I beat it twice, and the first time was fun enough but I never felt like I had any agency in the game. It was use a build guide and map guide or waste your time. And by endgame it was watch hours of videos on systems and builds or else waste your time. Could never get into beyond those few playthroughs of the campaign.
@@Swarm509 Poe1? Yeah I can understand that, I tried PoE1 and gave up a few times when Poe1 came out... later all the browser support pages, and community support, but that that stage I didn't wanted to get back into it. Poe2 feels a bit different in that concern.
I'm the exact opposite - I have enjoyed POE - but I cannot even get through act 1 of POE2, since I cannot get the dodge down for the end of act boss, and this game basically will not let you outlevel things enough to make it any easier.
My husband, son and I are all playing together. We are really enjoying the slower pace and spending the time together. Since my son is in college, we don't get a lot of family time anymore and so we try to find games we all enjoy. POE2 hit that sweet spot for us and it's been amazing :D
Damn, my kids are still young but I am looking forward to these moments. My wife is not really much of a gamer, at least I got her to play some board games with me. Wish you all the fun!
@@necuz Dodge rolls don't give I frames when inside an aoe attack, they don't move your character faster than your current movement speed and they have an odd animation delay at the end of the dodge. If they weren't unlimited it would feel really bad.
Hey dork u can't dodge enemies infront of you get blocked maybe if you played the game you might know u need more then dodge Moving Block Defenses Gear And skill and more so positioning
@artemkoropotkin3047 oh u sweet casual. Dodge rolls do give s from all attacks. You even have a node on the passive tree that cancels this effect where u take 30% less damage from all hits. I wish i could lie constantly online like you😂
Boss battles have been my favorite time so far. It feels so meticulous and strategic when trying to get the attack windows right, boss battles feel so much more satisfying. I am still struggling though, but really enjoying it.
As someone who failed to get really invested in PoE1, and is a big fan of soulslikes and more difficult, deep, slow RPGs, this is everything I was hoping for. Having a blast so far, really looking forward to sinking a lot of hours into this. Definitely feel for players of PoE1 who aren't vibing with the change in direction, but thankfully the devs have promised to run PoE1 concurrent to this.
Pretty much what I've noticed with "normal" people playing. Just how Elden Ring worked for so many people this seems to be hitting the same spot. It needs tweaks but that is what Early Access is for. I think the devs realized there would be a lot of PoE1 players upset with PoE2 and it matches what I am seeing so often on Reddit. Hell even during closed testing it was the PoE1 players that had the hardest time playing the gams and rated it "very hard" and the new players who liked it as-is. Hopefully the devs don't listen to the loud mouthed people who want to turn PoE2 back into PoE1...
@@Swarm509 It wouldn't make sense for them to turn POE2 into POE1 anyway. Both games will coexist with updates it's not like POE2 is just going to get all of the love and POE1 just abandoned. So if people like POE1 design more, play POE1 lol
@@Swarm509 I mean PoE1 players say that because they are used to zoom zoom breeze through the acts in 4-6 hours on every league launch then get to red maps and farm divines and have your character geared out by the end of day 2/3. PoE 1 players don't like difficulty via gameplay, they like difficulty via game knowledge. Understanding how to solve the pitfalls and problems their build is currently struggling with. Figuring out what content will be the most profitable in the new league. Trying to find the next big build to farm currency for, etc. While I do appreciate PoE 1 and do enjoy it a lot I personally have been absolutely loving playing through PoE 2. My biggest gripe/turn off of PoE 1 is once you get geared enough in the end game there's literally no reason to keep playing. Sure you "could" go and defeat the rest of the pinnacle bosses and try insanely juiced up content, etc. ...but why? That's my pitfall with PoE 1. The challenge isn't actually the game itself, it's understanding how all the jank and unintuitive aspects of the game fit together. It's understanding how to use the 20 different resource websites that all of the serious end game players use. Once you play enough of PoE 1 you realize the game's combat isn't actually difficult. It's not hard to dodge a bosses attacks. GGG themselves have realized that with adding things like maven memory game and searing exarch molten balls dodging. PoE class and balance design allows for more up front freedom but the cost you pay is that you can't really have unique and challenging boss fights that FEEL fun and challenging to fight. Sure you can throw in a maze of molten balls to dodge... but that isn't fun.
@@YuYuYuna_ the boss fights feel fine, its the mobs that wack af. I can breeze through bosses shile white mobs drop me fast af or mashing that life flask like mad. White mobs in the zone the act bosses are in are more dangerous than the act bosses
@ I wouldn’t say I’m stressing. I’d say I’m having a fantastic time that I’ll always remember. Like early d2 before expansion, like poe1 closed beta. Great times that may be fleeting never to experience quite the same again.
Level 50 Invoker Monk at this point. I love this game its been a blast and is on its way to be my favorite ARPG ever. I like that loot is rare but I do think it could be tuned up a little bit, but besides that I love overcoming the challenges and love the boss designs
@@YetoNexus I kinda like low quantities of loot. Makes me also check out the shop every level, thinking 'Hmm, I wonder if there's something nice I could craft into a more useful thing'. The random shop feels like a scam though 😆 Edit: fixed a few typos
Agreed. POE 2 is going to become the game i've always wanted. An isometric game with the challenge of a Fromsoft title, and the depth and buildcraft of an ARPG. Dark tone, deep lore, and an amazing art style. It feels tailor-made for me. It has some issues, but GGG knows what they're doing. The updated will come after they've fixed broken stuff and can get a proper baseline.
Yes man. Exactly the game i also wanted since more than a decade. And I knew PoE1 andys or just bad player will cry same as they do for any new fromsoft game. Unfortunately i think ggg wil cater to them atleast a bit and make the game mire easy and faster etc. So enjoy it now.
@@barbarrox I mean who cares, if the bosses stay engaging and fun to play against and positioning matters that's all that does matter. Stop being a doomer. You don't know GGG if you think they're weak-spinned developers who bend under community pressure. There's been countless times with PoE1 where they have straight up said "i can see why players might feel that way and want that, but you have to consider X Y and Z and how changing that would affect all these other things and aspects of design and what they would incentivize, etc."
Totally agree. Lots of people complaining about it being slow, and hard and it seems you do no damage... Nowadays arpgs have turned into lets kill 1000 enemies as fast as possible, and Ive been asking for one where each fight is meaningful, where you use tactics, positioning and such.
@kaltorakh I still feel that some mobs die damn fast and I dont complain poe2 to be too slow. It feels really good rn and its early access! Cant wait for full release!
The thing is the people complaining about doing no damage are literally just awful players. I hate to be blunt and rude about it but this game has done everything in its power to make progression the easiest it's ever been. You no longer have to worry about gem links and socket colors on gear. You don't have to worry about not having orbs of regret early on when you were experimenting and want to undo things. I've played 2 classes so far and starting my monk now. There is no mythical no damage class or character. Some are stronger yes, but if you are truly doing no damage and struggling to kill even white/blue mobs then you need to 1) actually equip support gems 2) throw out that lvl 5 weapon you've been using since the start of act 1 and buy/craft a new one, and 3) learn to put skill points into nodes that actually help the skills you are playing and not just willy nilly "oo i want more mana regen" There's tons of damage in the game... just not PoE 1 levels of brain off damage. You can still 1 shot bosses or get damn close to it. Hell with my Sorc I perma freeze bosses and large monsters and practically 1 shot them or straight up 1 shot.
@@YuYuYuna_trouble with all your solutions is those things have to.. you know drop? If you get cucked by rng, the you’re shit out of luck. Poe doesnt have crafting, it has gambling. LE has crafting.
I'm right there with Cohh on this. I've played a LOT of D2 and PoE in my life and this game feels like the true D2 sequel that that GGG has always wanted to make. Now does the game need tweaks? Sure. Lots of them. But as long as this 'vision' of Path of Exile is mostly kept intact, I'm going to dump a gigantic amount of hours into this game.
I feel the exact same way. I’m also at about 1000 hours, but when I got to maps in POE1 and I was just running around killing everything in one hit I lost interest. Chris Wilson once said, “once they get to maps we’ve got you.” For me once I got to maps I started a new character.
