Developers of Path of Exile 2 Respond to Backlash Over Most Problematic Update

Path of Exile 2 recently rolled out its first major update since entering early access last year and, unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. When players logged in last Friday to dive into the update, they were immediately hit with a surge in difficulty that seemed almost laughable. Even the weakest monsters were taking forever to defeat right at the start of the campaign, and the new Huntress class failed to impress. Reddit was soon flooded with posts bemoaning the experience with titles like “This game feels like a massive waste of time” and “Game feels miserable.” On top of that, popular streamers didn’t hold back their frustration and left the game in protest.

In response to the uproar, Grinding Gear Games quickly released a series of small patches in an effort to level the playing field. These tweaks involved reducing the health of monsters and beefing up underwhelming skills, such as those for skeletal minions. However, many players still weren’t convinced this was enough to make the game feel rewarding.

The developers addressed the growing discontent in a post, focusing on plans to adjust the broader issues communicated by the community. A major point of concern was the campaign’s sluggish pace, which players are required to replay whenever a new season starts. While some improvements are already in place, players seem to be running out of patience, struggling to endure long enough to reach the endgame dungeons.

Game director Jonathan Rogers joined streamer Zizaran in an interview on Tuesday, explaining, “I can absolutely tell you that our goal here was to nerf the things that were trivializing the endgame before you’ve even managed to get your items and stuff like that.”

Mark Roberts, another game director, didn’t shy away from acknowledging their missteps. “There were some blatant mistakes,” Roberts admitted, pointing specifically to the underperforming skills that were quickly patched. “We’re kind of shooting from the hip here, thinking, ‘Let’s see if this works, and if not, we’ll just tweak it.’”

Rogers emphasized the challenge of fine-tuning Path of Exile 2’s balance. “The target is smaller compared to PoE 1 because if we want combat to be more engaging, it puts more pressure on getting the balance right,” he noted.

He also reflected on how PoE 1 rewards players who have invested thousands of hours into mastering its intricate systems. PoE 2 aims to address this but striking the right balance has proven difficult. The game was designed with deliberate, dodge-heavy combat reminiscent of a Soulslike experience, which inherently should be challenging.

Both developers stressed that while they are working on addressing these issues, they are wary of making the game too easy. Their concern is that players might steamroll through dungeons without facing a challenge, ultimately detracting from the game’s long-term appeal.

“If we reach a point where a skilled player never really encounters a challenge, I don’t think that will make for a game that’s fun in the long run,” Rogers concluded.