It’s been a funny launch for Path of Exile 2. A victim of its own success, so many people logged into the ARPG that Grinding Gear Games had to warn of long queues and other issues. The dev is rolling with the punches, though, with a substantial update chock full of quality of life features. If you thought the rival to Diablo 4 and Last Epoch was great fun already, the first big PoE 2 update just made it a lot better.
11 years after the original first launched, Path of Exile 2 finally hit Steam Early Access and other platforms on December 6, 2024. Now that the RPG has survived its first weekend, the inaugural post-launch patch is being rolled out, focusing on some of the biggest issues that players have raised so far.
The list of changes to the fantasy game is substantial to say the least, covering everything from your ability to escape encounters to currency and boss drops. The frequency for success on dodges has been heightened, and players can now teleport between checkpoints at either end of an area.
This should make general traversal and backtracking considerably less of a chore. Boss and monster drops have been recalibrated to be more rewarding, with more bonuses tied to mods on rare monsters. Map and act bosses will now always carry at least one rare item and unique monsters now hold a maximum of 50% gold as well.
A glitch that was namelocking ‘Move Only’ has been rectified, and mods have been tweaked a few different ways. Rarity mods are now more likely, and some mods have had their bottom tiers removed. Regal Orbs are now 40% more likely, so you can turn more magical pickups into rare items.
Alongside all of these, Grinding Gear addresses the item balance more broadly. The team is aware players currently want things to be more rewarding, but warn changes to drop RNG are going to be gradual, because once you increase the dial on those rares, it’s very tricky to turn it back.
But it’s an area that’s going to evolve in the new PC game over the months ahead. You can read more in the patch notes. If you’ve jumped in, or you’re considering it, make sure to have our guides on Path of Exile 2 classes, Path of Exile 2 ascension, and Path of Exile 2 quests handy.
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