Path Of Exile 2 Early Access - Review (A Love Letter To Diablo 2 Fans)

[@joaoffmoraes]

3k+ hours POE1 player here. I have 30h of POE2 and loved almost every singe minute of POE2. It's a breath of fresh air in the genre for me, I love the game design and vision , love how different it is from POE1 and from almost all other aRPGs, and I'm looking forwards for the next 300h and 3k hours.

[@kieranclarke4373]

Read the patch notes! The trial problems are being addressed in the upcoming patch.

[@GGMentor]

They are addressing some but it's still a long way away from being fixed. The 35% honour resistance for melee is nice though, and apparently they are fixing the resistance problems

[@unicyclepeon]

@@GGMentor Its based on distance so you could also leverage this as a caster as well, couldnt you? With some caution.

[@GGMentor]

I mean it's nice but like I said during the video if you add 75% honour resistance it fixes most of that anyways. The main issue is the length of the run, combined with the low level of rewards. As well as forcing players to do the content that aren't interested in it. And by not interested mean "Loathe it with the passions of 1000 suns"

[@retrograde4290]

Best review of the game so far. Have no idea who the hell you are but I am subscribing. New to path of exile

[@Crimmo877]

Thank you so much for unapologetically saying that poe1 sucks in comparison to this. My greatest fear is that the mountain of poe1 sweatlords will bully the devs into rolling back there unique vision for this game. The precise things that they are baying for are the exact detailsI can't stand poe1. Screen clears in one click, zooming through areas at ridiculous speed loot drops not mattering because it's all about crafting, monsters and their abilities not mattering because they are just resourae pinatas, gameplay non impactful and brain dead. I think that devs have struck gold with their design philosophy here and I pray that they hold to it, because this is the best arpg I've played since Diablo 2 released decades ago.

[@GGMentor]

I always tell it like it is, you don't need to worry about me sugar coating it. I also fear the devs might cave to the PoE1 players. It's the only thing that could derail this train at the moment

[@joaoffmoraes]

3k+ hours POE1 player here. I also feel that people wanting to transform POE2 into POE1.25 is cringeworthy. I have 30h of POE2 and it's a breath of fresh air in the genre for me, I love the game design and vision , love how different it is from POE1 and from almost all other aRPGs, and I'm looking forwards for the next 300h and 3k hours. I want the game vision for both of them as far away from each other, specially since GGG plans on keep working on both games. I love what POE1 is and has become and I love what POE2 seems to be going towards.

[@ak_getright9905]

It’s really cool that spirit is made mainly for let’s say infernalist witch or maybe the third ascendancy, but that every character gets it and can use the skills or others like auras, or support gems that make skills they’re supporting reserve spirit. Or even use the minions themselves. There’s a warrior minion build right now that some are saying is actually better than infernalist because of some of the passives the warrior can get, with the titan ascendancy for 50% increased effect of small passives. Looks sick

[@stuka80]

I put in 50 hours into POE 1 in hopes that i will eventually like it but it was just not fun all 50 hours. POE 2 was fun immediately especially the combat and i agree that it reminds me so much of D2. There are some things that need to be worked on in this game like i feel the crafting system is too basic and too random and needs to be worked on. Tweaking and smoothing out alot of the rough patches in this game will make it even more fun and enjoyable. Im already enjoying the game immensely and can't wait for more content to be added and to finally see the full release.

[@TimoNaaro]

just a quick correction from minion witch. its not set of skeleton warriors you get if you summon 1 but one skeleton warrior. The reason you had 3 in your gameplay was most likely due to your scepter having skeletal warrior summon which means if you use that weapon you get 2 skeletal warriors for free. Remember to equip support stones for both your weapon and skeleton warrior for maximium effect!

[@GGMentor]

Nice thanks for that I haven't dived into witch as of yet

[@greganastas]

Cant wait for the druid : ).

[@SWAMPY_G]

There is a glove or helmet that gives ypu a 33% chance to ignite, freeze, or shock which is pretty badass if you are working an elemental ailment build. I am rocking a pure lighting witch hunter merc with the shock grenade, galvanic shards, shock burst rounds, plasma burst and voltaic mark from the bow skills which works on crossbows....it makes an enemy more susceptible to shock. Its a blast. Vile Helm also gives me up to 200% bonus damage the longer a fight goes on.

