"Path of Exile 2 Devs Rush More Fixes Amid 'Mostly Negative' Steam Reviews"

Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has introduced further emergency adjustments to the action role-playing game in response to widespread community backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update. This update, which went live earlier this month, introduced the new Huntress class, along with five new ascension classes: the Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich. Alongside these additions came mechanical overhauls, over 100 new unique items, and significantly expanded crafting options. However, the community has expressed frustration over the update's heavy nerfs, which they feel have slowed down the game's pace to an unenjoyable level, causing recent Steam user reviews to drop to 'mostly negative.'

Every boss fight feels unnecessarily long, and most skills seem to deal little to no damage. While GGG mentioned they aimed to slow down gameplay, many players, including the reviewer, feel it's become a "total slog." Stability issues further compound the problem, making the game's current state feel "incredibly awful."

Another negative review suggests the game might only appeal to "masochists who enjoy being punished for little to no reward." The reviewer highlights issues such as overly large areas, slow movement, and forced combo gameplay, which were problematic in version 0.1 and have only worsened in version 0.2 (Dawn of the Hunt). Players have noted significant nerfs to loot drops, and the forced gameplay style contradicts the freedom typically associated with action RPGs.

Despite having 5,000 hours in Path of Exile 1, the reviewer cannot recommend Path of Exile 2 in its current form but expresses hope that GGG will address these issues to enhance the gaming experience.

In response to the feedback, GGG has already outlined a series of changes and has now announced more adjustments in the upcoming 0.2.0e update, set for release on April 11. The key question for Path of Exile 2 players is whether these changes will sufficiently address the community's concerns and restore a positive atmosphere to the game. Despite the update's challenges, Path of Exile 2 has seen a successful launch, though the surge in players has affected the development of Path of Exile 1.

Here are the detailed patch notes for the Path of Exile 2 update 0.2.0e:

Monster Speed Changes

To address player feedback about being overwhelmed by monsters, GGG has made specific adjustments act by act and implemented general changes. Many human monsters, including Cultists in Freythorn, Faridun, and Tribal Humans in Act Three, will no longer interrupt their melee attacks as easily, allowing players more time to engage and use skills between attacks. Additionally, the Haste Aura modifier has been removed from already fast monsters.

Act 1

Adjustments include slower movement for Werewolf Prowlers and Tendril Prowlers after melee actions, reduced life and damage for Hungering Stalkers, fewer Bloom Serpents in The Red Vale, halved Venomous Crabs in the Hunting Grounds, and changes to Cultist behavior in Freythorn. Blood Cretins' death pools now have a shorter duration, and overall monster density in Ogham Manor has been reduced.

Act 2

Boulder Ants in Titan Valley have been replaced with Risen Maraketh, and Faridun no longer have interrupt events during attacks.

Act 3

Diretusk Boar and Antlion Charger behavior has been modified to push players to the side during charges. The Lost City and Azak Bog have fewer ranged and elite monsters. An issue with Slitherspitter's poison spray in Venom Crypts has been corrected. GGG also identified inconsistent monster spawn density in some areas, which will be addressed in a future patch.

Boss Changes

For the Viper Napuatzi fight, the number and size of Chaos Rains have been reduced, and visual cleanup has been improved. Uxmal's fight has seen changes to his movement and energy shield mechanics, as well as reduced use of Flame Breath. Xyclucian's arena has been cleared of ground foliage to improve visibility of his effects.

Player Minion Changes

Minion revive timers now increase less dramatically with each successive death, mitigating long wait times. Disenchanting certain gems now unbinds them, and tamed beasts can navigate through gaps the player can fit through.

Other Player Balance

Rally support can now be used with any melee attack, Glory is no longer consumed if the player is interrupted, and a bug with Blood Boils from the Ritualist ascendancy has been fixed.

Crafting Changes

All caster weapon rune mods have been added, and Renly's shop in the Burning Village now offers a Blank rune that can be forged into any elemental rune. Fixed locations for Artificers Orbs have been added throughout the campaign.

Performance Improvements

Optimizations to ground foliage have been implemented to improve game performance.

0.2.0E Deployment Timeline

The 0.2.0e patch will be deployed at around 10AM NZT. Additional internal changes are planned but did not make it into this patch.

Charm Changes

To improve the charm system, charm slots on belts are now granted by implicit mods, with the number of slots varying based on the belt's level. Several charms have been fixed to protect players from the hit that activates them, and charm mods have been made more powerful.

Stash Tab Affinities

New stash tab affinities have been introduced for various item categories, including Socketables, Fragments, Breach, Expedition, and Ritual items. Charms can now be stored in the Flask stash tab or any tab with the Flask affinity.

Atlas Bookmarks

Players can now bookmark locations on their atlas for easy navigation, with up to 16 bookmarks available, accessible via icons around the screen or a list under the legend.