Path of Exile 2 has taken the throne. Not only is it a worthy sequel, its latest update earns it the right to have “next-generation action RPG” in its official description. I’ve played obscene amounts of these types of games and have never seen one quite so ambitious. Certainly not one that is still in early access and doesn’t even have a finished campaign yet.
Even if developer Grinding Gear Games says it will be finished by the end of the year, PoE 2 is already one of the best action RPGs I’ve ever played and absolutely worth the price of admission (before it goes free-to-play for 1.0). It’s one of the only games that has figured out how to follow-up its campaign with an endgame loot grind that barely feels like a grind at all.
The result is an experience that blends the eerie worldbuilding and irresistible loot chase of Diablo 2 with the challenging combat of Elden Ring. PoE 2 is a game where a giant gorilla can smash you into pieces with a stone pillar and a game where that same gorilla can drop an item that transforms your entire character. In fact, one of its many classes specializes in taming monsters, and I bet you can guess how cathartic it is to watch that giant gorilla smash someone else apart for a change.
PoE 2 is full of ideas stretched further than any other game in the genre has pulled off. The only roadblock is its staggering complexity. Ask anyone if they remember the first time they witnessed the might of its sprawling skill tree and you’ll know if that sounds like a rabbit hole you want to dive into. As someone who still has much to learn, I think it’s absolutely worth the plunge.
PoE 2’s excellent campaign is the sole reason it’s actually playable for normal people compared to PoE 1. While the Return of the Ancients update didn’t add a new chapter of the story, it did clean up some of its worst parts. Experienced players will notice how much faster it is to navigate some of the most labyrinthine levels, which makes replaying the campaign every season seem much easier.
New players just benefit from tighter pacing and the heaps of items you get from the latest league, or season mechanic. These side activities are the focus of each league and eventually get added permanently to the game. This time, there are stone shards scattered throughout Wraeclast that drop valuable items after defeating a few waves of monsters.
Bonus loot like that is essential for helping you survive the campaign’s most brutal bosses, like the man who goes full Bloodborne and turns into a mutated wolf. We’re already well past the early days of PoE 2 when the campaign was so stingy that you could play for 10 hours before getting your first necklace. Now, you’ll have power spikes that let you trivialize certain sections before the enemies catch back up and start drawing blood again. Unlike other action RPGs, like Diablo 4, PoE 2’s campaign feels like a journey rather than homework to finish before the real game begins.
Before, when PoE 2 presented you an endless endgame world map filled with little nodes representing levels to clear, your only goal was to see what you could find. Unless you frequented Reddit or YouTube, you’d have no idea what you’re supposed to be doing. And now, that’s no longer a problem.
The new version of the map surrounds your starting position with each major endgame activity, letting each one lure you in its direction. In the south you might see a patch of land warped by the bright green cracks of the hordes of Abyss monsters crawling out of their domain deep below the earth, or a pale garden of twitching purple hands where Breach monsters have invaded.
As you explore each of these areas, you’ll run into characters who explain what’s going on and direct you to a main hub for their associated mechanic. I met the ghost of a woman who opened a hole in the ground leading to an unsettling boss fight in the pitch black domain of a god. Later, I met a man standing next to a shattered mirror who spoke in riddles until I broke his curse and learned about the psychic damage (and piles of loot) Delirium encounters can bring you.
By filling the world with strange points-of-interest, PoE 2’s endgame has abandoned the monotonous grind for a series of compelling investigations into its bizarre world. And the best part is there’s a satisfying sense of completion as you finish each thread and clear out the map—which also means you have a solid stopping point if you’re not interested in grinding until the next league.
PoE 2 is now packed with juicy secrets and powerful loot to find, creating an endgame experience that barely feels like an endgame at all.
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