[@7evolance]

It is a true continuation of diablo 2. The characters have thier own stories and once it finished, the chars either become legends or they become the evil they originally fought.

[@joaoffmoraes]

If they follow poe1 story then we are all evil and literally the bad guys xD

[@voswouter87]

The only thing I don't like is you cannot take runes out of an item. "some debuffs will brick your run" So don't pick them. You have three options. Building to negate debuffs is part of the game.

[@GGMentor]

You could never take runes or gems out of an item in D2 Either, you could destroy them which I think could be fine. Adding a Rune Destruction option would be nice like D2

[@radagonsoreseal3457]

It’s peak Really hoping Templar comes pretty soon I need my Templar back so I can make a Paladin again lol

[@ak_getright9905]

It’s coming back, 4 of the other classes are the classes from Poe 1, Templar, marauder, shadow, and duelist. Then there are 2 more completely new classes, Druid and huntress.

[@radagonsoreseal3457]

@ Yeah I’m patiently waiting for it!! I’m having fun with Warrior and Monk right now though!

[@biohead66]

I have a 3090 too and game is pretty smooth even though I can hear my CPU cooler screaming. Will you be getting a 5090?

[@GGMentor]

Thinking about it, but I need a PSU upgrade I think for that lol 🤣

[@biohead66]

@@GGMentor same here doubt 850 will be enough.

[@GGMentor]

No 850 is not enough for a 5090 lol. My 1000 isn't enough either. Probably need 1500 at that point to be safe

[@joaoffmoraes]

Although I don't agree with some of your feedback, basically on some pain points you had that were not pain points for me, I can understand where you come from, and most you give a reasonable explanation of why and sometimes a potential solution. Really good video mate, hope you keep playing and giving feedback on what you think could be improved on POE2. That is crucial specially while the game is on Early Access.

[@GGMentor]

hah, Different Folks, Different Strokes. I don't like pointing out problems without also offering potential solutions.

[@joaoffmoraes]

​@GGMentor good thing is almost all points are fixable and not related to the vision or game design related. Since the game is on early access now for 6 months to an year, when it launches most potentially will be iron out

[@Aanalleinoneman]

So you talk about the game being limited in terms of slots/gems/supports early on especially with a fresh character, and I don’t disagree with that notion, but I would argue that if you were a brand spanking new player to the Arpg genre or just PoE, not only would the passive skill tree be daunting, but so too would the skill/support options. It sucks for experienced players to feel restricted, but I think it would be a nightmare and too much for a new player to wrap their head around intuitively. A game with the degree of options, difficulty, complexity that PoE1, and 2 have should start simple, and then expand.

[@GGMentor]

Skill tree is very well presented, the passive tree is not. The important take away from what I said is that Presentation can do wonders do ease a player into an advanced system. The skill gem system is well represented. The Passive Tree is not Full stop

[@imperialtutor8687]

The skill tree is certainly not noob friendly. It took me almost half of the first campaign run to realize that attributes don’t really increase damage and I was hitting like a wet noodle, compounded by the fact that I am playing a titan warrior it felt miserable. After rectifying my mistake and getting almost all the damage nodes on my tree and I am hitting like a mac truck which obviously made me happy and I was able to comfortably blitz through the early game.

[@Aanalleinoneman]

@@GGMentor definitely I like how the skills are presented. What I was getting at was if the skill options were wide open from the start, not restrictive, then I think it would cause a lot of paralysis by analysis situations with some players who wouldn’t begin to understand the potential of what they could do. Everything seems restrictive because I think the devs kept new players in mind, but also players enjoy the sense of progression with their character. Not just level progression, or gear, but skills, and unlocking new support options adds to that progression. You say the restrictions are a negative, I say they are for experienced players, but I say it’s a positive for new players. That’s about all I was trying to say. I don’t disagree with you, it’s the fact you never mentioned new players, and their perspective. Also, different topic, another negative I would like to add is the absence of the Master Crafting bench they had in PoE 1. I liked that bench, I hope they bring it back. It provided more options to get certain things you need on your gear like resistances. Runes seem a bit more like a bandaid, and I don’t consider them a good replacement.

[@zechlape5826]

A big complaint I have about the skill tree is I'm not even using skills in the tree I'm just chasing attribute points.