This isnt even true. In maps monsters are 10 levels higher normally if you arent over leveled. Campaign is shit easy. You were probably doing white maps at lvl 70😂
There's been a massive amount of controversy around the game - especially on social media. I'm also a massive fan of the original game, I've got around 2500 hours in it. I am LOVING POE2, I've put an embarrassing amount of time into the game and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take the game going forward.
There’s a chance for it to be one of the greatest games ever made. However there are a few issues that if they take a sturn stance on not changing. The game will just be good. Really hope they make some changes
Having 3k+ hours from POE1, I love POE2 , and I love that they are not reskinning POE1 in POE2. Will have 2 awesome games to play, both being good in different ways.
As someone with over 10k hours in PoE 1 who's been playing since closed beta, PoE 2 is the game that the founders of GGG always wanted to make. A lot of advancements have been made in game design since PoE 1's launch, most especially the spread of Soulslike games as a mainstream genre - which really brought all the ingredients necessary to make slow, difficult combat super fun and engaging. PoE 1 was a lot like PoE 2 on launch in terms of difficulty and loot, but the combat literally wasn't good enough to support the slow, difficult, intense pace that the game was going for. Speeding it up was necessary to keep it engaging, even though I was very sad to see the game's speed get so extreme. PoE 2 is like a 12 year long promise from GGG finally being fulfilled. I bought the $500 pack early in PoE 1's life, and I was happy to do it to support them. Then as the game started to change I kept playing, but I started to regret that I had spent so much money on a game that was leaving behind aspects I loved. Seeing PoE 2 come to fruition absolutely made it all worth it.
They will need to be CAREFUL to not let PoE 2 get carried away the way 1 did with the full screen explosions and instant life leach so that the only threats are one hit kills. Because as much as I enjoy the character crafting of PoE1, those aspects of the game really, really kill it for me.
@@ericmm6822 Absolutely - in PoE 1 all combat mechanics have been erased by zoom zoom powercreep. PoE 2 has obviously had a tremendous amount of time and energy put into balancing and tweaking the combat to be really satisfying and enjoyable within a (moderately wide) range of relative power differentials between the player and the enemies. They have to make sure that player power vs enemy power remains in the channel they balanced for, otherwise all that work will be literally wasted.
POE 1 has been my primary game for a long time. I dabbled with it since launch, but really dove in deep when it got faster paced. Felt I finally got a home and the game really put action in aRPG. This is the exact opposite. I'm still enjoying myself enough, but I don't see myself dedicating as much time or effort to this game. Really hope now that everyone has the slower, loot-less POE 2, GGG can really lean into the action part of POE 1.
Action part as in making it a really easy game where you just turn your brain off mash skills and watch enemy’s die? Is that supposed to be more fun I don’t get it. Having stakes in battles is important if not it is just pointless
So far I am enjoying PoE2 way more than I ever enjoyed PoE. The bosses are just SO much better. I have been loving merc though. I don't mind the reloading mechanic, but maybe that's because I'm on WASD and using my mouse's side buttons for skills.
I agree wholeheartedly. Not everyone will like the new pace, but I think it's for the better. Only thing i would change is the drop rates on currency to help with the upgrades. They indicated that the intention was to make those currencies a big part of the campaign.. and to me the drop rates aren't there yet. Otherwise I enjoy the difficulty and the grind.
100% on this! I love the slower pace and the more RPG feel. Harder bosses with plenty of mechanics are so much better then just tank and spank style as they tend to get rather boring quickly. I hope they keep this pace throughout as I wanted to love POE 1 but it felt too fast and way too much loot for me.
I agree with your take, I'm unfortunately just on the other side of the spectrum. I love ARPGs, but I'm not a soulslike player, and i don't like stress and frustration in my games. I get that soulslike players love this, and for some it's probably a mix of their favourite genres, but I can't really play it in this state. Which disappoints me, because the systems around the game look really cool and promising and after spending 1000 hours on LE last year, I was looking forward to something similar.
The game feels like poe1, it feels like before poe had all the power spike, before support gems rework, before loot explosion leagues, when you had a different league for softcore and hardcore. I loved so much the old poe and when poe got hit by the powerspike i started to play less and less cause it only loot explosion everywhere. Poe2 is just a nostalgia hit, it remind me when i was playing 10 years ago. Poe 2 for me, is borderline perfect.
Have over 1k hrs jn PoE1. Starting PoE2, it was such a different feel. Game started out ‘too hard’ then I took the time to better understand the new skill/support system. Restarted a new character and wow, now I get it. Even the starter boss fights are more challenging than before but more fun when you beat them than before. Endorphin rushes await!!
GGG jumped over their own head with a ICBM with the Campaign this time. There are so many cool little things in it for a veteran like me. I am dummy exited for Acts 4-6.
Howdy, intermediate PoE 1 player here (about 3k hours). I always loved PoE due to its depth in character building and the amazing systems (crafting, endgame customization etc.) but the gameplay itself was pretty much an afterthought (with pretty much the only exception being pinnacle bosses). In PoE2 on the other hand - the gameplay itself is just soooo good - they wanted this to be the case and it shows. I have no doubts that all the depth and systems will come eventually (some of that is already there), and this will be the arpg for me to play for the next decade.
There's specific nodes for reload speed and it is also affected by attack speed. It's definately still there at higher levels but not as annoying as early.
The community seems to be very much split about that. Personally, I like the direction. PoE1 already had some of the best (the best, if you ask me) lore in the Hack & Slay genre, feels as if the game's technical side has caught up to the general quality of writing and design. Some people feel as if they are walking through a slog, I enjoy a campaign that rewards exploration & completion, not feeling like a speedbumb on the lane to endgame town. Then again, maybe this is just more for me. I never had interest in engaging in Leagues, multiplayer & trading. For me a char is a commitment to follow through a build, as I was revisiting PoE Standard every few Leagues or so. Playing it for a few weeks every 18 months or so was my mode for PoE1.
Tried Mercenary and had a rough time as well. Just too slow and the reloading was a pain with the crossbow. Rerolled another Merc but fully geared toward Lightning Archer build with chain supports and wow what a difference! Reminds me much more of the first game now and cuts down on the need to dodge so much. Highly recommend.
@@1_underthesunit’s almost 300 gold PER skill point to respect. At the point they decided to respec, it could have been too costly vs simply throwing the gear they had in the stash and making a fresh merc.
I’m enjoying a lot this new slow paced POE. The progression seems to be almost perfect and all the mechanics are simple to understand. The only thing I wish POE had is a type of guidance for the passive tree to be in line with your character. That screen still is very overwhelming, especially for casual players.
A lot of people complain about the large map sizes. I actually love the large maps because I love exploring the levels. Could use a bit more loot, but as this title is less than a week into EA, there will be plenty of balancing changes in the months ahead. In the game as with the development cycle, patience is key.
My only complaint with the map sizes is that the quest objectives are tucked away in the most obscure corners or nooks 99% of the time so you end up practically full clearing zones and eventually you discover there was 1 pocket of uncleared zone that you missed and of course the quest item is there. I do like the zone sizes though, just need more intuitive/easier to find quest item locations.
For anyone reading this, he is correct but things pick up significant pace later on especially in maps. There are some builds that are currently broken and on par with some PoE1 builds, with much less investment. It's Early Access after all, balancing will be ongoing.
I enjoyed PoE1 when it first came out when it was a bit slower than the current state. This seems like my type of Arpg and I'm glad they took that direction.
POE1 got me hooked enough to enjoy some casual playing, but I hated so many mechanics of the game like the gem system on gear and how hard it was to created perfectly linked/colored gear to get the best on the top end. POE2 basically took everything of POE1 that I didn't like, and made it to where I do like it, and they took everything from POE1 that I DID like, and brought it over better. I love how "slower" the game is right now. I love blasting at the speed of light, but I enjoy the boss fights being way more soulslike (even if that term is overused). It makes me truly feel like I can beat things just by learning, and that is true. I have also loved the crafting system more and feeling like when I get some of these items I am TRULY getting stronger and it shows. Case in point is playing lightning arrow deadeye. As soon as I got my first Dualstring Bow at level 28, the game felt way different. I felt the choices and upgrades that I crafted come to life. I enjoy the talent tree more now too where it is way more understandable. So hyped to continue playing this game and awaiting full release. I want to play all the base classes and see what kinda crazy builds I can come up with and break the barrier of what that class is supposed to do.
