Every time I play Path of Exile 2 – and I’ve been lucky enough to play it several times – I become more and more convinced that it will be a special game. I have now played as a Hunter, a Monk, a Witch, a Warrior, and most recently a Mercenary. You would think I would be tired of doing 2+ hour sessions with each class, but the opposite is true. I can’t wait to get going again. The beta release, which will be available on December 6, can’t come soon enough.
In this preview I will focus on the Mercenary. While not my favorite class, the Mercenary is unique in that it transforms established Path of Exile gameplay into what you’d expect from a top-down shooter. In this crossbow-focused class, you start by firing 7 rounds of bolts at each approaching enemy. You’ll then slowly unlock recent skill gems that will add abilities that will snipe, rapidly fire armor-piercing bullets, throw a grenade, freeze, ignite, or otherwise ensure your success against the waves you encounter.
This transformation into a shooter is intentional, and Grinding Gear Games’ Jonathan Rogers took on the challenge the class set them by taking lessons from other titles in the shooter space, which they then built upon. While I found that I lacked the punch of the Monk’s staff or the agility that the Hunter’s bow offered, I can see how the Mercenary could be an attractive option for recent players who may be more familiar with other genres and entering the ARPG space for the first time.
The only reason I think the Mercenary is held back is the sheer amount of reloading required, which happens when you switch between firing modes or runs out of ammo, leading to slightly longer downtime than I liked in the early game.
That said, the class is starting to come together and seem quite powerful in the graveyard portion of Path of Exile 2. This seems to be the point where all the classes really start to develop and give players a glimpse of their endgame potential. At this point I had: a grenade launcher that fired three rounds and dealt increased area damage, a gun that shot ice that slowed and froze approaching enemies, and a fire shot that set anything approaching on fire but also pushed back as it got closer to mobs with force. These building blocks give you a chance to start putting bonuses into the skills you like best. Especially since traveling through the passive skill tree will likely unlock one or two bonuses that will allow you to start building the character you’ll utilize throughout the campaign.
For the endgame
The main focus of my Path of Exile 2 preview event was a behind-closed-doors presentation, focusing on the end path you’ll be taken on. While I didn’t have time to get into this game, Rogers took us through the endgame challenges, including a huge world map to clear and endgame activities that players will be returning to for hundreds of hours.
In a roundtable interview, when asked about the endgame, he said: “If we don’t have a good endgame in Early Access, Path of Exile 1 players will just say, ‘Hey, this is just a worse game.’ We need these things to be able to make the POE1 player feel like, “Oh yeah, you know what? This is a true sequel to POE1.” And it looks like they did a great job.
To give you a glimpse of what’s planned for December, the first half of the campaign, including Acts 1-3, will begin first and should take approximately 25 hours. The endgame that awaits you after the campaign ends promises many new and exciting ways to upgrade your build. As part of a 2-hour presentation detailing several of the modes you’ll be able to race in, I took a look at some of these final chases.
While there are eight main endgame modes planned at the launch of Early Access, you’ll experience several of them throughout the campaign. These include several sequels to the popular leagues from the original Path of Exile, with more to come in Early Access. I saw the Trial of Sekhemas, where you enter a series of rooms, each with unique challenges, such as filling a chalice of blood by defeating red enemies in the area. Or survive increasingly difficult enemy spawns before time runs out. There are several of these challenges on each floor, and at the end of each floor, after a boss fight, you’ll have the option to cash in the keys you’ve collected or advance to the next level for a chance at better loot. Die or have your “honor” reduced to zero by taking too many hits and you’ll be kicked back to the start. To increase your chances, you can collect water, which serves as currency to purchase items while running and helps you along the way. Some relics can also be found or crafted. One relic offered a chance to obtain the coveted unique item, but you were forced to complete this Trial with only 1 HP.
In addition to the rewards, you will also gain access to the Altar of Ascension, where at the end you will be able to choose one of three Ascension classes. There will only be two Ascension classes in Early Access to start with. We looked at the Witch’s Infernalist Ascendency class, which allows you to summon a hellhound that, when summoned, will set everything next to it on fire. He also had the advantage of being the one who took damage if he was hit.
They also showed off the Witch Demon Form, which allows you to become a winged monster that is faster, deals more damage, and casts spells faster, but also takes damage while in form.
Keep in mind that this is only the first end-game mode, and in itself it seems capable of providing hundreds of hours of fun challenges.
I also took a look at another endgame system called the Temple of Chaos, which we’ll encounter in Act 3. This Temple can be entered by obtaining a token from the Trial Master, and this event has been called a continuation of the Ultimatum League from Path of Exile 1. You enter the Temple and select a modifier, such as Blood Balls (which are spherical balls of blood that appear and follow you through the sky before quickly falling to the ground, trying to kill you hurt). Or Shock Turrets, which occasionally produce a web of electricity that shoots across the battlefield. These modifiers are cumulative, and you’ll still need to complete normal map challenges, such as trying to survive, killing everything in a room, or escorting a giant hammer around the map until it reaches its destination.
The final end-game activities centered around the Ziggurat location, where you can access the world map and travel to various locations to dispel the corruption. Here you can clear towers, defeat bosses or clear breaches. There’s also a sequel to the Expedition League, where you plant dynamite on the map to discover cool loot and unlock new abilities on your gear. There are Delirium maps that increase the difficulty and allow you to gain more passive skills from the passive tree. They even teased Uber Pinnacle’s boss that unique keys would be needed to gain access. They said that the Uber Pinnacle boss will be a challenge for long-time players as it promises to be the most challenging content in the game.
Rewards included a new gem system for your weapons, armor, and passive skill tree. The latter gives you the ability to place unique gems in the tree that provide upgrades to anything unlocked near the slot, or additional buffs that give you the chance to further strengthen your build. All within the completely unique Atlas skill tree, which will allow you to unlock perks associated with each endgame mode.
Buckle up
There’s so much to talk about at the Path of Exile 2 announcement event, and I’m only scratching the surface here. Each of the modes described could be accompanied by an entire video dedicated to discussing strategies and options for dealing with them in order to earn rewards for players. There will be an almost overwhelming amount of loot to chase across several systems to keep me entertained and I can’t wait. One note from the Grinding Gear Games team was that everything I described at the beginning was only half of the content. Playable classes, the number of story acts, enemies and bosses will double during Early Access, and there will be more league sequels in the endgame.
Path of Exile 2 is free to play, but to gain early access on December 6, you’ll need to purchase a $30 support key, which will also provide you with in-game currency to spend. However, if you spent $500 or more in the last 10 years of the original Path of Exile, you will receive free access for being a long-time supporter.