[@GGMentor]

The Passive Tree has some amazingly good stuff in it. It's definitely worth a look around. There are specific passives that can do all sorts of things. Convert all damage to fire, make you immune to chaos damage, make it so enemy resistances are ignored when a monster is frozen, ect. I think if you look around you will find something worthwhile.

[@imperialtutor8687]

You shouldn’t chase attributes too much. Those are a trap. If you want more damage or defense you need to take those respective nodes.

[@zechlape5826]

@@imperialtutor8687 you're definitely right but I need attributes for gear upgrades. That's what bothers me the most I think

[@VVVvvv___vvvVVV-z7r]

I love your left-hand panel idea a lot

[@GGMentor]

It would make things so much easier

[@joaoffmoraes]

38:00 not related to your criticism but you can get all your ascension points from only one of the trials if you want. You dont need to do both. If you want you can get all 8 from the rogue-like or the ultimate.

[@GGMentor]

Quest 1 is Sekemas, Quest 2 Is Chaos, Quest 3 & 4 are whatever you want yes. However what's the point of the choice at all when they are both trash lol?

[@joaoffmoraes]

@@GGMentor no, you're wrong. You can get all 8 from one of the ascension trials, you don't need to do both. I got first 6 from sekima , I like it and had experience from poe1. But I get a lot of ppl really hate it. And agree that both are currently in a bad place. I though ultimate would be fine as another balance against the honor one, but it hasn't :(

[@GGMentor]

@@joaoffmoraes the quest tokens are infinite, allowing for experimentation and learning. No one is gonna know that they can find another non reusable token that early on to do their second quest. 99% are gonna do it in chaos

[@joaoffmoraes]

@GGMentor oh I agree 100% with you, I'm just saying you can do whatever trial you want, if you want to skip one and do one exclusively you can. They even said on the reveal video, I don't know if you saw it. But I think they have a problem of communicating those things. They are way better than it was on POE1, but still some things are not said or shown.

[@GGMentor]

@@joaoffmoraes lol I call them super omega nerds because they are past me in nerdiness. And everyone knows super omega nerds have issues communicating with us plebs

[@majafarkhani87]

9800x3d and a 3090 was crashing non stop on dx12 switched to Vulcan and only one crash in 40 hours since

[@mitchsledge9295]

This game is so good and it’s only in early access. I had some fun in Diablo 4 but never on this level of fun compared to poe2. Diablo 4 all the environments felt the same. Poe 2 they’re uniquely different. My favorite thing about Poe2 is the endless amounts of build you can create

[@hibbity_hooblah]

It's a beta. A paid beta. You're all fools

[@TheAbvsyork]

​@hibbity_hooblah so what? If people are enjoying their time in the game what's wrong with that? Part of the fun is seeing the game evolve and change over time. Sure it will be free to play... 6-12 months from now.

[@GGMentor]

Diablo 4 was a paid beta too lol 🤣 let's be real

[@TheAbvsyork]

@@GGMentor that's not even a joke 🙄 and it was 2x the price!

[@hibbity_hooblah]

@TheAbvsyork why isn't there a release date then? Let's be real, if your paying to play test they should at least give you a time frame, 6-12 months sounds good but I think you all need to play more so I can get my hands on this FREE game. You think it's crazy that I don't want to pay for a free game? I mean cmon

[@jeffrey778]

super good feedback thanks for the content

[@nostrings1269]

Overall, I love PoE2 with the exception of dying to bad targeting or skills not activating but I despise the Trials of Suckmyass.

[@GGMentor]

A man of culture I see

[@Steph1]

Sekhema balls ⚽️ 🏀

[@kevinsims5791]

I play on the series x and the game isnt well optimized for it. The game keeps flashing while i am in town and when i use frostbomb and it kills a bunch of mobs, the game slows down a bunch

[@GGMentor]

@@kevinsims5791 interesting it's good to hear about performance on other systems

[@justinhildebrand1515]

Im waiting till it fully releases. Gonna be buying a new pc soon. I havent watched much of the game play but ill be buying when it fully releases

[@GGMentor]

The game has a lot to learn, as they add more classes more weapons, more Ascendencies, more trials, it is gonna get more complicated. I argument against waiting is that the game is easier to learn and digest now before they start adding more. And as they add more you can learn it small bits at a time. If you wait you will have a much larger amount of stuff to learn

[@justinhildebrand1515]

@GGMentor sadly im kind of forced too lol my current pc is at its space limit and the hardware in it is all low end stuff

[@krinniv7898]

Get an AMD card. I have had 0 crashes.