As a Merc player I really enjoy the class with the various ammo/skill that is an answer to anything. Just got the lightning shotgun skill and omg going to try building around that, but yes reload speeds are a bit clunky but I think going for the reload speeds passive will help a huge deal with that.
one thing i wish they would buff are the random chests found in maps that have different rarities (white/blue/yellow), so that white chest guarantee a white item, blue chest guarantee a blue item, and yellow chest guarantee a yellow item (not necessarily gear rarity, could be any item of equal value).
Playing monk as well and it feels fantastic, really enjoying the slower pace and difficulty, it makes upgrades and learning the game more meaningful..with tangible progress that makes a difference. So far very impressed GGG nailed it!
i love that poe 2 isnt like the older one but we really need a loot buff. im at a point where i am unable to get a good shield for my class because the base just doesnt drop
So far I've been enjoying the game, being a squishy sorceress can be kind of a pain, but I imagine the distinct lack of CC I feel like I will have compared to her with the other characters will present a different challenge. I definitely think the WASD controls and dodge roll are a huge improvement, I've never been a fan of click to move ARPGs so it gives the feel of the ARPGs without all the downsides associated with the click to move, namely accidentally clicking on an item on the ground and your character stops moving after picking it up even though you expect them to keep moving because you're holding the right click down.
The game is incredibly fun. I had a feeling I would like it but I honestly didn't think it would be as fun as it is. The bosses are an absolute blast to fight and ACTUALLY feel rewarding to learn their mechanics and dodge them. That has always been one of my biggest pain points of PoE 1. Bosses in that game are not compelling in the slightest and the only ones that are slightly exciting to fight are the pinnacle bosses aka the utmost endgame ones. The campaign in PoE 1 is the most boring bland shit I've ever experienced in gaming. It's so bad to the point I have to contemplate if I want to play each new League because I know just how unfun slogging through the campaign is in PoE 1. Some people are saying PoE 2 is slow but the gameplay, the skills and the bosses make it actually fun and engaging to play through. Not even in my first time playing through PoE 1's campaign was I ever excited to fight a boss. I was always like "oh, i guess this is the boss" and you just DPS them down with, if you're lucky, a single mechanic to the boss and you just run in circles around it with no actual strategy or mechanical skill involved.
I think they intentially strayed from PoE 1 we have to remember they will be supporting both PoE 1 is not over. This is the perfect 2nd game for them. They somehow made a sequal that is good while not competing with its own predecessor.
Hello Cohh. I playing a Merc since the game is playable and i can agree that the reloading stuff feels a bit cluncy gameplay wise in the early levels but later on when u have a good amount of reload speed reduce and Attack speed if feels awesome. U barely notice it. U can basicly make a Minigun with the rapid fire skill and never feel the reload time.
For the loot part, it will be more of it and it will be better starting from act 3. Personally, I like poe 2 but not as much as I will when the game is released. Because the classes I'm interested in playing the most will be added later (I was interested in all except these 6 lol). I had hopes for a fire infernalist build but for now, it's really bad. Slam sunder build is good for me, but it is way slower than it can be in poe 1. For now, I'm in love with new charge skills with perfect timing and a stun system in this game. Boss fights are just awesome.
I love PoE 1, but I think I do tire of the full-speed blasting faster than some once it gets to edngame. I also love RPGs and souls games and this feels like such a smart blend of those. Absolutely adored my first campaign playthrough as a Warrior. Trying another character now and I think I'm probably going to carry that into the endgame. Definitely some changes to be made here and there - but that's why it's early access. I have faith in GGG built over a decade-plus.
Definitely feeling the no rest for the wicked vibes. Loving it so far. Hasnt gotten stale or too difficult, feels good balance between challenge and reward. Really happy I went with Sorc.
I think what does it for me is also how skills work now. PoE1 having so much emphasis on sockets and links felt wayy too RNG for me. Having a new skill menu and being able to just pick whichever one feels much more consistent. Just my 2 cents.
I can get behind the scarcity of loot, but I do wish I had more agency in actually interacting with the items that do drop. Currency drops are way too restricted, especially considering Jonathan saying that they have failed if not enough is dropping for players to use. The "when i finally do find an item, the dopamine hit is so much bigger" i mean, it's that just a kind of self gaslighting we do to justify or accept a reward structure loop in our brains but in reality; in a world of poverty, having to eat to survive, getting that one huge meal once a month doesnt make living hungry the rest of the time any more filling or sustainable. Im about to hit maps with my 2 friends and none of us are capped in resistances or have any appropiate amount of defensive layers available to make going through the campaign enjoyable. I am a PoE "vet" with several thousand hours in PoE1 and my friends are new players. I am certain that my friends wouldve already quit by now if we had not been teaming up to carry eachothers slack or weaknesses due to the brutal lack of gear agency and difficulty curve of early act bosses. That said, while I personally have issues with the gem system,my friends do like the new one since it is more linear and hand holding in terms of introducing people to skill gems and support gems and such they are asking a ton of questions about mechanics im happy to explain and if I can't, the game actually explains it for you however a bit unintuitively so. We all do agree on a few problem points and that is Dodge roll having a colission box, mobs surrounding you (these are about 90% of our deaths), on death mechanics (which I thought would be significantly reduced in PoE2 because of a slower and more telegraphed game, but no) and general map size being way too big and map pathing being waay too narrow (especially in contrast to how awful collision is in this game) Edit: Oh and the new ascendancy trials, you can go ram your pinky toe into a doorway, thank you. That is absolutely something that needs looking at. How they managed to pick the two most hated league mechanics as the new FORCED mechanic to do in order to ascend is beyond me xD
I haven't played No Rest for the Wicked yet, however I am interested...and I recall that game not being too terribly well received. Like, a lot of Diablo and Path of Exile fans heard about it, and they kinda dismissed it because the exact reasons you mentioned...it's slower, more deliberate combat, whereas most ARPGs become Efficiency: The Video Game...super fast speed clears just to maximize drops to get around RNG, essentially (because when bazillions of items drop, you're more likely to get amazing loot than when only a couple things drop, how to get bazillions of drops, well by blasting the entire screen and running through maps at light speed, obviously). I'm EXTREMELY curious whether the sentiment around No Rest for the Wicked changes now that Path of Exile 2 is breaking new ground for the ARPG genre, like if people actually enjoy it more now that PoE2 has made such a positive splash.
I enjoyed the hell out of POE and I'm absolutely loving POE 2. What's wild is that it's early access and over the next year the game will only get better.
I'm in the same boat as far as my relationship to PoE1 and my expectations for 2. They're improving on pretty much everything I dislike about PoE1 and I like PoE1 a lot already.
Ive died 48 times and im in act2 and I have laughed at every one of them and every one of them was my fault lol. I think ppl will come around as far as difficulty goes.
Yep, having a dozen or so hours in: I am enjoying my time. It's much closer to the meaningful grind and progress of ARPG's of old. I think they need to better refine and iterate some systems, I don't think they've nail the dodge roll mechanic yet for instance. But, I very much love the foundational game play and systems of POE 2. I like the slower pace. I like the itemization and reward structure. And while I haven't yet found a class which resonates with me. It is still early-release and there are sill 24 ascendancies to come. I don't think the game is for everyone. It starts slow, and makes you work for everything. I makes you think, it requires you to read, and punishes you for mistakes while encouraging you to experiment. It give you the freedom to be creative and allows you to make mistakes. That is not everyone's cup of tea. But, that is what I want in an ARPG. Those are the design structures other recent titles have lacked and why I have not been interested in this genera for the past decade. POE 2 is my kind of game.
The slower more methodical change is great they just need to up the flask recharge rates and put more checkpoints if they plan to keep the zone reset on death I love a challenge I've basically played every souls like ever made but running back through a zone after a one shot isn't fun or hard it's just frustrating
Loving the game so far, loot was an issue and is already fixed or getting there. I also hope they make respeccing more budget friendly in the early levels for new players that are not so familiar with the passive tree.
