Hack’n slash lovers know it, if Diablo is an extremely popular license, considered by many to be THE benchmark of the genre, Blizzard’s game has a major competitor that is closely following it. This adversary is Path of Exile, a franchise that currently has only one game to its credit, but which will soon be entitled to a second episode. The strength of this independent franchise? Its free at first, its own economic system, and above all, its extremely rich game mechanics, of an abyssal depth and an incredible freedom in terms of build and overall experience.
Thanks to this, Path of Exile first of the name has carved out a very solid reputation and a huge fan base. Very big hack’n slash players have even found a routine to switch from Diablo to PoE over the seasons. Which proves that the two games can live in harmony.
However, the release of Diablo 4 reshuffled the cards. More than any other Blizzard game, the license has been catapulted to the forefront and has opened up to millions of curious people who have never walked a hack’n slash in their life. A good thing for the publisher, but which must have given the competition some cold sweats. At least that’s what one might have thought at first glance since, as it stands, Path of Exile 2, the franchise’s new game, does not intend to be in the lace. Even more content, builds, freedom and possibilities… PoE 2 is ready to enter the dance and bend Diablo 4.
The great return of the little prince of hack’n slash
Recently, I was able to see the beast running during an event held online by the Grinding Gear Games studio, shortly before the Exilecon which took place last weekend (you can find the rebroadcast on Twitch by the way). Path of Exile 2 then took the opportunity to show itself a little more, revealing some discreet new features and above all several minutes of gameplay. In fact, it will follow in the footsteps of the first opus, knowing that the game will once again be free- to-play and that the first PoE will continue its little life for some time after the release of the second episode. We will find there in broad outline what the first PoE offered, namely, a demanding and ultra free gameplay allowing a whole lot of splurges in terms of builds and character customization, slightly higher than average difficulty, and high-end graphics.
Path of Exile 2 will once again rely on its gem and skill system. Basically, each class has skills that can be altered using gems to loot. The difference here is that in PoE 2 it is no longer a question of equipping your gems on your weapons, but simply of customizing them in a menu once they have been looted. You can equip yourself with a total of 6 skill gems to have as many active abilities (skills). Then you can customize them with support gems to change the properties of your powers. It will then suffice to save everything by choosing the weapon to which you want to link the whole build. In fact, this allows you to have a complete kit linked to a weapon and therefore two different kits on your character at the same time, and to change them on the fly simply by switching from one weapon to another.
Path of Exile 2 aims for heights
Moreover, it is not here the only thing which is new since the immense tree of talents, including/understanding more than 2000 statistics and capacities to be distributed in complete freedom, him also made new skin. If we couldn’t see it in detail, the developers showed us what they call “Dual Specialization”. This allows you to assign certain talent points to two different sets and thus have, once again, two specialized kits at your fingertips, where in the original PoE you had to change your points on the fly. It is therefore over the back and forth in the menus.
As far as our hero is concerned, he will once again be completely customizable. A dozen classes will act as a starting point, guiding you through the Talent tree. Then it’s up to you what to do with your evolution. Mixtures are also possible. For example, you can mix magic (intelligence) with the brutality of a warrior (strength) or cunning (dexterity). Once again, Path of Exile 2 pulls out all the stops and offers players the possibility of playing whoever they want. A rather incredible freedom that will follow us throughout the adventure.
Path of Exile 2 will first offer a campaign announced as “epic” and “full of challenge”. The latter will be divided into 6 acts and will take place several years after the end of the first PoE of the name. On the endgame side, PoE 2 will offer something new. The developers have not revealed anything to us about it, but it will be a question of facing ultra-tough challenges in more than 100 different maps, partially random and all with a unique boss. Colossal creatures for the most part that we could also see in the Exilecon stream last weekend. Path of Exile 2 will therefore be like PoE 1, but bigger.
Path of Exile 2 in numbers (it makes you dizzy)
- 12 different classes, 3 Ascendants per class (36 in total)
- 240 Different Skill Gems, 200 Support Gems
- 2000 talents to unlock as you see fit
- 700 different weapons, including a unique version for each
- 6 narrative campaign acts
- 100 cards for as many bosses to discover in the endgame
- Over 100 bosses to smash
A game planned to be extremely beautiful
Finally, the developers indicated that they have been working hard on new technologies to improve Path of Exile’s engine and ensure a high-end visual experience. From what we have seen, we can only agree with them as the game seems detailed and incredibly varied. The effects clash on the screen, the enemies are both crappy and classy… It remains to be seen what this will give once in hand. But before we can get our hands on it, we’ll have to wait a while since the closed beta won’t arrive before June 2024. Be patient, it could well be that Path of Exile 2 worth the wait.