[@tonyfabiano3053]

I like POE 2 it's great. I do want different difficulties for different skill leveled players. I am a POE 1 fan. To say that a sequel should not listen to the people who funded their second game and have been loyal is hilarious. No, we do not want to go back to POE 1. We want a new experience in the POE universe. I like a lot of the changes, including game play but the difficulty spikes are a little rough for an arpg meant to be played seasonally. I don't want a clone of POE 1. I was not an end-game players who blitzed through the campaign. I take my time. But POE 2 at times feels like Elden ring, which I did play and beat, but it took me 170 hours. It's not great for trying new builds and playing seasonally.

[@Steph1]

It’s definitely still early access, but it’s got good bones!

[@GGMentor]

Lol I like that good bones! 🦴😂

[@faxanadufire9669]

so my thing is ok ur gonna gv us these crazy hard debuffs, why not even out the playing field with a positive let's say during the next stage like a boon u find as a reward.. like in a vampire survivors style level up system or something like that unique just for that dungeon.. that one that affects projectiles ruined my archer build so bad... and omg can we pls pls address the graphical issues on ps5? the screen tearing, the assets not loading, frame rate chugging during alot of action, certain skills not even popping off when u hv pushed the imput.. this happens especially on the witch and the crossbow character for some reason.. absolutely love the game tho... GGG did an absolutely incredible job on so many dif design choices, enemies, challenge, weightiness.. its like if dark souls and diablo had a baby lol

[@hibbity_hooblah]

People say the poe1 was the true successor to d2 and i couldnt disagree more. Ive yet to play poe2 but i will when its full release and free. I refuse to pay to test their game. Its quite deceptive that its called early access when its truly a beta. I play console and when i see a friend playing poe 2 its called "path of exile 2 beta".

[@GGMentor]

So was Diablo 4 a "Paid Beta" lol 🤣 POE2 is in much better place as a paid beta than D4 was at launch. And let's be real here, if you were given a chance to help develop Diablo 2 you know you would have jumped at the chance. Instead of looking at it as a negative, look at it as a positive. "I get to help in making the next D2 through my feedback"

[@marcurban5141]

Terrific assessment sir.

[@unicyclepeon]

I hate dodge rolling in all games so it's not a love letter to me. That said I really enjoy it, I just may never make it past act 1. But it is fun.

[@GGMentor]

You never dodge diablo lightning inferno? Or moved out of the way of his fire? Lol Or Dodge Baals Mana steal, or avoided his knockback cone? How is it any different Diablo 2 may not have had a dodge rolls but there were still attacks you didn't want to get hit by that you would avoid.

[@unicyclepeon]

@@GGMentor Thats not a dodge roll though. And honestly usually I dont. I just max or beyond-max my resists and keep a potion handy. Hey I'm old and slow. :) I did see there are some uniques and whatnot in POE that take away your dodge roll for more health and/or stun threshold so maybe I'll try that approach at some point, even on a summoner.

[@GGMentor]

Overlapping max Resistances is possible, there are a couple builds that can do it. Gemling has a 3% max per gem and other beat stuff. Energy shield can be pretty tanky too

[@SWAMPY_G]

Can I join ypur guild?

[@GGMentor]

Anyone is welcome, just join the guild discord and apply there. discord.gg/xWzDeDpQ

[@joshcarel8761]

So…you’re telling me Poe 2 is Diablo-like

[@GGMentor]

Diablo-Clone It's a term thats been around for decades and yes

[@Blacknight200]

I for the life of me don’t understand why they are adding more rogue like elements into arpgs. I dont enjoy rogue like games at all except Hades. Its not fun to pick anything that makes getting my ascensions harder and harder. I get you have to earn it and its hard but dont completely punish the player for working hours upon hours to make his/her character be complete trash…..why not add boons too that makes it actually fun…..gah i dont get it.