I can recommend playing the witch! You can easily build her like a sorceress too, if you want the minions + elemental magic vibe too. I found some nice synergies with Summon Raging Spirits for example, using their chance to Ignite to drive some mechanics chains. That said, you can also do the reverse - sorceress as witch - though IMO the synergies aren’t as strong, as her Ascendencies don’t work so well for this purpose (although, perhaps you can get Chronomancy to work decently with minion abilities??? Purely speculation…) I’ve played both witch and sorceress thus far. Now I gotta try a melee class. I’ll probably go monk, as I can’t keep myself away from INT classes haha. Looking forward to the Templar, in this respect - he is STR-INT where the Monk is DEX-INT (and both sorceress and witch are pure INT)… his part of the passive tree looks very curious. Even more interested in what ascendencies he will get!
I have been playing the witch too and have made bit into to act 2 with little problem. She has been quite fun, with a skeletal warrior, contagion, unearth setup. Haven't gotten stuck on a boss yet. 2 or 3 deaths at most until I figure them out.
Loot was a little light for me. But i got giants blood on unique gloves and now am running dual 2h maces on a mercenary at lvl 16 having the time of my life. When the payoff comes with loot its great
It's very much an EA, but I like it so far. I'm a huge fan of the top-down ARPG genre, though. Two things that stand out to me that I don't like: Movement. I wish it was precise like PoE 1. My Sorc slides around like she's on ice sometimes. I suspect including WASD has something to do with this... Character sounds. My Sorc also grunts and otherwise makes noise with every cast. It's grating and I want to turn it completely off. I love the audio-visuals and slower playstyle. I also enjoy the Diablo series, Grim Dawn, etc. too. Not one of those haters trying to diss all the other Diablo-likes.
Sounds like very good news. I love dungeon crawlers like Diablo and also RPG's, and I wanted to enjoy PoE 1, but I got overwhelmed by how fast everything was, and that everything seemed over-the-top. Sounds like I will probably like PoE 2 more.
As someone who loves POE 1 with over 5000 hours in that game POE 2 has taken the spot of number one for me with POE 1 second. GGG is a great developer and it’s hard to believe these games are free (POE 2 will be after EA).
Many hours and multiple characters. This is everything I wanted. Collision is janky is my only complaint. I'm even fine with the loot as is. I wanted and tried so hard to love PoE 1 but absolutely hated the gameplay loop. This is what I needed from the genre. Having a blast.
I wasn't a fan of PoE, but was a huge fan of Diablo II. This feels like the natural evolution of the genre, while not changing the parts of the genre that work really well. Story is gritty, each environment distinct with different types of enemies. I played this game as a witch and it was easy mode to me, though still died to really tough bosses. Switched to monk/warrior, and suddenly I see why people are calling the game hard, and honestly I love it.
Honestly PoE2 sounds a lot like Elden Ring when you talk about it like that. It is based on the past games, and has similar elements, but is trying its own thing with its own vision. I remember some people not being happy Elden Ring was not exactly like Dark Souls, but in the end more people played it then any of the DS games and really liked it. I think the devs understand this and won't be brow-beat by PoE1 reddit warriors into changing things back into PoE1, but instead work on what they have to keep their vision of PoE2.
Personally I never got super invested in the original Diablo style games, enjoyed POE 1 a fair amount but got bored with it. So far, I think POE 2 grabs me more than the previous titles in both IPs, enjoying the depth of the item and skill system.
It's ruthless 2.0 poe1 + souls like bosses, it seems pretty good, growing on me as a dis-liker of souls like games.. I think the maps are fine in size, many people complaining about this. explore, learn, conqueror!
I see people comparing this to souls like games... souls-like games are arpgs... so yes this should feel like a souls because they both are under the umbrella genre called arpg... one is isometric and the other 3rd person and then you have some that are 1st person...
i enjoy the game far more if i just stop trying to go fast. it's not a race. just enjoy the views, take battles one at a time, examine loot, soak up some lore.
PoE, with its league system is in fact.. a race, down to its fundamental core. It's why you have so many crybabies around right now that are used to the first game where the campaign was nothing more than a stepping stone onto the "real game" which is the endgame where speedy map clears and leagues are the core of the game.
Loving monk myself and switching to it from mercenary, I definitely felt like there was more highlighting of the value of using combos of your skills in clever ways. I hope that lasts. One-button spam made POE1 a little more than boring eventually.
A couple of gripes. Costs of respecc'ing is ten times too much. In EA they want playtesting and build diversity. As it is now you can forget trying a new build or simply redo you skill tree if you messed up. Secondly, Ascendancy trials are incredibly unfair. Sanctum in Act to MASSIVELY rewards ranged, evasion and minion builds, while melee builds and tanky playstyle has a giant disadvantage. A lot of people also dislike ultimatum, myself included. It's a really bad bottleneck.
Same! I liked POE 1 but it was always a bit too much press buttons things explode and grind for me. And I once told a friend "to be honest I kinda wish POE was a bit more Dark Souls with loot and builds - but that`s not this game so maybe POE just not for me!" Well.. they made POE 2 and it`s pretty much exactly that 👌And I`m happy
- more and better loot, bosses should drop same level loot not lower, or better economy to craft your own - more quests especially act 1 to be better geared up for act 1 bosses - zoom out a bit - warrior class a little faster skill execution - fix lag on ps5 - game is amazing - cheaper respec
I feel like the ”slow paced” gameplay compared to poe1 is due to its being new. In 5+ years with new leagues upon new leagues, new skills, classes, uniques and so on, the game will be getting a faster paste similar to poe1
It's already not "slow" now as soon as you get your character geared up into lvl 50 and beyond. Game has only been out for a couple of days so not many people are lvl 50+ let alone doing endgame maps. I know people with lvl 80+ sorcs that are already clearing maps faster than their main toon in PoE1...
I couldn’t really get into poe1 no matter how hard i tried, but poe2 has been a blast since the first minute. Well done, GGG.
I beat it twice, and the first time was fun enough but I never felt like I had any agency in the game. It was use a build guide and map guide or waste your time. And by endgame it was watch hours of videos on systems and builds or else waste your time. Could never get into beyond those few playthroughs of the campaign.
@@Swarm509 Poe1? Yeah I can understand that, I tried PoE1 and gave up a few times when Poe1 came out... later all the browser support pages, and community support, but that that stage I didn't wanted to get back into it. Poe2 feels a bit different in that concern.
Same !
I'm the exact opposite - I have enjoyed POE - but I cannot even get through act 1 of POE2, since I cannot get the dodge down for the end of act boss, and this game basically will not let you outlevel things enough to make it any easier.
@@zhadum353 if dodging isn't helping in a certain scenario then maybe you shouldn't be dodging. It's the same concept with elden ring.
My husband, son and I are all playing together. We are really enjoying the slower pace and spending the time together. Since my son is in college, we don't get a lot of family time anymore and so we try to find games we all enjoy. POE2 hit that sweet spot for us and it's been amazing :D
Damn, my kids are still young but I am looking forward to these moments. My wife is not really much of a gamer, at least I got her to play some board games with me. Wish you all the fun!
@@Chris3s Same here hahaha I feel you, man!
Damn, that'a so nice. Enjoy!
This is truly heartwarming. What a great time!
That’s awesome good for you guys
I'm really impressed by how they've managed to put unlimited dodge rolls into the game without immediately making defensive stats redundant.
@@necuz shuit upp
@@necuz Dodge rolls don't give I frames when inside an aoe attack, they don't move your character faster than your current movement speed and they have an odd animation delay at the end of the dodge.
If they weren't unlimited it would feel really bad.
Hey dork u can't dodge enemies infront of you get blocked maybe if you played the game you might know u need more then dodge
Moving
Block
Defenses
Gear
And skill and more so positioning
Dodge rolls slow you down so they're not the best option always
@artemkoropotkin3047 oh u sweet casual. Dodge rolls do give s from all attacks. You even have a node on the passive tree that cancels this effect where u take 30% less damage from all hits.
I wish i could lie constantly online like you😂
Boss battles have been my favorite time so far. It feels so meticulous and strategic when trying to get the attack windows right, boss battles feel so much more satisfying. I am still struggling though, but really enjoying it.
