How Path of Exile 2 Aims to Avoid a Common ARPG Criticism

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 23, 2024 5 Views 8 Min Read
How Path of Exile 2 Aims to Avoid a Common ARPG Criticism



Key Takeaways

  • Path of Exile 2 prioritizes endgame content over a lengthy campaign to keep players engaged.
  • Many ARPGs fall short due to lacking or poorly executed endgame content.
  • Grinding Gear Games is focusing on delivering a strong endgame experience in Path of Exile 2 from day one.



The sequel to Grinding Gear Games‘ 2013 ARPG Path of Exile, Path of Exile 2, is nearly here, bringing with it everything players loved about the first game, along with refined gameplay mechanics for the next generation, vastly improved visuals, and a brand-new story. There is certainly no shortage of live-service ARPGs on the market, so Path of Exile 2 might have a difficult time standing out. However, Path of Exile 2 is taking an approach that many other games like it do not, and that could result in its success.

Game Rant recently had the opportunity to attend a live preview and presentation of Path of Exile 2, where game director Jonathan Rogers gave us an extended look at its gameplay, including a breakdown of an approach that many other live-service ARPGs are criticized for placing on the back burner. Specifically, whereas many other live-service ARPGs have a tendency to launch without substantial endgame content, Path of Exile 2 is doing its best to avoid that stigma and will be launching in early access with hundreds of hours of endgame content for players to enjoy.


Diablo 4 with Path of Exile 2 screenshots

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Path of Exile 2’s Focus on Endgame Content Sets It Apart

Many ARPGs End Up Criticized for Lacking Substantial Endgame Content

When it comes to live-service ARPGs, there is objectively no better way for a game to retain its player base than to have substantial endgame content as a long-term engagement driver, keeping players invested after completing its main story or initial leveling experience. Unfortunately, either not having enough or having unfulfilliing endgame content is an all-too-common problem many live-service ARPGs face, thereby causing the genre as a whole to often garner preemptive criticism. This problem is exponentially increased as endgame content takes too long to roll out for these games, or they are simply released too soon ahead of the content to come.


Sometimes, it’s not so much that a live-service ARPG doesn’t have enough endgame content, but that the content isn’t executed well. For example, many ARPGs have repetitive endgame activities like farming the same dungeons or grinding for gear without much variation, and while a repetitive gameplay loop can be done well, that is just not often the case. Some games even stretch out content with absurd grind requirements in order to artificially extend playtime. However, this generally causes players to quickly lose interest as the content begins feeling more like a chore rather than an engaging and worthwhile use of time.

Endgame rewards can sometimes impact the reception of a live-service ARPG as well, providing little incentive to repeat endgame content.


Diablo 4 is a great example of this in action, as it initially lacked diverse endgame activities and arguably relied too heavily on repetitive Nightmare Dungeons. Marvel’s Avengers is another fairly recent example of a game that failed due to its endgame, as it was ultimately deemed far too repetitive and not rewarding enough for the effort. Finally, written on the tombstone of BioWare’s Anthem is a statement about an endgame that was basically non-existent, all but forcing players to move on to a different game. To this day, Anthem is one of the greatest tragedies of gaming, and a large part of that tragedy stemmed from its insufficient endgame.

Path of Exile 2 Is Prioritizing Endgame Content Over Its Campaign

Path of Exile 2‘s aim is to do whatever it takes to prevent an endgame fallout from happening, even while it’s in early access. During the Path of Exile 2 presentation we attended, Rogers can be quoted saying, “If we launch with a double-length campaign and a bad endgame, we would have to say, ‘Trust us, a good endgame is coming later.’ But if we launch with a 25-hour campaign and a great endgame, people can easily understand what’s coming when we say, ‘There are three more acts coming soon.'” This is the foundation Path of Exile 2 has chosen to build on, and it may save it from extinction in the end.


Rather than launching with a full campaign, Path of Exile 2 will only launch in early access with three out of its six campaign acts, and this was planned in advance so that Grinding Gear Games could focus on creating better endgame content for players right at launch. After completing the first three acts of the campaign, players will be required to play through those three acts again on “Cruel” difficulty, which essentially makes enemies more challenging but the overall experience more rewarding. Upon completing that, players will gain access to Path of Exile 2‘s endgame, which currently has seven deep and unique systems.

Path of Exile 2
s Cruel difficulty will only remain in the game until the next three story acts are added, after which, players will only need to complete the entire campaign to access the endgame content.


It will be interesting to see whether this strategy ultimately pays off for Path of Exile 2, but it certainly seems like a promising approach. Path of Exile 2 is aiming to succeed in an area where many other live-service ARPGs have failed, and that may very well end up being the case with what it has lined out already, even with it launching in early access.

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