[@GGMentor]

Rougelites can be fun, but not the way they have done it imo. It would be fine if it was optional content, but it's tied into your ascendancy points which sucks pretty hard

[@joaoffmoraes]

​@@GGMentoryeah it is on POe1. And it is optional, you can get all points from ultimate, but that also ha sa rogue like element, just not the honor. There will be a third ascension way they will add before launch, maybe that one will be more different. Regarding the rogue like, it came from one of the leagues, each league has a system usually brought from other games, that itself is usually as complex as a complete new small game. Sometimes those leagues are incorporated to the main game later on.

[@CircleofPharaohs]

Imma make a witch who shots poison bows

[@dreamingflurry2729]

No! Just no! I am D2 player (have been "on board" since OG D2 - LoD!) and in D2 mobs actually go down pretty fast (there's simply more of them in good locations like Chaos Sanctuary!)...also endgame is way less complicated (No stupid Atlas! You have endgame areas to farm, you can gear for ubers, for D-Clone etc.)...also while they fixed it a little bit, the trials in PoE2 still suck donkey balls! The regular mobs are way to tanky ("bullet-spongy") for it to be fun and if you find a build that makes them less so? Fear not the GGG-Nerf-Police is on the tast and will totally fuck up your build (and not give you a free respecc!)

[@GGMentor]

Mobs go down pretty fast in PoE 2 as well not sure what you mean. I have played several characters so far and several builds and every except Rares, and bosses go down easy. Rares and bosses are the exception to the rule There is no endgame for D2R except character Build theorycrafting. So saying that D2 endgame is far less complicated is disingenuous. As there basically is no end game. The trials in PoE2 do suck donkey balls I called that out. You can gear for specific content in PoE 2 as well.

[@terhoranki6680]

Yes. Just YES. I literally am a D2 player myself, got +40 K hours across the board playing every possible D2 Mod. I've been with the franchise since Diablo fucking ONE, 1997 ! This is the closest thing to D2 in every possible way you look at it. Dumbest shit you can say is point out mobs tankiness OR the non-existant "end game" of D2 vanilla, those are very poor arguements that carries fuck-all in value (yes am talking about both, D2 classic and LoD now; there is no end game. Ubers/ D clone does not count as end game activity, nor does grind for 99). The only end game D2 currently has is in PD2.

[@vohbovohborian28]

"Until you get the hang of how the dreadnaught works..." which takes less time than even constructing the sentence to complain about it ?

[@GGMentor]

not really, #1 complaint I got from people about Act 2 was how terribly the moving city functions and how confusing it was. I also found it confusing the first time I went through.

[@jeffrey778]

act2 was bull shit, ever since d2 all act 2s have been a massive chore of super non linear confusion. i remember i got so confused at some point i visited the gates map like 6 times not knowing what to do, 2 of the times was with the stupid horn, because the game does not tell you to stay on the ship. location leap frog bull shit needs to stop in these games

[@GGMentor]

I agree, it was a pretty confusing mess I went over that during the video too

[@Barn80]

I couldn’t get past the slog of the campaign. Areas feel miles to big. Just felt horrible. It’s d2r for me

[@jrock69erera]

I thought the campaign was incredible. Didn’t feel like a slog at all. If anything I didn’t want to leave act 1 because I was enjoying it so much.

[@TheAbvsyork]

​@jrock69erera im with you. I figured i would just try it out for a bit because I like arpgs, and it's cheap. Im a little addicted now 😆

[@24News-t5i]

@TheAbvsyork it's the new D2R for me. they haven't updated anything in D2R for so long too, got bored of it eventually.

[@GGMentor]

I gotta say I couldn't disagree more I really enjoyed the campaign.

[@joaoffmoraes]

Shame you didn't like the campaign. I thought it was one of the best 3 acts of any aRPG, specially regarding the bosses and the challenge on the first 3 acts.

[@MrJaldal]

If you dont "like" the passive skilltree, this game is not for you. Have you heard about a game named Diablo 4 ?

[@GGMentor]

Aye, be a scumlord gatekeeper instead of recognizing the faults of a game and working to fix them. "If you don't like X valid thing to complain about, go back to X insert insult here game" Stop white knighting games, points out the faults and make them known so the devs can work on it. Instead of pretending they don't exist.