As someone who failed to get really invested in PoE1, and is a big fan of soulslikes and more difficult, deep, slow RPGs, this is everything I was hoping for. Having a blast so far, really looking forward to sinking a lot of hours into this. Definitely feel for players of PoE1 who aren't vibing with the change in direction, but thankfully the devs have promised to run PoE1 concurrent to this.
Pretty much what I've noticed with "normal" people playing. Just how Elden Ring worked for so many people this seems to be hitting the same spot. It needs tweaks but that is what Early Access is for.
I think the devs realized there would be a lot of PoE1 players upset with PoE2 and it matches what I am seeing so often on Reddit. Hell even during closed testing it was the PoE1 players that had the hardest time playing the gams and rated it "very hard" and the new players who liked it as-is. Hopefully the devs don't listen to the loud mouthed people who want to turn PoE2 back into PoE1...
@@Swarm509 It wouldn't make sense for them to turn POE2 into POE1 anyway. Both games will coexist with updates it's not like POE2 is just going to get all of the love and POE1 just abandoned. So if people like POE1 design more, play POE1 lol
@@Swarm509 I mean PoE1 players say that because they are used to zoom zoom breeze through the acts in 4-6 hours on every league launch then get to red maps and farm divines and have your character geared out by the end of day 2/3. PoE 1 players don't like difficulty via gameplay, they like difficulty via game knowledge. Understanding how to solve the pitfalls and problems their build is currently struggling with. Figuring out what content will be the most profitable in the new league. Trying to find the next big build to farm currency for, etc. While I do appreciate PoE 1 and do enjoy it a lot I personally have been absolutely loving playing through PoE 2. My biggest gripe/turn off of PoE 1 is once you get geared enough in the end game there's literally no reason to keep playing. Sure you "could" go and defeat the rest of the pinnacle bosses and try insanely juiced up content, etc. ...but why? That's my pitfall with PoE 1. The challenge isn't actually the game itself, it's understanding how all the jank and unintuitive aspects of the game fit together. It's understanding how to use the 20 different resource websites that all of the serious end game players use. Once you play enough of PoE 1 you realize the game's combat isn't actually difficult. It's not hard to dodge a bosses attacks. GGG themselves have realized that with adding things like maven memory game and searing exarch molten balls dodging. PoE class and balance design allows for more up front freedom but the cost you pay is that you can't really have unique and challenging boss fights that FEEL fun and challenging to fight. Sure you can throw in a maze of molten balls to dodge... but that isn't fun.
@@YuYuYuna_ the boss fights feel fine, its the mobs that wack af. I can breeze through bosses shile white mobs drop me fast af or mashing that life flask like mad. White mobs in the zone the act bosses are in are more dangerous than the act bosses
Just got to act3 with my warrior. I’ve been waiting for a game like this since I was 11 years old, I’m 40 now. It’s beautiful.
Diablo 2 didn't do it for you? lol. Glad you found your ideal game.
@@oxsilaDiablo 2 is 25 years old my guy it's dated and old now a 40 yr old 25 years ago is a 15 yr old
@@EirikrTheRed don’t stress too much until the full game releases, all your hard work will be wiped
@ I wouldn’t say I’m stressing. I’d say I’m having a fantastic time that I’ll always remember. Like early d2 before expansion, like poe1 closed beta. Great times that may be fleeting never to experience quite the same again.
@@seanstrickland3473 I'm also 40, and D2 was the most addictive video game ever. I played it obsessively at a young age.
Level 50 Invoker Monk at this point. I love this game its been a blast and is on its way to be my favorite ARPG ever. I like that loot is rare but I do think it could be tuned up a little bit, but besides that I love overcoming the challenges and love the boss designs
@@YetoNexus I kinda like low quantities of loot. Makes me also check out the shop every level, thinking 'Hmm, I wonder if there's something nice I could craft into a more useful thing'. The random shop feels like a scam though 😆
Edit: fixed a few typos
I could not agree more with you, 35 hours in and I'm absolutely hooked and loving the game.
How many crashes
@metallicafan416 Havent had any lag/stutter or crashes myself but have heard of some others havin issues.
Agreed. POE 2 is going to become the game i've always wanted. An isometric game with the challenge of a Fromsoft title, and the depth and buildcraft of an ARPG. Dark tone, deep lore, and an amazing art style. It feels tailor-made for me. It has some issues, but GGG knows what they're doing. The updated will come after they've fixed broken stuff and can get a proper baseline.
Exactly how I feel. The core gameplay is just so good.
Yes man. Exactly the game i also wanted since more than a decade. And I knew PoE1 andys or just bad player will cry same as they do for any new fromsoft game. Unfortunately i think ggg wil cater to them atleast a bit and make the game mire easy and faster etc. So enjoy it now.
@@barbarrox I mean who cares, if the bosses stay engaging and fun to play against and positioning matters that's all that does matter. Stop being a doomer. You don't know GGG if you think they're weak-spinned developers who bend under community pressure. There's been countless times with PoE1 where they have straight up said "i can see why players might feel that way and want that, but you have to consider X Y and Z and how changing that would affect all these other things and aspects of design and what they would incentivize, etc."
@YuYuYuna_ They have many times catert to players wtf you wre talking about. Sometimes even made a 180. You play simce last year or smthg ?
Totally agree. Lots of people complaining about it being slow, and hard and it seems you do no damage... Nowadays arpgs have turned into lets kill 1000 enemies as fast as possible, and Ive been asking for one where each fight is meaningful, where you use tactics, positioning and such.
@kaltorakh I still feel that some mobs die damn fast and I dont complain poe2 to be too slow. It feels really good rn and its early access! Cant wait for full release!
The thing is the people complaining about doing no damage are literally just awful players. I hate to be blunt and rude about it but this game has done everything in its power to make progression the easiest it's ever been. You no longer have to worry about gem links and socket colors on gear. You don't have to worry about not having orbs of regret early on when you were experimenting and want to undo things. I've played 2 classes so far and starting my monk now. There is no mythical no damage class or character. Some are stronger yes, but if you are truly doing no damage and struggling to kill even white/blue mobs then you need to 1) actually equip support gems 2) throw out that lvl 5 weapon you've been using since the start of act 1 and buy/craft a new one, and 3) learn to put skill points into nodes that actually help the skills you are playing and not just willy nilly "oo i want more mana regen" There's tons of damage in the game... just not PoE 1 levels of brain off damage. You can still 1 shot bosses or get damn close to it. Hell with my Sorc I perma freeze bosses and large monsters and practically 1 shot them or straight up 1 shot.
@@YuYuYuna_trouble with all your solutions is those things have to.. you know drop? If you get cucked by rng, the you’re shit out of luck. Poe doesnt have crafting, it has gambling. LE has crafting.
I'm right there with Cohh on this. I've played a LOT of D2 and PoE in my life and this game feels like the true D2 sequel that that GGG has always wanted to make. Now does the game need tweaks? Sure. Lots of them. But as long as this 'vision' of Path of Exile is mostly kept intact, I'm going to dump a gigantic amount of hours into this game.
I am LOVING this game, the actual gameplay and fighting itself is SO much better, and I completely agree with you on the loot
I absolutelu love it. They have married a true arcade action game with all the depth of poe
I feel the exact same way. I’m also at about 1000 hours, but when I got to maps in POE1 and I was just running around killing everything in one hit I lost interest. Chris Wilson once said, “once they get to maps we’ve got you.” For me once I got to maps I started a new character.
This isnt even true. In maps monsters are 10 levels higher normally if you arent over leveled. Campaign is shit easy.
You were probably doing white maps at lvl 70😂
There's been a massive amount of controversy around the game - especially on social media. I'm also a massive fan of the original game, I've got around 2500 hours in it. I am LOVING POE2, I've put an embarrassing amount of time into the game and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take the game going forward.
Only a few hours in but man the music in this game is amazing, I had goosebumps while fighting the rust king
There’s a chance for it to be one of the greatest games ever made. However there are a few issues that if they take a sturn stance on not changing. The game will just be good. Really hope they make some changes
I’m having a blast, but crafting currency is a little too rare. We need about 1.5-2x at least.
as soon as crafting and loot drop is a bit more high, it will be really good.
They just buffed several things!
