I would prefer POE1 v2

Hi here,

New feedback from PoE1 fan base.

After 75h in game, try 4 builds on three characters.
For me, PoE2 is meh, not really good, not really bad.

To explain myself, I'm a very big fan of ARPG, especially PoE, Grim Dawn, Diablo 2. I like all other around Torchlight, Last Epoch.
But PoE 1 is my favorite of all (3500h on Steam, I played almost all seasons).

PoE 2 is incredibly beautiful, the sound are great, etc, everyone agreed with that

But let's talk about gameplay, I will try to speak only about game design and not about QoL.
I really like dodge roll, it had a very new thing to use to avoid AOE or other mechanics, Shield wall is not very useful most time useless.
I don't think the game is hard, it's ok, use the tool you get and you can go through.


My most disappointing is skill gems and combinations around it.
I like PoE1 because you have the freedom to play every thing, in your own way, skills tree was impactful, same for ascendancies.
And watching skills be "fix" to stop loop skills is very sad to see.

Why stop the creativity of build creator ?

I was not very convince about skill link to each type of weapons, and it worst than I though. I would like to have more freedom in my gameplay choice, and this restriction is painful.
Why I can't use a bow skill with a crossbow ?
It's sad, and kill the creativity to make fun build, I like spend ton of hours try to "how I can make a stupid and fun build to play", then try it.

Also, very bad point for Combo skills are mandatory to have big DPS in PoE2, so prepare to push many buttons you don't have choice and choose only skills who combine with it, forget your freedom, they decide how you should play like it.


I'm very sad to get this feeling, I love infinite builds in POE 1, I hoped for the same in POE 2.

Same. I actually really just wanted a better, newer, shinier Path of Exile. New skills, new ascendancies, new campaign... all of that. But at it's core, still the same old Path of Exile.

I do enjoy PoE 2 so far
But same
I do hope they are not giving up on PoE 1

I know they are saying they will keep updating PoE 1
But time will tell to what extend, now that PoE 2 is a thing

Other than just more content
Would be nice if they could do a big graphics overhaul of PoE 1
New character models/animations etc

I guess PoE 1 remastered

Strongly disagree.

They made the decision to split the games up because PoE2's direction will be different from 1.

PoE2 needs its own identity because there are large audiences who like action/deliberate combat who will not like the lower skill expression of PoE1.

Yea, I'm not sure if I'd say I'd prefer it exactly, but right now PoE 2 seems to be suffering from PoE 1 design philosophies.

They seem to want this to be a higher skill game than PoE 1 and one with a bigger emphasis on crafting gear instead of finding it, except that outside of player efficacy, you don't really get any of that.

The players move like we should be dodging and picking our timings when we do things, but monsters don't move like that. We get swarmed by monsters, enemies are constantly on you, random rare modes just line up to make you unable to do anything, on death effects everywhere and such. When you want to slower paced dodgey game, you need more care in encounter design and progression than the game has, you need more visual clarity and absolutely cannot have anything cluttering the screen. Unfortunately they're still doing extremely random encounters outside of a few bosses, and even those bosses don't usually have great visual clarity.

Similarly, they're back to essentially PoE 1 launch crafting, with just currency orbs, and that's not crafting, that's gambling, which ironically they introduced anyways. Augs and exalts kinda do okay at making loot drops filled out, but not great. It's basically just dropping a rare with extra steps, you're not making up for the large differences in itemization making most items that drop bad, it doesn't really do anything at all.

At the end of the day it feels like PoE 2 is a more polished version of launch PoE 1 but without really learning any of the good lessons and keeping the bad ones. It kinda feels like when they were trying to piecemeal patch 1 to be like 2, it's just halfway inbetween a tactical combat and spammy gear checks and it doesn't split the difference very well.

Part of it is really just the GGG tendency to not design content with their system limitations and game mechanics in mind.

+1 for the feeling of skill/support gem combinations feeling very narrow, especially when weapons and stat requirements are throw in the mix.

My thoughts exactly.

I want the attack skills that are tied to weapons as stand-alones. I want the Glacial Cascade from quarterstaff-only to be used with a wand, or a 1H mace. I want the staff's fireball as a stand-alone. I want that silly little ball of fire to be used with a (yet to come) dagger and a shield.

Yes, it's early access and many more things are to come, but the skills right now just feel horrible. It's an illusion of choice; either you're forced to use a slow and awkward weapon to get the attack skill you want, or you have to use a completely different skill with the weapon that you want.

In addition, only allowing for a single support gem to be used across all of your skills is probably the WORST part of it all. In PoE1, I'll put a Wall of Fire with Flame Dash, slap a Concentrated Effect with Swift Affliction. Neat, clean, easy additional DPS. Now, yes, there's (for some reason) no travel skills, but I'm forced to either break up easy skill gem combos, or have one of my skills completely bare of supports. I don't like it.

And why is attack-in-place not a check-box? Why do I have to tap yet another button on my keyboard every single time I want to attack in a new direction? Uhggggg.


Yes; beautiful game, gorgeous levels and character designs, voice acting is utterly fantastic (it's no PoE1 Witch, but it's still good)... but this is PoE-Lite... or PoE Mobile. There's no SPEED. No PRECISION. No CREATIVITY ALLOWED.


I consider this a good, very rough start... but I'm not too hopeful for the full release. Maybe that's just me being jaded, but there's simply too much to revamp before I'd be happy sinking 2k+ hours into this latest iteration.

I have to be honest when I say that I love the way POE2 looks as a next generation ARPG; it's absolutely gorgeous, and the sound design and music is superb. However, it's stressing me the hell out to where I can only play one map and quit. I then log into POE1 and I'm relaxed again, even taking time at my hideout to work out stats, build issues and just hang out to enjoy the peace for a while. We have two games now; one flows like water, the other is blocked like a dam. You can only hit your head on the cement wall so many times before you revert to having fun again by going back to POE1. Yes, it's EA, I get it, but I don't like the direction this is going in.

I'm digging the idea of 2 flavors of ARPG. One easy, one modern.

It's perfectly fine not to like PoE 2 and keep playing 1; it's not going anywhere.

What wouldn't be fine is to just create another version of PoE 1 while creating content for 1 and 2; it'd be pointless to have the same game all over again.

If what PoE 1 players want is just better graphics and sounds for their game, just say that, rather than trying to force PoE 2 into being a clone. You've got the ice cream you like, let people have another flavor of ice cream

I realy want to love Poe2 but man, it's a worse version of poe1 in terms of sistems such gems, maps, crafiting and QoL for skills. I will wait for the Poe1 Remaster or Poe2 release to see if GGG is making a good game or another Diablo.