Path of Exile 2 Would Be a Completely Different Game With One PoE Feature

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 16, 2025 2 Views 7 Min Read
Path of Exile 2 Would Be a Completely Different Game With One PoE Feature

Summary

  • Path of Exile 2 differs from the original with a focus on slower gameplay and limited crafting options.
  • PoE 2 skips iconic Orbs of Alteration to avoid economy-related issues seen in the first game, aiming for a more balanced crafting system.
  • Orbs of Alteration could still come back in the future if properly balance in terms of rarity and value.

One could argue that Path of Exile 2 is not exactly a full-blown sequel to Path of Exile due to how different the games can be, especially with the former’s focus on slower and more methodical gameplay – at least during the campaign. Still, the games obviously share a lot of DNA, from classes they have in common to Skill Gems. This doesn’t mean the two are exactly alike, however. For example, Path of Exile 2 doesn’t allow players to change Ascendancy classes, which instead can be done in PoE at the cost of respeccing all associated points and running the Labyrinth again. There is yet another feature from PoE that is missing in the sequel, and were it to be added, Path of Exile 2 would be an entirely different game.

It’s not uncommon for video game sequels to skip problematic or poorly-received features from their predecessors or add new ones to improve their foundations. In the case of Path of Exile 2, it arguably has a more limited crafting system compared to its predecessor, which is a blessing and a curse. Path of Exile‘s crafting is very complex and offers players multiple methods to get good items, one of which is spamming Orbs of Alteration.

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Path of Exile’s Orb of Alteration Explained

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Path of Exile‘s Orb of Alteration is one of the possible currencies to drop in the game, and it’s not uncommon to get a hundred or more by the time one has finished all ten acts. Orbs of Alteration allow players to alter, hence the name, the properties of a Magic item, meaning that all affixes are rerolled and new ones are generated based on the respective item level. This method can be problematic for the economy and the power creep of a given League, as players tend to spam Orbs of Alteration to get one or two very powerful affixes on an item and then finish the craft from there.

Why Path of Exile 2 is Unlikely to Bring Back Orbs of Alteration

Path of Exile 2 has multiple currency types, but it entirely skips Orbs of Alteration, for better or for worse. With Orbs of Alteration being so iconic, it’s a pity not to see them in Path of Exile 2, especially since the overall crafting experience is very limited and often tied to Omens from Ritual, which are not found often enough to make them a reliable source. As such, players could use Orbs of Alteration to try and hit good affixes on high-ilvl items, which would make a huge difference in how crafting is currently done.

However, Path of Exile 2 is not wrong in skipping Orbs of Alteration due to their potentially destructive effects on the economy, as seen in the first game. Instead of the chase items Path of Exile 2 offers, a lot of players would go after accumulating currency to convert into Orbs of Alteration to potentially craft Mirror-tier items with a good crafting process and some luck. After all, Orbs of Annulment are still in the game, and Divines can help reroll values across the board.

How Alterations May Work in PoE 2

There is still a chance that GGG will bring back Orbs of Alteration, but they would have to come with a caveat in PoE 2. For example, they could be made rarer than their Path of Exile counterparts, making them more valuable and harder to spam on items, essentially making them less reliable and easy to get compared to the original. Much like Exalted Orbs in Path of Exile 2 became the new Chaos Orbs in terms of currency value, Orbs of Alteration could still make sense in the game if they were rare and costly. Something in the ballpark of PoE 2‘s Divine Orbs would be great for balance purposes, and it would bring back one of the most prominent PoE items. Still, this is speculation, and it’s likely that GGG will not allow this item to return.

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