Having 3k+ hours from POE1, I love POE2 , and I love that they are not reskinning POE1 in POE2. Will have 2 awesome games to play, both being good in different ways.
same feelings as you have; there are lil ups and down but the core loop is incredible and I can't wait to see this getting polished
As someone with over 10k hours in PoE 1 who's been playing since closed beta, PoE 2 is the game that the founders of GGG always wanted to make. A lot of advancements have been made in game design since PoE 1's launch, most especially the spread of Soulslike games as a mainstream genre - which really brought all the ingredients necessary to make slow, difficult combat super fun and engaging. PoE 1 was a lot like PoE 2 on launch in terms of difficulty and loot, but the combat literally wasn't good enough to support the slow, difficult, intense pace that the game was going for. Speeding it up was necessary to keep it engaging, even though I was very sad to see the game's speed get so extreme.
PoE 2 is like a 12 year long promise from GGG finally being fulfilled. I bought the $500 pack early in PoE 1's life, and I was happy to do it to support them. Then as the game started to change I kept playing, but I started to regret that I had spent so much money on a game that was leaving behind aspects I loved. Seeing PoE 2 come to fruition absolutely made it all worth it.
If that is what they always wanted to make, I will be finding another company to support.
@zhadum353 please do😂 if you dont like the best arpg by far then idk what to tell ya.
They will need to be CAREFUL to not let PoE 2 get carried away the way 1 did with the full screen explosions and instant life leach so that the only threats are one hit kills. Because as much as I enjoy the character crafting of PoE1, those aspects of the game really, really kill it for me.
@@ericmm6822 Absolutely - in PoE 1 all combat mechanics have been erased by zoom zoom powercreep. PoE 2 has obviously had a tremendous amount of time and energy put into balancing and tweaking the combat to be really satisfying and enjoyable within a (moderately wide) range of relative power differentials between the player and the enemies. They have to make sure that player power vs enemy power remains in the channel they balanced for, otherwise all that work will be literally wasted.
@@zhadum353 see ya later! Please never come back! You're not wanted!
Glad to hear PoE 2 is checking the boxes you were looking for. I'm excited to pick it up and get stuck in over the holidays.
POE 1 has been my primary game for a long time. I dabbled with it since launch, but really dove in deep when it got faster paced. Felt I finally got a home and the game really put action in aRPG. This is the exact opposite. I'm still enjoying myself enough, but I don't see myself dedicating as much time or effort to this game. Really hope now that everyone has the slower, loot-less POE 2, GGG can really lean into the action part of POE 1.
Action part as in making it a really easy game where you just turn your brain off mash skills and watch enemy’s die? Is that supposed to be more fun I don’t get it. Having stakes in battles is important if not it is just pointless
So far I am enjoying PoE2 way more than I ever enjoyed PoE. The bosses are just SO much better. I have been loving merc though. I don't mind the reloading mechanic, but maybe that's because I'm on WASD and using my mouse's side buttons for skills.
Really tried to get into POE1... no success.
But POE2, I can't stop thinking about it! Amazing!
I agree wholeheartedly. Not everyone will like the new pace, but I think it's for the better.
Only thing i would change is the drop rates on currency to help with the upgrades. They indicated that the intention was to make those currencies a big part of the campaign.. and to me the drop rates aren't there yet.
Otherwise I enjoy the difficulty and the grind.
With just a little movement speed and reload speed mercenary takes off.
i feel like this is one of those things youll level as something else and then respec at like level 40
I feel exactly the same coh. still some tuning needed but it's fixed allthe issues I had with poe1
100% on this! I love the slower pace and the more RPG feel. Harder bosses with plenty of mechanics are so much better then just tank and spank style as they tend to get rather boring quickly. I hope they keep this pace throughout as I wanted to love POE 1 but it felt too fast and way too much loot for me.
Sorry there is no RPG FEEL. Warriors can not use swords yet. That was the most stupid decision ever.
I agree with your take, I'm unfortunately just on the other side of the spectrum. I love ARPGs, but I'm not a soulslike player, and i don't like stress and frustration in my games.
I get that soulslike players love this, and for some it's probably a mix of their favourite genres, but I can't really play it in this state. Which disappoints me, because the systems around the game look really cool and promising and after spending 1000 hours on LE last year, I was looking forward to something similar.
The game feels like poe1, it feels like before poe had all the power spike, before support gems rework, before loot explosion leagues, when you had a different league for softcore and hardcore. I loved so much the old poe and when poe got hit by the powerspike i started to play less and less cause it only loot explosion everywhere. Poe2 is just a nostalgia hit, it remind me when i was playing 10 years ago. Poe 2 for me, is borderline perfect.
Google perfect
Have over 1k hrs jn PoE1. Starting PoE2, it was such a different feel. Game started out ‘too hard’ then I took the time to better understand the new skill/support system. Restarted a new character and wow, now I get it. Even the starter boss fights are more challenging than before but more fun when you beat them than before.
Endorphin rushes await!!
GGG jumped over their own head with a ICBM with the Campaign this time. There are so many cool little things in it for a veteran like me. I am dummy exited for Acts 4-6.
Howdy, intermediate PoE 1 player here (about 3k hours). I always loved PoE due to its depth in character building and the amazing systems (crafting, endgame customization etc.) but the gameplay itself was pretty much an afterthought (with pretty much the only exception being pinnacle bosses). In PoE2 on the other hand - the gameplay itself is just soooo good - they wanted this to be the case and it shows. I have no doubts that all the depth and systems will come eventually (some of that is already there), and this will be the arpg for me to play for the next decade.
There's specific nodes for reload speed and it is also affected by attack speed. It's definately still there at higher levels but not as annoying as early.
PoE2 feels like how Champions of Norrath felt to me back on Ps2. It's really really fun and difficult and I truly have been loving every second of it
The community seems to be very much split about that. Personally, I like the direction. PoE1 already had some of the best (the best, if you ask me) lore in the Hack & Slay genre, feels as if the game's technical side has caught up to the general quality of writing and design. Some people feel as if they are walking through a slog, I enjoy a campaign that rewards exploration & completion, not feeling like a speedbumb on the lane to endgame town.
Then again, maybe this is just more for me. I never had interest in engaging in Leagues, multiplayer & trading. For me a char is a commitment to follow through a build, as I was revisiting PoE Standard every few Leagues or so. Playing it for a few weeks every 18 months or so was my mode for PoE1.
Tried Mercenary and had a rough time as well. Just too slow and the reloading was a pain with the crossbow. Rerolled another Merc but fully geared toward Lightning Archer build with chain supports and wow what a difference! Reminds me much more of the first game now and cuts down on the need to dodge so much. Highly recommend.
Why did you reroll if you took the same class? Was the respec of the skill tree that different?
@@1_underthesunIt was probably too expensive to reroll and could make better use of money so restarting didnt feel bad
@@1_underthesunit’s almost 300 gold PER skill point to respect. At the point they decided to respec, it could have been too costly vs simply throwing the gear they had in the stash and making a fresh merc.
I've been steamrolling the game with nades and am on Act 3 hoping to get humbled again like the Act 2 boss
@@MattR8605 respec cost is based on your character level
I’m enjoying a lot this new slow paced POE. The progression seems to be almost perfect and all the mechanics are simple to understand. The only thing I wish POE had is a type of guidance for the passive tree to be in line with your character. That screen still is very overwhelming, especially for casual players.
A lot of people complain about the large map sizes. I actually love the large maps because I love exploring the levels. Could use a bit more loot, but as this title is less than a week into EA, there will be plenty of balancing changes in the months ahead. In the game as with the development cycle, patience is key.
Act 3 maps are just huge labyrinths with nothing in them. It's a problem worth adressing.
My only complaint with the map sizes is that the quest objectives are tucked away in the most obscure corners or nooks 99% of the time so you end up practically full clearing zones and eventually you discover there was 1 pocket of uncleared zone that you missed and of course the quest item is there. I do like the zone sizes though, just need more intuitive/easier to find quest item locations.
For anyone reading this, he is correct but things pick up significant pace later on especially in maps. There are some builds that are currently broken and on par with some PoE1 builds, with much less investment. It's Early Access after all, balancing will be ongoing.
I enjoyed PoE1 when it first came out when it was a bit slower than the current state. This seems like my type of Arpg and I'm glad they took that direction.
