PoE 2 Patch 0.2 – Huntress Feedback (From a Long-Time ARPG Player)

Hey Exiles,

Just wanted to share some thoughts after diving into patch 0.2 and playing the Huntress 20hrs so far.

I’ve been playing ARPGs for over 20 years — from Diablo to Grim Dawn, Last Epoch, you name it. I was really looking forward to trying this patch out, especially the new mechanics. I’m not much of a Souls-like fan (though I respect them), but I do love games that make combat feel meaningful. One great example is Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 — it blends power fantasy with parries and block mechanics in a way that feels fluid and rewarding, especially when facing down hordes.

With PoE 2, I ran a bleed build on the Huntress with a spear and buckler. On paper, that sounds cool — tactical, reactive melee gameplay — but in practice, it just felt off. Parrying especially didn’t feel good. The biggest issue? Clarity. Enemies often attack with no clear telegraphs, or their movements are so fast that reacting in time feels impossible. Meanwhile, my character felt sluggish in comparison. I’d raise my buckler to parry, but either I’d mistime it because there was no readable tell, or I’d try to parry something that couldn’t even be parried.

On top of that, spell effects and AoEs would pop up with little to no warning, forcing me to dodge while already struggling to engage with the basic melee combat. It starts to feel like you’re being punished for trying to play defensively or skillfully — and instead, just kind of flailing to survive.

I think the core idea of slower, more deliberate combat could work in PoE 2 — but only if enemy attack animations are readable, if movement and block timings feel responsive, and if the game gives you room to make skillful decisions rather than just reacting to chaos.