"Path of Exile 2 Devs Rush to Fix Game Amid 'Mostly Negative' Steam Reviews"

Grinding Gear Games (GGG), the developer behind Path of Exile 2, has introduced further emergency modifications to the action role-playing game in response to widespread community backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update. This update, released earlier this month, significantly impacted the game's reception, leading to a drop in Steam user reviews to 'mostly negative.' The Dawn of the Hunt expansion introduced the new Huntress class, which utilizes a Spear and Buckler for hybrid melee and ranged combat, alongside five new ascension classes: the Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich. Additionally, it brought mechanical overhauls, over one hundred new unique items, and expanded crafting options.

Despite the potential for excitement, the community felt the update drastically slowed down the game's pace, turning it into what many described as a "total slog." The most highlighted review on Steam over the last 30 days expressed dissatisfaction with extended boss fights, underpowered skills, and overall game stability. Another negative review suggested the game now caters to players who enjoy "being punished for little to no reward," highlighting issues such as large area sizes, slow movement, and forced combo gameplay which contrasts with the ARPG genre's expected freedom in build customization.

In response to these criticisms, GGG initially outlined a list of changes and has now announced additional adjustments with the upcoming 0.2.0e patch, set to release on April 11. These changes aim to address various player concerns, particularly regarding monster behavior, boss fights, player minion mechanics, crafting, and performance. The key question for Path of Exile 2's community is whether these modifications will be sufficient to improve the game's reception and restore player satisfaction. Despite the backlash, Path of Exile 2 has seen a successful launch with significant player numbers, though this has posed additional challenges, including impacts on the development of the original Path of Exile.

Path of Exile 2 Update 0.2.0e Patch Notes

Monster Speed Changes

In response to player feedback about being overwhelmed by monsters, GGG has made targeted adjustments to monster behavior across different acts. General changes include removing interrupt events from melee attacks of various human monsters, such as Cultists in Freythorn, Faridun, and Tribal Humans in Act Three, to prevent relentless pursuit. Additionally, the Haste Aura modifier has been removed from already fast monsters.

Act 1

• Werewolf and Tendril Prowlers now transition to a walking stance after melee actions, only resuming running if the player moves a certain distance away.
• Hungering Stalkers now have 12% less Life and Damage to balance their high movement and attack speeds.
• Reduced the number of Bloom Serpents in The Red Vale and Venomous Crabs in the Hunting Grounds.
• Cultists in Freythorn no longer have interrupt events on their attacks and now walk after melee actions.
• Blood Cretins' Blood Pools duration reduced from 6 to 4 seconds with more accurate area of effect visuals.
• Overall monster density reduced in Ogham Manor.

Act 2

• Boulder Ants in Titan Valley replaced by Risen Maraketh to improve movement dynamics.
• Faridun's interrupt events on attacks removed.

Act 3

• Diretusk Boar and Antlion Charger charge mechanics adjusted to push players sideways rather than forward.
• Lost City monster composition altered to reduce ranged monsters.
• Azak Bog monster composition and interrupt events adjusted.
• Slitherspitter's poison spray in Venom Crypts now correctly deals Physical Damage instead of Chaos Damage.

GGG has identified and will address issues with inconsistent monster spawn density in future patches, as these did not make it into the current update.

Boss Changes

• Viper Napuatzi's fight now has fewer and smaller Chaos Rains with clearer visual cues post-impact.
• Uxmal's fight mechanics adjusted to reduce location changes, prevent Energy Shield recharging while airborne, and less frequent use of Flame Breath.
• Xyclucian's arena now has less ground foliage to enhance visibility of effects.

Player Minion Changes

• Minion revive timers now increase less with each successive minion death, mitigating prolonged downtime.
• Disenchanting Bind Spectre or Tame Beast gems now unbinds them for reuse.
• Tamed beasts can now pass through gaps the player can navigate.

Other Player Balance

• Rally support can now be used with any melee attack, not just Strikes or Slams.
• Glory from Hammer of the Gods and Spear of Solaris is no longer consumed if the player is interrupted.
• Fixed a bug where Ritualist's Blood Boils did not propagate upon monster death.

Crafting Changes

• Completed the addition of mods to runes for caster weapons, including Desert, Glacial, Storm, Iron, Body, Mind, Rebirth, Inspiration, Stone, and Vision runes for Wands and Staves.
• Renly's abandoned shop in the Burning Village now offers a Blank rune that can be forged into any elemental rune.
• 12 Artificers Orbs now drop at fixed locations throughout the campaign.

Performance Improvements

• Optimized ground foliage in several areas to enhance performance.

0.2.0E Deployment Timeline

The 0.2.0e patch is scheduled for deployment at around 10AM NZT. Additional internal changes were made but will not be included in this patch.

Charm Changes

GGG aims to enhance the utility and usability of charms with the following changes:

• Charm slots on belts are now granted by implicit mods, varying by belt level, with a cap of 3 slots for high-level belts. Unique Belts can have up to 3 charm slots, with plans to remove the cap in future updates.
• Adjustments to charm mechanics to ensure they protect from the activating hit and enhance their power and rewards.

Stash Tab Affinities

• New Stash Tab Affinities added for Socketables, Fragments, Breach, Expedition, Ritual, and Charms now compatible with Flask tabs.

Atlas Bookmarks

• Players can now bookmark up to 16 locations on the atlas, with options to label and quickly navigate to them.