[@MrJaldal]

@@GGMentor I simply stated a fact. When your first impulse is to feel overwhelmed and paralysed, instead of inspired and amazed when u open the skilltree for the first time, this game is not for you. Dont act like you provide constructive critism, by saying "you dont like it". Because thats just what i said! The skilltree is not a "fault" in the game, your willingness to learn a new and complex system is. You dont like that, and thats fine. Just dont blame it on a core game mechanic of PoE and call it "overly complex". This game has MANY flaws right now, thats absolutly not one of them !

[@PxNxWxGxW]

Dodge rolling simulator is not a love letter.

[@GGMentor]

Lol think about that next time you "Dodge" out of the way of diablo Lightning inferno in D2 Or a Lightning bolt, or succubus blood magic, or dark stars, or spear cat spears, or quill rat spikes, or poison mages, or niglathak Corpse Explodes, the list goes on. Dodging attacks has always been a part of D2 as far back as classic. We just didn't have a roll

[@bobsinclair8990]

49:12 casting more often and getting +2 projectiles with damage reduction for each bolt are much more powerful. There were a lot of points of criticism to be had, but this one made me stop listening and click on do not recommend.

[@GGMentor]

20% less a a multiplicative decrease not an additive decrease. The damage loss is massive Increase and decrease are additive and small penalties. More and Less are multiplicative and are much larger penalties. You are right a 20% decrease and an extra projectile would be more damage. But. 20% less and an extra projectile doesn't equal more really. It just flattens out. I tested this and I often had to remove scattershot for bosses because the single target damage was too low. Also many projectiles are not allowed to hit the same target twice. If they are they specifically say multiple projectiles can hit the same target. Most of the shotgun type abilities on the crossbow can do this, and default spells from the sorc found on staves. And what's more scattershot is a tier 1 gem, and available at start from your first support gem. So nothing is really added here

[@bobsinclair8990]

@@GGMentor if you use single bolt mag skills u get 3x the bolts, like high velocity etc. results in 240% damage(3x80) in a bit more time as the attack takes longer. you are doing it wrong if you use it on skills with many projectiles.

[@GGMentor]

@@bobsinclair8990 more bolts in mag doesn't really equal more damage output. Just slightly less reloads, which gets offset by a large damage reduction. I know I am currently main Mercenary. Scatter shot uses multiple shots from the mag as well making the point moot. What you are talking about is having a 1 shot mag with scattershot and getting 2 extra free bolts. But you are still losing a large amount of damage off the whole set. And most of the shots don't do damage for multi hits. As I said earlier they have to state that they do damage per bolt. Otherwise on all tough monsters and bosses you are just losing damage without any gain. Also yet again Scattershot is a rank 1 support gem everyone has access to across all classes and levels.

[@bobsinclair8990]

@@GGMentor this comment is several cans of worms at once and i can't be bothered. wish you all the best.

[@OldGoat-cw8he]

Trying to be polite but this is the I know nothing and didn't research or ask, opinion. Farming trials and complaining and not understanding that it is meant for your Ascendancy points and super endgame farming. But sure opine away on things you obviously know NOTHING about.

[@GGMentor]

@@OldGoat-cw8he I have never once "Farmed the Trials" lol games been out a little over a week. I have been playing 12-24 hours a day since launch just having fun learning all the mechanics leveling characters and more. They give you your first trial around level 20-25, and your second trial around level 25-30. And they drop Djin barayad and inscribed Ultimatums Constantly that are level 20-50 well under the third ascendancy points. You are introduced to, and made to participate in The trials to get your first four ascendancy points. Which are extremely valuable points you don't just skip. which makes your point of "Trials are for end game" look really stupid when everyone is told to go participate in them at a low level. The last trial is end game yes, and the point of which is moot, because it's also tied to your ascendancy points. I don't think I would ever do the trials even as an endgame character, they are long and boring. The trials are as of current are, "get your points and never come back content." Even as an end game character fully geared and outfitted I wouldn't bother with the trials in their current iteration. The reward for them is not with the time invested in them. The game is also too unstable for long investment content. Crashing is common in this early access and losing progress on chaos is awful. Trial of Sekemas is a little better because it sometimes saves your place during a crash. But unfortunately it also lets you get hit multiple times before it logs you out during a crash which can often end the run just from honor loss.