Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2
Developer(s)	Grinding Gear Games
Publisher(s)	Grinding Gear Games
Director(s)	Jonathan Rogers Mark Roberts
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
Release	December 6, 2024 (early access)
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Path of Exile 2 is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. A sequel to Path of Exile (2013), the game was released as a paid early access title for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on December 6, 2024.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Path of Exile 2 is a isometric action role-playing dungeon crawling video game. It introduces a new skill system with 240 active skill gems and 200 support gems. There will be twelve character classes that have three ascendancy classes each. New weapons will be introduced such as spears, crossbows and flail, as well as supplementary items like focuses, traps and redesigned scepters. The passive skill tree will have 2000 skills and will allow dual specialization. A dodge roll movement mechanic will be added. Spirit, a resource used to reserve things like auras, will be utilized. Many other changes such as permanent minions, trigger skills, game engine and graphic improvements, and more, will be a part of the sequel. After completing the six-act storyline, players will gain access to more than 100 endgame maps with their own boss fight and modifiers that enable revamped versions of many of Path of Exile's past leagues.

The early access launch features six of the planned twelve classes: Warrior, Monk, Mercenary, Sorceress, Witch, and Ranger. Players can experience the first half of the campaign across two difficulty levels, followed by an evolved endgame system. The remaining classes, including the Druid and Huntress, will be introduced in future updates.

Compared with the previous game, Path of Exile 2's gameplay has a slightly greater focus on challenging boss fights in the campaign which require precise timing and positioning, as well as mechanics incentiving players to use multiple skills. For example, gas grenade users can ignite the gas for more damage, staff fighters can summon and hit a magic bell for more damage, and lightning archers can use lightning rods to add more damage. In the endgame, players explore an infinite atlas of monster infested maps with occasional bosses and merchants.

Story

The early access version of the game, released on December 6, 2024, takes place roughly 20 years after the events of the first game. The setting is Wraeclast, a continent in a high fantasy world with various factions inspired by mythology. Factions include the Celtic-inspired Ezomytes, the Roman Empire-inspired Eternal Empire, the Polynesian-inspired Karui, and the Aztec-inspired Vaal.

The player begins as a criminal to be hanged in the county of Ogham, part of the Ezomyte region of Wraeclast. They escape and take shelter in a sawmill with other refugees, learning that Count Geonor of Ogham has gone insane with mutagenic corruption. Working to oppose him, the player rescues a hooded stranger who describes how the count stole a "seed of corruption" that he had attempted to hide from society due to its dangerous properties. The player learns that the count has been excavating ancient corpses and feeding them to the Beast that grew from the seed. The player eventually defeats the count, but the countess Oriana escapes to the Vastiri Desert with the fledging Beast, a powerful, magical creature that grew from the seed and mutates all life around it into monsters.

The player and the hooded stranger follow them and earn passage on a desert caravan of the Ardura tribe of the Maraketh people. Exploring, they find that Oriana has used the Beast to revive an ancient king of the Ardura's rival tribe, the Faridun. The player chases their rival caravan around the desert, learning about the history of the desert, the ancient water goddess Halani, and the relationship between the various desert factions including the Maraketh, Faridun, hyena and snake clans, and the stone giants. Eventually the player defeats the Faridun King Jamanra but Oriana again escapes with the Beast.

The Hooded One then reveals himself to be Sin, the god from the previous game. He explains how in ancient times he created the Beast in order to weaken the gods by drawing their power away. His hope was that this would allow humanity to grow without divine interference, but instead the Beast was used to evil ends by ambitious humans in the case of the Vaal Empire, the Eternal Empire, and the theocracy of Oriath. Sin now directly asks the player to help him stop and destroy the Beast for good.

Sin says that the ancient Vaal Empire knew of a way to stop corruption and the Beast, so the player travels with him to the jungle ruins of this former civilization, joining a camp of explorers and treasure hunters. There, the player fights cannibal tribes, mutated beasts, and explores the Vaal ruins. Eventually the player finds an ancient machine that allows them to travel back in time to just before the fall of the Vaal civilization, on the eve of the Vaal Queen Atziri's disastrous attempt to merge with the Beast. After fighting her guards the player meets with the royal thaumaturge Doryani and persuades him to travel forward in time to help Sin's quest.

Doryani suggests the player travel to Ngamakanui, a series of islands where certain artifacts could be found to help destroy the Beast.

The story of the Early Access version of the game ends at this point.

Development

In November 2019, Grinding Gear Games announced the sequel, Path of Exile 2, during their Exilecon conference. The sequel was originally to be a new, seven-act story-line that would be available alongside the original campaign in the original Path of Exile with both the current and new storylines leading to the same shared endgame. Players would have the choice to play the Path of Exile or the sequel campaigns before reaching the same end-game. Players would be able to interact with each other regardless of their choice of campaign. However, in a 2023 announcement, it was revealed that the sequel would now be a separate game from the original Path of Exile with the sequel having a six-act campaign. However, most of the content purchased through microtransactions can be used across both games.

A beta version of Path of Exile 2 was originally expected to release in "very late" 2020. However, it was delayed due to COVID-19 lockdowns in New Zealand, China, and other parts of the world where the outsourcing companies are located. The game was released through early access for Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S on December 6, 2024.

External links

• Official website