Developers of Path of Exile 2 Respond to Their Most Challenging Update Yet

Path of Exile 2’s Dawn of the Hunt update, its first major shake-up since launching in early access, has turned out to be quite the debacle. When players jumped in last Friday to explore the new content, they were met with a game that had inexplicably upped the ante in difficulty. Even the weakest monsters seemed to turn into time-consuming adversaries, leaving the new Huntress class feeling lackluster. Over on Reddit, frustrated gamers vented their exasperation with posts like “This game feels like a massive waste of time” and “Game feels miserable,” and popular streamers didn’t hesitate to leave the chaos behind.

To address the uproar, Grinding Gear Games quickly rolled out a series of patches aimed at leveling the playing field. They toned down the health of monsters and tweaked some lackluster skills, such as the skeletal minions, to be more potent. Yet, many players remain unconvinced that these changes are enough to make the game rewarding again.

Grinding Gear Games also put out a statement tackling the patch’s broader issues and laid out their intentions for future tweaks, particularly the campaign’s slow pace, which players must grind through each time a new season rolls out. While some updates have been implemented, fans are still finding it tough to muster the patience needed to wade through the game’s grind to reach the enticing endgame dungeons.

In a candid conversation with streamer Zizaran, game director Jonathan Rogers noted, “Our aim was to tone down the elements making endgame overly simple, even before players collect all their gear and items.”

Mark Roberts, another game director, didn’t mince words when he admitted, “There were some blatant mistakes,” particularly pointing to the weak skills recently patched. “We’re operating on the fly here. We’re just trying things out, and if players don’t like it, we’ll roll it back.”

Rogers further explained how the goal with PoE 2 was to avoid the scenario seen in PoE 1, where only those who invested thousands of hours were truly rewarded. However, striking that balance is no easy feat. The sequel aims for a more intentional, dodge-heavy combat style reminiscent of a Soulslike game—one that is meant to challenge players.

The developers are sifting through various ideas to lighten the load, though they tread carefully to avoid swinging too far the other way, where players could breeze through dungeons with little to no resistance.

“If we reach a stage where skilled players never face a single challenge, that’s not going to sustain fun in the long run,” Rogers pointed out.