Mob design is currently one of PoE2's largest issues

Disclaimer: this is primarily feedback for the campaign experience. I'm not particularly interested in end game at the moment.

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PoE2’s “early game” combat system makes it somewhat unique amongst isometric aRPGs (maybe more akin to No Rest for the Wicked and V Rising), and I think this is generally a positive, especially when paired with boss and mini-boss encounters to create a really satisfying “dance” of mechanics.

All of it is thrown out the window when it comes to mobs.

Reductions in mob health, as implemented in this last patch, are not enough of a solution to the issues with mobs in PoE2, especially when coupled with reductions in player power. Instead, mob speed, ability to interrupt, and maximally aggressive attack patterns are the real parts that need tuning.

Outside of maybe early act 1 maps, nearly all mobs are WAY TOO FAST for the PoE2 combat system, swarm to chain way too many mini interruptions, and hit way too hard. The mob movement and attack speed is really incongruous with PoE2 and feels as though it has just been ported from PoE1 without the necessary adjustments.

There is a tier system for mobs in the game, with normal white mobs, magic blue mobs, and rare yellow mobs, with increasing levels of special modifiers, effects and threat, which is pretty standard fare for aRPGs. The issue is that not all white mobs are created equal. Vaal Overseers and Pale-Stitched Stalkers, for example, are very threatening mobs in comparison to already quite dangerous other mobs. Yet they can spawn in packs of 5 and up, as though they were equivalent to Vaal Guards, resulting in very overwhelming traversal through maps and constant un-fun back-pedalling in fights.

Vaal Goliaths and equivalents may be the best designed mobs in the entire game at the moment due to their combat pacing and spawn rates.

Mob pack design really needs addressing. I actually have no problem with the “souls-like” feel of the game that may or may not be a fitting comparison - once again I kind of welcome it for the uniqueness - but the rest of the game design needs to be adjusted accordingly if that is the aim for game feel (It's not a simple matter of "give them a dodge roll with i-frames."). In souls-like games mob pack design and placement is very intentional. You may have several of the easier mobs to deal with at once, which are threatening if they hit but which also can be killed within 1-3 hits, and have variable movement and attack patterns to give ebbs and flows in aggression and provide openings to fight back. More dangerous mobs are always generally 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 affairs. Sometimes the easier enemies are sprinkled in, but once again there are peaks and troughs to the combat pacing that allow for them to be dealt with. In PoE2, the more dangerous mobs spawn in groups of 3-5+ alongside a swarm of “easier” mobs, and the pressure on the player is oppressive all the time, with little to no openings for a response. This does not feel good and does not take the teachings of encounter design from souls-likes in to consideration at all.

But, it may be that the souls-like style of mob encounters is not possible in a PoE game, and not necessarily what people want anyway. I think there is maybe a way to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to combining elements of both the blasty and careful-and-considered playstyles:

I'm not sure why it is not just ok for the majority of mobs in a pack to be harmless fodder, even in PoE2 with all of its uniqueness. Working your way through the maps is not really where this game shines and that is fine - it can be treated as just a vehicle for experience, loot, and some interesting events, in between the excellent boss and mini-boss encounters that leverage the PoE2 combat system to the fullest. The more general mob encounters would be a lot more enjoyable and appropriate for the current feel of PoE2 if the packs were designed to have 1 or 2 really threatening mobs that take 5-8 basic attacks or 1-3 skills to kill, in amongst 5-12 completely harmless fodder enemies that deal next to no damage and roll over in 1 hit. This may combine the power-fantasy and sense of danger to a more satisfying end if tuned correctly.

If possible, inverse scaling for weaker white mobs, on top of the scaling you get in player power, might even be appropriate for PoE2, such that they are more threatening in the very early game but quickly become easier as you progress.

Once again, this all really comes down to PoE2 game direction and GGG needing to decide what the identity of the game is. I, personally, am quite happy for it to be heavily inspired by souls-likes, if that is the vision, as I think it positions the game in a relatively unique niche that makes me more likely to continue playing. But then the rest of the game design - especially mob-side combat speed - needs to follow that vision more intentionally and not just assume that PoE1 design will carry over. If the devs want the game to retain more of that blasty PoE1 DNA then that’s also fine (although personally at that point I think I’d rather stick with my primary aRPG game Grim Dawn with its far superior build viability and options, and way better QoL), but then again the game design - especially player-side combat speed - needs to align with that vision. Right now, it feels as though GGG are not successfully marrying the two design choices between the classic isometric aRPG feel and souls-like feel, and more needs to be done to relieve the tension between the two.


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On a separate but related note, 75% of enemies in the Grim Tangle and the Manor leave intensely damaging pools all over the ground leading to a really unpleasant stop start experience traversing the maps. 1 or 2 enemies in a pack dropping pools on death may be fine, but 8+ covering a full corridor is miserably excessive.