Path of Exile 2 Review (Tobash)
Although my critique and rating of the game are negative, I’ve spent almost 200 hours playing it and had a lot of fun up to a certain point. Maybe this criticism will change by the time the game is released.
Pros:
- The game runs extremely well, and the graphics are stunning.
- The details of the monsters and demons are next level.
- It dares to provoke and break disgusting barriers. I never thought I’d get hit by rotten breast milk squeezed from the breasts of a demon mother. Simply epic.
- The impact of skills – whether arrows from a bow, axe strikes, or spells – is fantastic. Especially in the beginning, you can
feel every arrow hitting the flesh of a demon.
Before diving into the negatives, I have to admit that I never played Path of Exile 1. However, I was constantly told how complex and deep the game’s mechanics were. POE2 is supposed to simplify things, but I was still led to believe how challenging and intricate the game would be, particularly the skill tree and crafting. That made the endgame loot and crafting all the more disappointing.
Cons:
- The loot filter is essential. Unfortunately, it’s not integrated into the game and has to be downloaded and installed from a third party. This isn’t a big issue on PC, but I still think it’s weak that it’s not handled through in-game menus. What do console players think about this?
- Many long-time POE players will hate me for saying this, but their beloved trade website is nothing more than an external auction house. This, too, isn’t integrated into the game, and I have to use a website to trade. This should absolutely be part of the game itself.
- Trading currently only uses two currencies: Exalted Orbs and Divine Orbs. Boring. Many, including myself, have often criticized Diablo 3’s in-game auction house, especially POE players. And even if no one wants to hear it – yes, the POE trade site is an auction house. Period.
- The loot itself is extremely dull. Maybe it’s because of my thousands of hours in Diablo 2 LOD, but almost nothing drops in POE2. You set your loot filter and wait for a blue or yellow item with decent stats. There are no useful unique items to get excited about – most are dismantled right away. Everyone just waits for a God-tier yellow item to drop so they can sell it on the auction house to buy their own God-tier item. There are no sets, no runes, and no rune words. Is this supposed to be the incredible loot system? Blue and yellow items?
- Crafting in POE means applying orbs with random effects to items and hoping for the best. Sure, it feels good to roll great stats once in a while, but it’s not really engaging.
- The massive skill tree isn’t any better than other systems found in existing ARPGs. You have your meta builds, and those are what people play. The tree allows for a bit of variation, but despite its size, it doesn’t offer many meaningful options. It’s all smoke and mirrors. I only mention the skill tree because every POE player immediately points to how massive it is and what you can supposedly do with it. Almost as if they're trying to compensate for something.
All in all, it's a good game, but the boring loot and the utterly uninspired crafting system personally ruin the fun for me. The omnipresent auction house, aka "the trade site," which isn’t integrated into the game, along with the external loot filter, drives me away for now.
P.S.: As I’ve read countless times in in-game chats, I agree with the sentiment: Diablo 4 is the worst thing to ever happen to the gaming world. Blizzard is dead; the original creators of the classic stories and games are gone. It’s time to move on.