestimated to take around 25 hours to complete,but of course, this depends on what you do. If you love grinding or simply die a lot, this will take more. Once you beat the three acts, you may thenparticipate in the endgame content, which you can easily invest dozens of hours into.
Cost
If you want to play the early access version of Path of Exile 2, you’ll need tospend $29.99 USD.This is called the ‘Early Access Supporter Pack’ on Steam, and it comes with 300 points that you can spend in the microtransaction shop.These points can be used on cosmetics as well as practical items like more stash tabs.
There are two other versions of the Support Pack that you can buy as well.
$59.99 USD
$99.99 USD
What Players Are Saying
Worth It With Some Tweaks - Harry Alston
Path Of Exile 2 is a masterpiece in ARPG game design and it’s still only in early access. There’s easily already over 100 hours of content between the multi-act campaign and the endgame grind. By far the best part of Path Of Exile is its boss battles: complex mechanics and fantastic audio-visual design really bring the game’s set pieces together.
With all those positives, I’d still say the game needs some tweaks - and while GGG are currently patching the game, you won’t miss too much if you just wait for the free-to-play release of the game.
Ruthless Evolved - Charles Burgar
Path of Exile 2 takes the mind-bending buildcraft elements of its predecessor and elevates them through genre-leading combat and boss design. It’s easily the most satisfying ARPG I’ve played in years, although its brutal difficulty curve might discourage newer players from diving into the game’s robust endgame systems and build options.
As much as I enjoy the gameplay in PoE2, I can’t shake the feeling that thisisn’tPath of Exile; it’s an entirely different beast. Most of the changes to crafting are a major step back and make long-term crafting projects completely absent. Add to that the slower pace of combat and questionable endgame changes—one-life maps, I’m looking at you—and you have a much slower, more punishing sequel.
If you loved Ruthless in PoE1, you’ll have a great time here. If not, I’d caution you to wait until GGG smooths out the difficulty curve and adds some depth back into crafting. For a title in early access, I’m overall impressed. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my disappointment in the direction GGG took PoE2’s endgame.
Wait For the Full Release - Jacob Whaling
Path of Exile 2 is no doubt an amazing game. Personally, I like it a lot more than the first one; its more defined class identity and streamlined Skill Gem systems make the game much more approachable. On the other side of the coin, the challenging boss fights are some of the best in the isometric ARPG genre, and while they don’t necessarily make the game easier for new players, the slower pace makes playing through the campaign a lot of fun, and I actually find myself listening to the NPCs optional dialogue a lot more than the first game.
That said, there are some definite improvements that need to be made. Melee classes feel a lot worse to play than ranged ones, and the difficulty is a bit overtuned in some places. By the time the game leaves early access, I’m sure most of these problems will be fixed, and then I would recommend it with no caveats.
Difficult, Yet Extremely Satisfying - Jacqueline Zalace
Path of Exile 2 is hard; this isn’t to say that it’s unfair though. More often than not, defeating a boss that I’ve been one-shotted by several times is satisfying. There are a few occasions where I feel like the difficulty could be scaled back, such as the trial for ascendancy, but overall, PoE2 is a welcome challenge.
I played the first Path of Exile and at times, was a bit overwhelmed by the skill gem descriptions that took up the entire screen. When I did get a new gem, I would take a long while to figure out how to work it into my build. If you were looking for a more streamlined way to get and use new skills, then PoE2 delivers.
The game definitely has a few kinks that need to be ironed out, especially when looking at the balance between classes, but I’m excited to see where the game goes in the future leading up to its 1.0 launch.
