Path of Exile 2 Developers Respond to Their Most Challenging Update

Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, marking its first significant update since it peeked into early access last year, has unfortunately hit a rough patch. Last Friday, eager players logging in to explore the fresh content were met with a game that had become absurdly more challenging. Even low-level monsters in the campaign’s early phases now took an age to defeat, and the much-anticipated Huntress class seemed underwhelming. The reaction on Reddit was explosive, with despairing headlines like “This game feels like a massive waste of time” and “Game feels miserable.” The frustration even led top-tier streamers to abandon their game sessions mid-way.

Grinding Gear Games, the developers, reacted by releasing a series of minor patches meant to offer some reprieve. In these updates, monster lifespans were shortened, and some skills—skeletal minions, for instance—gained more potency. However, many in the player community feel these tweaks are merely plastering over deeper issues, leaving the game still lacking in its overall reward experience.

Facing a myriad of player concerns, Grinding Gear Games addressed the broader issues in a recent post, outlining their roadmap for improvements. A primary focus is the sluggish campaign pacing, a sore spot since the game requires replaying the campaign at the dawn of each new season. Some changes are already in place, yet players’ patience wears thin, hindering their journey to the coveted endgame dungeons.

In an interview with the streamer Zizaran on Tuesday, game director Jonathan Rogers explained the situation: “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, candidly acknowledged the missteps: “There were some blatant errors, frankly,” he confessed, referring to the underpowered skills they swiftly patched. “We’re firing from the hip quite a bit here, trying things out, and willing to make adjustments swiftly if something doesn’t sit right.”

Rogers went on to elaborate that Path of Exile 2 only offers a narrower target to hit for engaging combat compared to its predecessor. “If we want the combat to be more engaging, that means there’s a smaller target; it puts more pressure on the balance to be right,” he explained.

Rogers also touched upon how Path of Exile 1 has always been more rewarding for those who invest thousands of hours, something PoE 2 aims to balance better, albeit a challenging task. The sequel is crafted to deliver a combat style reminiscent of a Soulslike game, intentional in its difficulty.

Both developers point out that the team is exploring various solutions to balance these issues, but they’re cautious about overcorrecting and making dungeon runs too swift and easy.

“If we reach a stage where a competent player breezes through without ever encountering a challenge,” Rogers noted, “that’s not going to be a game that holds long-term fun.”