Path of Exile 2 Shows Diablo 4 Was Wise to Remove One D2 Feature

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 2, 2025 14 Views 6 Min Read
Path of Exile 2 Shows Diablo 4 Was Wise to Remove One D2 Feature



Summary

  • Path of Exile 2 retains an item identification system like Diablo 2, requiring players to use Scrolls of Wisdom or a special NPC.
  • Path of Exile 2’s easy access to Scrolls of Wisdom and NPC for identification makes the mechanic more of an annoyance than a meaningful gameplay element.
  • Diablo 4 eliminated item identification mechanics to offer a more modern, streamlined gameplay experience.

Path of Exile 2 has been received rather well, despite only being in early access, praised for its refined ARPG gameplay, compelling narrative and atmosphere, immersive visuals, and technical performance. At the same time, it hasn’t been able to avoid some light criticism in certain areas — namely the loot system and unbalanced endgame for Path of Exile 2. While these areas certainly need to be addressed, there is yet another rather irritating mechanic found within Path of Exile 2‘s gameplay that was also present in Blizzard’s Diablo 2 — one that Diablo 4 chose to remove for the better.

Path of Exile 2 is like Diablo 2 in a lot of ways, not only sharing its dark, grim fantasy setting and isometric perspective, but, more notably, many of its gameplay mechanics as well. However, while Diablo 2 is one of the most celebrated entries in the series, some of its systems are heavily antiquated at this point. Now, Path of Exile 2 has incorporated a gameplay system that was present in Diablo 2, and it ultimately shows that Diablo 4 was wise to remove the feature from its gameplay entirely.

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Path of Exile 2’s Item Identification Mechanics Are Antiquated

Like Diablo 2, Path of Exile 2 Makes Players Identify Some Items Before They Can Be Used

Like Diablo 2, Path of Exile 2 requires players to identify some items before they can be used. Sometimes, when players collect dropped loot, that item will be marked “Unidentified” until players identify it, using either a Scroll of Wisdom or a special NPC that they recruit during Path of Exile 2‘s campaign. Until that item is identified, players cannot see its stats and therefore cannot always know how or if it will benefit their character in any way. Unfortunately, despite not being a difficult system to manage by any means, it usually feels like more of a chore than a meaningful gameplay mechanic.

Not all items in Path of Exile 2 require identification, as normal items, currency, and some others skip the identification process.

What’s most interesting about Path of Exile 2‘s identification mechanics is that players gain access to an NPC called “The Hooded One” very early on in the game’s campaign. From then on, The Hooded One remains at camp, where players can speak to him and have him identify items for free. Since Path of Exile 2‘s camp portal function has no cooldown and is entirely free, this means players can simply port back to camp at any time if they need to identify items, and they won’t ever have to use a single Scroll of Wisdom, unless they simply prefer to identify items on the fly in order to keep their gameplay a little less uninterrupted.

On top of The Hooded One‘s presence in the game, Scrolls of Wisdom are very easy to come by in Path of Exile 2. Given the extreme ease of identifying items in Path of Exile 2, the whole system almost feels like more of an annoyance than it should be. The mechanic might be justified if it tied into other systems, like crafting or resource management, but it’s little more than a time-consuming step with no challenge or strategic depth to it. Fortunately, however, Path of Exile 2 is only in early access, so perhaps the whole system will be done away with before the game reaches its 1.0 release state.

Diablo 4 Lets Players Use Items Without Identifying Them

This is ultimately where Diablo 4 shines, despite arguably falling short in many other areas that Path of Exile 2 excels in. Diablo 4 ultimately did away with the series’ identification mechanics in order to address criticisms of the system and to offer a more modern and streamlined gameplay experience. As modern gamers generally desire to play their games uninhibited by unnecessary gameplay steps, Diablo 4‘s removal of the identification mechanics like those present in earlier Diablo games not only simplifies the game for newcomers, but it also shifts the gameplay focus away from meaningless chores like managing inventory and more onto elements that add strategic depth to the game.

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