Today, I'm breaking down 10 of the changes coming to Path of Exile 2 that I'm most looking forward to. Let's jump straight into it.
1. Flasks
Flasks have undergone a significant redesign for Path of Exile 2. In Path of Exile 1, your flasks would give you extra armor or more evasion for a number of seconds. In Path of Exile 2, you'll need to use flasks to treat specific conditions at the right time rather than preemptively. For example, if you're ignited, you can use a flask to remove this negative status effect and grant your character immunity to ignite for a short duration. However, if you use your flask before being ignited, you will lose a flask charge and gain no benefit. This means you must activate flasks only when needed. Otherwise, they'll be wasted. Additionally, we'll be getting fewer flask charges as normal mobs won't drop them anymore; instead, these will come from magic and rare mobs. This is a significant shift for many veteran players who are continuously used to flasks boosting their defenses.
2. Skills
Skills are no longer simply gems you find or buy in the world; they are now uncut gems that allow you to select any skill of that tier. Importantly, some skills are tied exclusively to single weapon types. For instance, in Path of Exile 1, certain skills required a specific weapon type to function, but this was fairly unique. In Path of Exile 2, every weapon type has unique skills associated with it. This means your weapon selection is much more important, as your skills won't work if you swap your weapon type. Initially, I was unsure about this change, but after seeing the animations and knowing that swapping between weapon sets happens automatically, I think it will make gear and skill decisions feel much more impactful.
3. Gems and Gear
A quality-of-life change I'm looking forward to is the separation of skills from gear. In the original Path of Exile, you would socket skill gems into your gear, managing the color and number of sockets. Path of Exile 2 streamlines this by giving you nine skill slots for your gems, each with two support sockets available from the start. You'll need to find Jewelers Orbs that are increasing in rarity to get more sockets. This deterministic system means you only need to find the right currency to unlock more support slots. Colored sockets are now tied to your attributes: strength, dexterity, and intelligence. This change should make the game more accessible and less reliant on RNG.
4. Specialization
Path of Exile 2 introduces the ability to specialize your passive skill tree down two paths (three if you're a druid). This allows for a greater variety of builds. For example, a mage can specialize in both fire and cold, making both viable within the same build. This wasn't possible in Path of Exile 1, where you were heavily incentivized to stick to one element. Now, you can tweak your skills to take advantage of different setups, allowing for more experimentation and flexibility.
5. Bosses
Bosses have been completely redesigned to be more versatile and engaging. They now have more telegraphed attacks and a greater sense of danger. You'll need to be mindful of their movements and attack patterns, actively dodging rather than just healing through damage. Additionally, bosses now require you to kill them in a single attempt; if you die, they will reset. Some bosses in the campaign will give you a permanent stat buff the first time you defeat them, encouraging you to seek out optional bosses.
6. Crowd Control
Crowd control effects are getting a massive facelift. In Path of Exile 2, you can slowly stack freeze and other mechanics on bosses, who will have a stun meter that builds up as they take damage. Once stunned, they'll fall into a downed animation, giving you a chance for free damage. This change extends to mapping and campaign runs, helping you control challenging mobs.
7. Minions
Minions have been completely overhauled. They now reserve a new resource called Spirit if they're permanent or consume corpses if they're temporary. Spirit is a new resource that each character begins with 100 of it, and this will be increasing through the campaign. More Spirit means more minions, allowing for a more customizable army. This change enhances the Necromancer fantasy, making it better than ever.
8. Active Blocking
Active blocking is coming for shield users. Shields will come with the skill Raise Shield, allowing you to block all damage from the front. This mechanic doesn't replace your block chance but adds a new layer of defense. It's not mandatory, but it can be a lifesaver, especially with the slower pace of Path of Exile 2.
9. WASD
The introduction of the WASD movement is a significant change. While you can still click to move, WASD offers better mobility, especially for ranged characters. This movement type has benefits for dodging boss abilities and provides a great quality-of-life option for players.
10. Classes
Path of Exile 2 will have 12 classes, each with three unique ascendancy options. This adds a huge amount of replayability with varied styles of play. The game offers a wide range of power fantasies, from melee fighters with active blocks to witches with armies of minions.
Path of Exile 2 EA is just two weeks away, and I'm incredibly excited. Happy hunting, Exiles!