POE1 got me hooked enough to enjoy some casual playing, but I hated so many mechanics of the game like the gem system on gear and how hard it was to created perfectly linked/colored gear to get the best on the top end. POE2 basically took everything of POE1 that I didn't like, and made it to where I do like it, and they took everything from POE1 that I DID like, and brought it over better.
I love how "slower" the game is right now. I love blasting at the speed of light, but I enjoy the boss fights being way more soulslike (even if that term is overused). It makes me truly feel like I can beat things just by learning, and that is true. I have also loved the crafting system more and feeling like when I get some of these items I am TRULY getting stronger and it shows. Case in point is playing lightning arrow deadeye. As soon as I got my first Dualstring Bow at level 28, the game felt way different. I felt the choices and upgrades that I crafted come to life. I enjoy the talent tree more now too where it is way more understandable.
So hyped to continue playing this game and awaiting full release. I want to play all the base classes and see what kinda crazy builds I can come up with and break the barrier of what that class is supposed to do.
Felt a lot like Diablo 2 early game!
GGG always said POE was a love letter to D2...I see the similarities as well and it's awesome
As a Merc player I really enjoy the class with the various ammo/skill that is an answer to anything. Just got the lightning shotgun skill and omg going to try building around that, but yes reload speeds are a bit clunky but I think going for the reload speeds passive will help a huge deal with that.
one thing i wish they would buff are the random chests found in maps that have different rarities (white/blue/yellow), so that white chest guarantee a white item, blue chest guarantee a blue item, and yellow chest guarantee a yellow item (not necessarily gear rarity, could be any item of equal value).
Playing monk as well and it feels fantastic, really enjoying the slower pace and difficulty, it makes upgrades and learning the game more meaningful..with tangible progress that makes a difference.
So far very impressed GGG nailed it!
i love that poe 2 isnt like the older one but we really need a loot buff. im at a point where i am unable to get a good shield for my class because the base just doesnt drop
So far I've been enjoying the game, being a squishy sorceress can be kind of a pain, but I imagine the distinct lack of CC I feel like I will have compared to her with the other characters will present a different challenge. I definitely think the WASD controls and dodge roll are a huge improvement, I've never been a fan of click to move ARPGs so it gives the feel of the ARPGs without all the downsides associated with the click to move, namely accidentally clicking on an item on the ground and your character stops moving after picking it up even though you expect them to keep moving because you're holding the right click down.
The game is incredibly fun. I had a feeling I would like it but I honestly didn't think it would be as fun as it is. The bosses are an absolute blast to fight and ACTUALLY feel rewarding to learn their mechanics and dodge them. That has always been one of my biggest pain points of PoE 1. Bosses in that game are not compelling in the slightest and the only ones that are slightly exciting to fight are the pinnacle bosses aka the utmost endgame ones. The campaign in PoE 1 is the most boring bland shit I've ever experienced in gaming. It's so bad to the point I have to contemplate if I want to play each new League because I know just how unfun slogging through the campaign is in PoE 1. Some people are saying PoE 2 is slow but the gameplay, the skills and the bosses make it actually fun and engaging to play through. Not even in my first time playing through PoE 1's campaign was I ever excited to fight a boss. I was always like "oh, i guess this is the boss" and you just DPS them down with, if you're lucky, a single mechanic to the boss and you just run in circles around it with no actual strategy or mechanical skill involved.
I think they intentially strayed from PoE 1 we have to remember they will be supporting both PoE 1 is not over. This is the perfect 2nd game for them. They somehow made a sequal that is good while not competing with its own predecessor.
Hello Cohh. I playing a Merc since the game is playable and i can agree that the reloading stuff feels a bit cluncy gameplay wise in the early levels but later on when u have a good amount of reload speed reduce and Attack speed if feels awesome. U barely notice it. U can basicly make a Minigun with the rapid fire skill and never feel the reload time.
Mercenary is not good at beginning.. but lateron. They destroy
Such a good take with the "different perspective on same game"
For the loot part, it will be more of it and it will be better starting from act 3. Personally, I like poe 2 but not as much as I will when the game is released. Because the classes I'm interested in playing the most will be added later (I was interested in all except these 6 lol). I had hopes for a fire infernalist build but for now, it's really bad. Slam sunder build is good for me, but it is way slower than it can be in poe 1. For now, I'm in love with new charge skills with perfect timing and a stun system in this game. Boss fights are just awesome.
I love PoE 1, but I think I do tire of the full-speed blasting faster than some once it gets to edngame. I also love RPGs and souls games and this feels like such a smart blend of those.
Absolutely adored my first campaign playthrough as a Warrior. Trying another character now and I think I'm probably going to carry that into the endgame.
Definitely some changes to be made here and there - but that's why it's early access. I have faith in GGG built over a decade-plus.
Definitely feeling the no rest for the wicked vibes. Loving it so far. Hasnt gotten stale or too difficult, feels good balance between challenge and reward. Really happy I went with Sorc.
I think what does it for me is also how skills work now. PoE1 having so much emphasis on sockets and links felt wayy too RNG for me. Having a new skill menu and being able to just pick whichever one feels much more consistent. Just my 2 cents.
Almost 24 hours and just got into 3rd act lol love the difficulty and sold like bosses ! I love it !
I can get behind the scarcity of loot, but I do wish I had more agency in actually interacting with the items that do drop. Currency drops are way too restricted, especially considering Jonathan saying that they have failed if not enough is dropping for players to use.
The "when i finally do find an item, the dopamine hit is so much bigger" i mean, it's that just a kind of self gaslighting we do to justify or accept a reward structure loop in our brains but in reality;
in a world of poverty, having to eat to survive, getting that one huge meal once a month doesnt make living hungry the rest of the time any more filling or sustainable.
Im about to hit maps with my 2 friends and none of us are capped in resistances or have any appropiate amount of defensive layers available to make going through the campaign enjoyable.
I am a PoE "vet" with several thousand hours in PoE1 and my friends are new players. I am certain that my friends wouldve already quit by now if we had not been teaming up to carry eachothers slack or weaknesses due to the brutal lack of gear agency and difficulty curve of early act bosses.
That said, while I personally have issues with the gem system,my friends do like the new one since it is more linear and hand holding in terms of introducing people to skill gems and support gems and such they are asking a ton of questions about mechanics im happy to explain and if I can't, the game actually explains it for you however a bit unintuitively so.
We all do agree on a few problem points and that is Dodge roll having a colission box, mobs surrounding you (these are about 90% of our deaths), on death mechanics (which I thought would be significantly reduced in PoE2 because of a slower and more telegraphed game, but no) and general map size being way too big and map pathing being waay too narrow (especially in contrast to how awful collision is in this game)
Edit: Oh and the new ascendancy trials, you can go ram your pinky toe into a doorway, thank you. That is absolutely something that needs looking at. How they managed to pick the two most hated league mechanics as the new FORCED mechanic to do in order to ascend is beyond me xD
I haven't played No Rest for the Wicked yet, however I am interested...and I recall that game not being too terribly well received. Like, a lot of Diablo and Path of Exile fans heard about it, and they kinda dismissed it because the exact reasons you mentioned...it's slower, more deliberate combat, whereas most ARPGs become Efficiency: The Video Game...super fast speed clears just to maximize drops to get around RNG, essentially (because when bazillions of items drop, you're more likely to get amazing loot than when only a couple things drop, how to get bazillions of drops, well by blasting the entire screen and running through maps at light speed, obviously).
I'm EXTREMELY curious whether the sentiment around No Rest for the Wicked changes now that Path of Exile 2 is breaking new ground for the ARPG genre, like if people actually enjoy it more now that PoE2 has made such a positive splash.
Game of the year
Yep and I love FF7 rebirth but Poe2 is ez game of the year
I enjoyed the hell out of POE and I'm absolutely loving POE 2. What's wild is that it's early access and over the next year the game will only get better.
I'm in the same boat as far as my relationship to PoE1 and my expectations for 2. They're improving on pretty much everything I dislike about PoE1 and I like PoE1 a lot already.
Ive died 48 times and im in act2 and I have laughed at every one of them and every one of them was my fault lol. I think ppl will come around as far as difficulty goes.
