"Path of Exile 2 Devs Implement Urgent Fixes Amid 'Mostly Negative' Steam Reviews"

Grinding Gear Games (GGG), the developer behind Path of Exile 2, has introduced further emergency changes to the action role-playing game following a significant backlash to the Dawn of the Hunt update. This update, which was released earlier this month, led to a sharp decline in Steam user reviews, dropping to 'mostly negative' due to its heavy nerfs.

The Dawn of the Hunt expansion introduced the new Huntress class, which utilizes a Spear and Buckler for hybrid melee and ranged combat. It also added five new ascension classes: the Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich. Alongside these additions, the update brought mechanical overhauls, over one hundred new unique items, and significantly expanded crafting options. However, the community's reaction was overwhelmingly negative, with players feeling that the game's pace had been slowed down too much, turning it into a "total slog."

The most helpful review on Steam from the last 30 days highlights the issues players are facing:

Every boss fight is incredibly longer than it needs to be. Most of the skills do little to no damage. I understand they said they wanted to slow gameplay down, but I don't think I will even make it more than one week in this league at this point. It just feels incredibly awful right now, IF you can even get the game to run and be stable. That is a HUGE if.

Another negative review states, "If you're a masochist who enjoys being punished for little to no reward, this game is for you. If you're not, it's likely that you won't enjoy the game."

The review further criticizes the release version (0.1) for its large area sizes, slow movement, and forced combo gameplay, issues that were exacerbated in the new version (0.2 - Dawn of the Hunt). Players also noted a significant nerf to loot, making rare items and crafting currencies even harder to obtain. The forced combo gameplay was seen as restrictive, contrary to the freedom players expect in an ARPG. Despite the community's feedback on map size and movement speed, these concerns were largely ignored until the backlash became too significant to overlook.

A veteran player with 5,000 hours in Path of Exile 1 expressed their disappointment, stating, "I have 5k hours in PoE 1 and it's my favorite game of all time. I love GGG but honestly, I cannot recommend this game to almost anyone as it is now. Hopefully they will be able to fix these issues in the future and make the game more enjoyable."

In response to the community's concerns, GGG has outlined additional changes in the upcoming 0.2.0e update, set to release on April 11. The key question for Path of Exile 2 players is whether these changes will be substantial enough to address the widespread complaints and restore a positive gaming experience. Despite the game's successful launch and the overwhelming number of players, these issues have also impacted the development of Path of Exile 1, which maintains a dedicated fanbase.

Path of Exile 2 Update 0.2.0e Patch Notes

Monster Speed Changes

Many players have reported being overwhelmed by monsters. We are addressing these issues on a case-by-case basis. Below are the monster changes act by act, along with general adjustments:

• Removed interrupt events on melee attacks for human monsters like Cultists in Freythorn, Faridun, and Tribal Humans in Act Three, especially for attacks with multiple hits.
• The Haste Aura monster modifier no longer appears on already fast monsters.

Act 1

• Werewolf Prowlers and Tendril Prowlers now walk after melee actions and only run if you move a certain distance away.
• Hungering Stalkers now have 12% less Life and Damage to balance their high movement and attack speeds.
• Reduced the number of Bloom Serpents in The Red Vale and Venomous Crabs in the Hunting Grounds.
• Cultists in Freythorn no longer have interrupt events and now walk after melee actions.
• Blood Cretins' Blood Pools duration decreased from 6 to 4 seconds, with fixed area of effect matching the visual.
• Reduced monster density in Ogham Manor.

Act 2

• Replaced Boulder Ants in Titan Valley with Risen Maraketh to reduce irritating movement.
• Removed interrupt events on Faridun's attacks.

Act 3

• Diretusk Boar and Antlion Charger now push players to the side instead of along with them.
• Adjusted Lost City monster composition for fewer ranged monsters.
• Massively adjusted Azak Bog's monster composition, reducing ranged and elite monsters.
• Fixed Slitherspitter's poison spray in Venom Crypts to deal Physical Damage instead of Chaos Damage.
• Identified an issue with inconsistent monster spawn density in some areas, to be fixed in a future patch.

These are not the only changes we will be making to monsters; further updates will include additional adjustments and new animations.

Boss Changes

• Viper Napuatzi: Reduced the number and size of Chaos Rains, with faster cleanup to highlight drop locations.
• Uxmal: Reduced location changes during fights, prevented Energy Shield recharge while in the air, and less frequent Flame Breath usage.
• Xyclucian: Removed ground foliage in the arena to improve effect visibility.

Player Minion Changes

• Minion revive timers now increase less with each successive minion death, capped at 7.5 seconds.
• Disenchanting Bind Spectre or Tame Beast gems unbinds them for reuse.
• Tamed beasts can now fit through gaps the player can.

Other Player Balance

• Rally support now works with any Melee Attack.
• Glory (used by Hammer of the Gods and Spear of Solaris) is not consumed if interrupted.
• Fixed a bug with Blood Boils from the Ritualist ascendancy not propagating when monsters explode on death.

Crafting Changes

• Added all mods to runes for caster weapons, including Desert, Glacial, Storm, Iron, Body, Mind, Rebirth, Inspiration, Stone, and Vision runes.
• Renly's abandoned shop in the Burning Village now has a Blank rune for forging into any elemental rune.
• 12 Artificers Orbs now drop at fixed locations throughout the campaign.

Performance Improvements

• Optimized ground foliage in many areas for better performance.

0.2.0E Deployment Timeline

The 0.2.0e patch will be deployed at around 10AM NZT. Additional changes are being made internally but did not make it into this patch.

Charm Changes

Charm slots on belts are now granted by implicit mods based on the belt's level, with a random number of slots up to a cap. Unique belts can have up to 3 slots, with plans to remove the cap later. Several charms now properly protect from the activating hit, and charm mods have been enhanced for greater impact.

Stash Tab Affinities

New Stash Tab Affinities for Socketables, Fragments (including Tablets and Trial Keys), Breach, Expedition, and Ritual items. Charms can now be stored in the Flask stash tab or any tab with the Flask affinity.

Atlas Bookmarks

Added the ability to bookmark locations on your atlas with up to 16 bookmarks, accessible via icons or a list under the legend.