~7 MIN
Intro
The current state of Path of Exile 2 feels like a pause between two major chapters. The game is clearly building toward something bigger, yet the lack of fresh updates has made that wait feel longer than ever. Patch 0.5 is already being positioned as a turning point — not just another update, but a structural shift that could define how PoE2 evolves going forward.
And if you listen closely to the community — from casual players to hardcore theorycrafters — you’ll notice something interesting. The feedback isn’t random. It’s surprisingly consistent.
There are a handful of core problems that keep coming up, and fixing them would dramatically improve the entire experience.
Let’s go through them — properly.
The Real Issue: Too Much Power Comes from Gear
Right now, Path of Exile 2 has a fundamental imbalance in how power is distributed.
The majority of your strength comes from items — and not just items in general, but very specific modifiers like +gem levels. These modifiers are so strong that they overshadow almost everything else in your build.
What this means in practice is that two players running the same build can have completely different experiences depending purely on RNG. One gets a strong item early and suddenly melts everything. The other doesn’t — and struggles through content that should feel manageable.
This creates a strange disconnect.
Instead of feeling like you’re gradually building a character through choices, progression, and understanding systems, it often feels like you’re just waiting for the game to “allow” you to be strong.
The solution isn’t to remove powerful items — that’s part of PoE’s identity — but to redistribute power more intelligently. The passive tree should matter more. Leveling up should feel impactful. Your build decisions should carry weight beyond just what drops on the ground.
Endgame Feels Too Finite
Another issue that becomes very clear after a few weeks is how quickly the endgame loses momentum.
In its current state, Path of Exile 2 doesn’t yet have that “infinite chase” feeling that kept players hooked in PoE1. Once you defeat the main bosses and reach a certain level of gear, the motivation to keep pushing starts to fade.
It’s not that the content is bad — it’s that there isn’t enough of it layered on top of itself.
Players want:
- More pinnacle encounters
- More long-term progression systems
- More reasons to keep improving their builds
Right now, beating the hardest boss often feels like the finish line. In a game like this, it should feel like the beginning of something deeper.
Crafting Exists — But Most Players Don’t Use It
Crafting in PoE2 is in an awkward place.
On paper, the system is powerful and complex. In reality, most players barely engage with it — not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t afford to.
High-end crafting requires rare and expensive resources. When players finally get those resources, the safest move is usually to sell them instead of using them. That alone says a lot about the system.
Crafting should feel like experimentation — like you’re shaping your gear as you progress. Instead, it feels like a high-risk gamble reserved for the top percentage of players.
This is especially noticeable during leveling, where crafting should be at its most accessible. Instead, early progression often relies almost entirely on random drops or vendor luck.
If you want to bypass that frustration and stabilize your progression, using resources like Divine Orbs orExalted Orbs can give you a much more controlled path toward stronger gear.
The Game Still Struggles to Teach Itself
Path of Exile has always been complex — that’s part of its appeal. But complexity without guidance quickly turns into confusion, especially for newer players.
PoE2 has taken some steps in the right direction, like showing how skills work visually. But that philosophy hasn’t been applied broadly enough.
Many players still rely on external tools, guides, and community knowledge to understand basic systems like crafting, itemization, or progression paths.
The issue isn’t that the game is deep — it’s that it doesn’t explain its depth well enough.
Better onboarding wouldn’t simplify the game. It would make it more accessible — without sacrificing complexity.
Performance Is Still Holding the Game Back
This one is simple, but critical.
No matter how good a game is mechanically, performance issues break immersion and kill enjoyment. Frame drops, stuttering, and crashes are still part of the experience for many players.
And unlike balance or content, this isn’t something players can “work around.”
A smooth, stable experience is the foundation everything else is built on. Without it, even the best systems start to feel frustrating.
Build Diversity Still Feels Limited
One of the defining strengths of PoE1 was the sheer variety of viable builds. PoE2 hasn’t reached that point yet.
Certain archetypes — especially those relying on life instead of energy shield — feel noticeably weaker. Some skills feel too slow or clunky to be viable in endgame content. Others scale too well and dominate the meta.
This creates a narrower range of effective builds than players expect from a PoE title.
And when build diversity shrinks, so does replayability.
If you’re trying to push a build that feels underpowered, optimizing it with our Pros can help bridge that gap while the meta continues to evolve.
Combat Identity Is Slowly Drifting
When PoE2 was first introduced, one of its most exciting aspects was its combat.
It was slower. More deliberate. More tactical.
You had to dodge. Position. Think.
But over time, the game has started drifting back toward the faster, more chaotic style of PoE1 — where gameplay becomes about clearing screens as quickly as possible.
That shift might feel familiar, but it risks losing what made PoE2 unique.
The ideal version of PoE2 keeps combat meaningful without making it frustrating. It should reward skill, not just speed.
RNG vs Skill — The Balance Isn’t There Yet
Another subtle but important issue is how much RNG influences outcomes.
In some cases, item rolls can increase your power so dramatically that player skill becomes secondary. This is especially noticeable in competitive environments like races or progression pushes.
The problem isn’t RNG itself — PoE is built on it. The problem is how extreme the variance can be.
When luck outweighs decision-making, the game starts to feel less fair.
Balancing this doesn’t mean removing randomness — it means making sure that player choices still matter.
What You Can Do Right Now
While waiting for patch 0.5, you can still make meaningful progress.
If your goal is to:
…then focusing on efficient progression now will put you in a much stronger position when the next update lands.
Final Thoughts
Path of Exile 2 is not in a bad place — far from it.
It’s in a transitional phase.
The systems are there. The foundation is strong. But the balance between them isn’t quite right yet.
Patch 0.5 has the potential to fix that — not by reinventing the game, but by aligning its systems with its original vision.
If Grinding Gear Games manages to:
- Redistribute power away from gear
- Expand endgame depth
- Improve accessibility without losing complexity
…then PoE2 won’t just live up to expectations.
It will surpass them.