Yep, having a dozen or so hours in: I am enjoying my time. It's much closer to the meaningful grind and progress of ARPG's of old.
I think they need to better refine and iterate some systems, I don't think they've nail the dodge roll mechanic yet for instance. But, I very much love the foundational game play and systems of POE 2. I like the slower pace. I like the itemization and reward structure. And while I haven't yet found a class which resonates with me. It is still early-release and there are sill 24 ascendancies to come.
I don't think the game is for everyone. It starts slow, and makes you work for everything. I makes you think, it requires you to read, and punishes you for mistakes while encouraging you to experiment. It give you the freedom to be creative and allows you to make mistakes. That is not everyone's cup of tea. But, that is what I want in an ARPG. Those are the design structures other recent titles have lacked and why I have not been interested in this genera for the past decade.
POE 2 is my kind of game.
The slower more methodical change is great they just need to up the flask recharge rates and put more checkpoints if they plan to keep the zone reset on death
I love a challenge I've basically played every souls like ever made but running back through a zone after a one shot isn't fun or hard it's just frustrating
Loving the game so far, loot was an issue and is already fixed or getting there. I also hope they make respeccing more budget friendly in the early levels for new players that are not so familiar with the passive tree.
I agree that crossbow feels a bit clunky, fortunately it gets better when you unlock Gas grenades. Atleast it did for me, but I went full grenade mode
this is the best game ive ever played i think
I can recommend playing the witch! You can easily build her like a sorceress too, if you want the minions + elemental magic vibe too. I found some nice synergies with Summon Raging Spirits for example, using their chance to Ignite to drive some mechanics chains.
That said, you can also do the reverse - sorceress as witch - though IMO the synergies aren’t as strong, as her Ascendencies don’t work so well for this purpose (although, perhaps you can get Chronomancy to work decently with minion abilities??? Purely speculation…)
I’ve played both witch and sorceress thus far. Now I gotta try a melee class. I’ll probably go monk, as I can’t keep myself away from INT classes haha. Looking forward to the Templar, in this respect - he is STR-INT where the Monk is DEX-INT (and both sorceress and witch are pure INT)… his part of the passive tree looks very curious. Even more interested in what ascendencies he will get!
I have been playing the witch too and have made bit into to act 2 with little problem. She has been quite fun, with a skeletal warrior, contagion, unearth setup. Haven't gotten stuck on a boss yet. 2 or 3 deaths at most until I figure them out.
Loot was a little light for me. But i got giants blood on unique gloves and now am running dual 2h maces on a mercenary at lvl 16 having the time of my life. When the payoff comes with loot its great
It's very much an EA, but I like it so far. I'm a huge fan of the top-down ARPG genre, though.
Two things that stand out to me that I don't like:
Movement. I wish it was precise like PoE 1. My Sorc slides around like she's on ice sometimes. I suspect including WASD has something to do with this...
Character sounds. My Sorc also grunts and otherwise makes noise with every cast. It's grating and I want to turn it completely off.
I love the audio-visuals and slower playstyle. I also enjoy the Diablo series, Grim Dawn, etc. too. Not one of those haters trying to diss all the other Diablo-likes.
Sounds like very good news. I love dungeon crawlers like Diablo and also RPG's, and I wanted to enjoy PoE 1, but I got overwhelmed by how fast everything was, and that everything seemed over-the-top. Sounds like I will probably like PoE 2 more.
As someone who loves POE 1 with over 5000 hours in that game POE 2 has taken the spot of number one for me with POE 1 second. GGG is a great developer and it’s hard to believe these games are free (POE 2 will be after EA).
Many hours and multiple characters. This is everything I wanted. Collision is janky is my only complaint. I'm even fine with the loot as is. I wanted and tried so hard to love PoE 1 but absolutely hated the gameplay loop. This is what I needed from the genre. Having a blast.
I wasn't a fan of PoE, but was a huge fan of Diablo II. This feels like the natural evolution of the genre, while not changing the parts of the genre that work really well. Story is gritty, each environment distinct with different types of enemies. I played this game as a witch and it was easy mode to me, though still died to really tough bosses. Switched to monk/warrior, and suddenly I see why people are calling the game hard, and honestly I love it.
PoE is top tier
The ice cream analogy started then went absolutely nowhere
Honestly PoE2 sounds a lot like Elden Ring when you talk about it like that. It is based on the past games, and has similar elements, but is trying its own thing with its own vision. I remember some people not being happy Elden Ring was not exactly like Dark Souls, but in the end more people played it then any of the DS games and really liked it. I think the devs understand this and won't be brow-beat by PoE1 reddit warriors into changing things back into PoE1, but instead work on what they have to keep their vision of PoE2.
Personally I never got super invested in the original Diablo style games, enjoyed POE 1 a fair amount but got bored with it. So far, I think POE 2 grabs me more than the previous titles in both IPs, enjoying the depth of the item and skill system.
It's everything I wanted considering its Early Access. Loving it so far.
It's ruthless 2.0 poe1 + souls like bosses, it seems pretty good, growing on me as a dis-liker of souls like games.. I think the maps are fine in size, many people complaining about this. explore, learn, conqueror!
I see people comparing this to souls like games... souls-like games are arpgs... so yes this should feel like a souls because they both are under the umbrella genre called arpg... one is isometric and the other 3rd person and then you have some that are 1st person...
I love this game, they really changed everything I didn't like about POE1
This is the ARPG I've always wanted by everyone was afraid to make
I'm totally fine with the loot as long as bosses drop more than a tiny fraction of the value I gained just to get to them and down them.
Poe2 felt like a statement. Just soemthing about it feels liek they really did a great job of this is what we want and this is why we created it.
i enjoy the game far more if i just stop trying to go fast. it's not a race. just enjoy the views, take battles one at a time, examine loot, soak up some lore.
PoE, with its league system is in fact.. a race, down to its fundamental core. It's why you have so many crybabies around right now that are used to the first game where the campaign was nothing more than a stepping stone onto the "real game" which is the endgame where speedy map clears and leagues are the core of the game.
Loving monk myself and switching to it from mercenary, I definitely felt like there was more highlighting of the value of using combos of your skills in clever ways. I hope that lasts. One-button spam made POE1 a little more than boring eventually.
Game is gorgeous, very detailed, excellent art direction.
A couple of gripes.
Costs of respecc'ing is ten times too much. In EA they want playtesting and build diversity. As it is now you can forget trying a new build or simply redo you skill tree if you messed up.
Secondly, Ascendancy trials are incredibly unfair. Sanctum in Act to MASSIVELY rewards ranged, evasion and minion builds, while melee builds and tanky playstyle has a giant disadvantage.
A lot of people also dislike ultimatum, myself included. It's a really bad bottleneck.
Same! I liked POE 1 but it was always a bit too much press buttons things explode and grind for me. And I once told a friend "to be honest I kinda wish POE was a bit more Dark Souls with loot and builds - but that`s not this game so maybe POE just not for me!"
Well.. they made POE 2 and it`s pretty much exactly that 👌And I`m happy
Cohh, in case you switch back to merc at some point, ZiggyD has a good video on optimizing your character.
I prefer it much more, I'm not at end game but everything feels more meaty and meaningful
I don’t like POE1, but man do I love POE2. Playing a Warrior and just about to wrap up act 1. Not enough time in the day to play.
- more and better loot, bosses should drop same level loot not lower, or better economy to craft your own
- more quests especially act 1 to be better geared up for act 1 bosses
- zoom out a bit
- warrior class a little faster skill execution
- fix lag on ps5
- game is amazing
- cheaper respec
Having played the first game I cannot wait for to play this game. Had a good time with path of exile one
I feel like the ”slow paced” gameplay compared to poe1 is due to its being new. In 5+ years with new leagues upon new leagues, new skills, classes, uniques and so on, the game will be getting a faster paste similar to poe1
It's already not "slow" now as soon as you get your character geared up into lvl 50 and beyond. Game has only been out for a couple of days so not many people are lvl 50+ let alone doing endgame maps. I know people with lvl 80+ sorcs that are already clearing maps faster than their main toon in PoE1...
This game to me, is an improvement in PoE2. I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's perfect for players like us.
I like the slow pace as my brain is getting older and needs time to calculate stuff.