Path of Exile 2 Developers Respond to Major Update Controversy

Since its debut in early access last year, Path of Exile 2’s first substantial update, Dawn of the Hunt, has met with significant turmoil. Players logged in last Friday, eager to experience the update, only to find that the game’s difficulty had skyrocketed to an absurd level. Even the weakest monsters in the early campaign posed a daunting challenge, and the newly introduced Huntress class left much to be desired. The gaming community, particularly on Reddit, quickly filled with frustrated posts titled sentiments like “This game feels like a massive waste of time” and “Game feels miserable.” Renowned streamers even abandoned the game mid-play.

To combat the wave of discontent, Grinding Gear Games scrambled to release several patches aimed at leveling the playing field. These updates included reducing monster health and enhancing certain lackluster skills, such as skeletal minions. Despite these efforts, a sizable segment of the player base remains dissatisfied, arguing that the changes have yet to address the overarching sense of unrewarding gameplay.

Acknowledging these issues, Grinding Gear Games published a post detailing their awareness of the broader concerns tied to the patch and laid out their plans for improvements in the coming weeks, with a particular focus on the sluggish campaign pace. This campaign, a mandatory replay with each new season, continues to test players’ patience. While some tweaks have gone live, many gamers still struggle to endure the game long enough to reach its endgame dungeons.

Game director Johnathan Rogers shared insights with streamer Zizaran 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.”

Echoing his sentiment, fellow director Mark Roberts admitted to mistakes in judgment, especially with underwhelming skills that needed quick fixes. “There were some blatant mistakes, speaking bluntly. We’re often working on the fly, determining, ‘Let’s implement this and gauge player reactions; if it doesn’t work, we’ll reverse it,’” Roberts commented.

Reflecting on the challenges, Rogers noted the tighter balancing required for PoE 2 compared to its predecessor, saying, “I think a running theme with PoE 2 in general is that the target to hit is smaller [compared to PoE 1] because if we want the combat to be more engaging then that means there’s a smaller target; it puts more pressure on the balance to be right.”

Rogers elaborated that unlike PoE 1, which often caters to players who’ve devoted thousands of hours to mastering its intricacies, PoE 2 seeks to sidestep this. Yet, the path to achieving this vision has proven challenging. PoE 2 is crafted to deliver intentionally demanding, dodge-heavy combat reminiscent of Soulslike games, where difficulty is part and parcel of the engagement.

Both developers voiced their intention to explore additional adjustments, albeit cautiously, to avoid swinging the pendulum too far and making dungeons excessively easy. “If we reach a point where seasoned players face no challenges whatsoever, then I don’t think it’s going to be a game that remains enjoyable in the long run,” Rogers said, concluding their commitment to refining the gameplay experience.