PoE 2 Devs Rush Emergency Updates Amid 'Mostly Negative' Steam Reviews

Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has introduced further emergency modifications to the action role-playing game in response to widespread community backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update. This update, released earlier this month, significantly altered the game's pacing, leading to a surge in negative reviews on Steam, dropping the game's rating to 'mostly negative.'

The Dawn of the Hunt expansion introduced the new Huntress class, skilled in hybrid melee and ranged combat with Spear and Buckler, along with five new ascension classes: the Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich. It also brought mechanical overhauls, over one hundred new unique items, and expanded crafting options. Despite these additions, the community felt the game's pace had been drastically slowed, turning what should have been a celebratory update into a source of frustration.

The most prominent review on Steam over the past 30 days highlighted the issues, stating that boss fights were excessively long, skills lacked sufficient damage, and the overall gameplay felt punishing and unrewarding. Another review echoed these sentiments, criticizing the game for its large areas, slow movement, and forced combo gameplay, which contrasted with the player freedom typically enjoyed in action RPGs.

In response, GGG announced a series of changes to be implemented in the upcoming 0.2.0e update, scheduled for release on April 11. These changes aim to address the community's concerns by adjusting monster speed, boss mechanics, player minion functionality, crafting, and overall performance. The patch notes for update 0.2.0e are as follows:

Monster Speed Changes

GGG has addressed player feedback regarding monster overwhelm by adjusting monster behavior across various acts. Notable changes include the removal of interrupt events for certain monsters' attacks, reducing the speed and aggression of monsters like the Werewolf and Tendril Prowlers in Act 1, and decreasing the density of challenging monsters in areas like Ogham Manor.

Act 1

• Werewolf and Tendril Prowlers now walk after melee actions.
• Hungering Stalkers have reduced life and damage.
• Reduced numbers of Bloom Serpents and Venomous Crabs.
• Cultists in Freythorn have modified attack behaviors.

Act 2

• Boulder Ants replaced with Risen Maraketh in Titan Valley.
• Faridun modified to remove interrupt events.

Act 3

• Diretusk Boar and Antlion Charger behavior adjusted.
• Monster composition in The Lost City and Azak Bog modified.

Boss Changes

Adjustments have been made to bosses like Viper Napuatzi, Uxmal, and Xyclucian to reduce the difficulty and improve visibility of effects.

Player Minion Changes

Minion revive timers have been modified to prevent long delays when multiple minions die, and improvements have been made to the functionality of Bind Spectre and Tame Beast gems.

Other Player Balance

Additional changes include expanding the use of Rally support and fixing bugs related to certain skills.

Crafting Changes

New mods have been added to runes for caster weapons, and a new feature at Renly's shop allows players to forge elemental runes.

Performance Improvements

Optimizations have been made to ground foliage to enhance game performance.

The community now awaits the deployment of the 0.2.0e update, hoping these changes will address their concerns and restore the enjoyable gameplay experience Path of Exile is known for. While Path of Exile 2 has seen significant success at launch, these adjustments are crucial to maintaining player satisfaction and ensuring the game's continued positive reception.