New Player Experience is Brutally Unwelcoming – Please Rethink Your Design Approach

Dear GGG team,

I recently purchased and started Path of Exile 2 as a new player with high expectations. I had already heard that the game had a steeper learning curve than most ARPGs, and I was mentally prepared for a challenge. But what I experienced went far beyond “challenging” — it felt punishing, unwelcoming, and even unfair.

Let me explain what happened:

I chose Ranger as my first class. The game handed me a basic bow and dropped me into the world with little to no direction.

After some progress, I found a skill gem (Lightning Arrow), but the game offered no explanation on how to use it. I had no idea where to socket it, how to activate it, or what effect it would have. I got stuck for nearly an hour trying to figure out how to equip and fire my first real skill.

Once I finally solved that, I encountered the first boss: The Bloated Miller.

It hit like a truck.

It spammed adds all around me.

I died at least 10 times.

And this was the first boss in the game.

Please understand: I’m not upset that the boss was strong. I’m upset that the game gave me zero tools to understand what I was up against. There was no onboarding, no guidance, and no forgiveness. Just raw, merciless combat thrown at a player who’s still learning how to socket a gem.

And the worst part? This was just the beginning. These events happened in the very first minutes of the game. If I were to describe all the frustrating experiences that followed — from confusing mechanics to overwhelming encounters and design decisions that feel intentionally punishing — it would probably take an entire documentary series. That’s how much friction I faced in such a short amount of time.

This design might impress veteran PoE players, but it actively pushes away newcomers. A new player shouldn’t feel like the game hates them. They should feel invited to grow into the experience — not punished from minute one.

For comparison: In other ARPGs like Diablo, you start easy, learn gradually, and raise the difficulty when you choose to. In PoE2, the game seems to assume I’ve played for years. But I haven’t. And I paid for this experience.

Please reflect on this. If the goal is long-term success, accessibility is not optional — it's essential.

Sincerely,
A new player who wanted to love PoE2 but got pushed away at the gate.

If you think that's something wait until you get past the campaign and find all the hoops you need to jump through to get decent (?) drops.

Granted they're supposed to be patching that today so we'll see but I suspect there will still be HUGE differences between those that jump through the hoops and those that don't want to bother.

I am not sure i follow here. You say you are new? There is a tutorial right out the gate, as you play, that walks you through equipping your weapon, and applying your first skill gem. I'm fairly certain, it even remains on other characters unless you go into settings and disable it.

Im not sure how that part could be better explained, but there is one thing, and that is, many skills have a little video demo attached to them in the skills window. Perhaps this should be mentioned in a tooltip / tutor somewhere else, early on.

Are you sure you didn't have the tutorial switched off? It's been a while but doesn't it put a big red wall blocking progress until it walks you step by step through the process of socketing a gem and binding it?

And pause the game telling you to chug flasks?

And the miller hitting like a truck is showing you exactly what to expect from the rest of the game, there's a checkpoint right next to him

Just to clarify — I’ve actually completed the campaign at least twice, and I’ve pushed into the endgame, reaching up to Tier 10 maps. So my feedback isn’t coming from a place of inexperience or frustration with just the first few hours.

That said, I completely understand your point — the current loot system feels like it heavily favors players who are willing to follow a maze of systems and interactions. And even if today's patch improves things, I suspect it’ll still reward those who are willing to “jump through the hoops,” as you perfectly put it.

It’s not about wanting the game to be easy. It’s about respecting the time and effort players put in — especially those who aren’t interested in turning gameplay into spreadsheet analysis.

Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

So not exactly pushed away at the gate then

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like elden rings tutorial bosses either

Two of them are there to tell you "We're here to murder you"

"

leventdost02#0252 wrote:

Dear GGG team,


After some progress, I found a skill gem (Lightning Arrow), but the game offered no explanation on how to use it. I had no idea where to socket it, how to activate it, or what effect it would have. I got stuck for nearly an hour trying to figure out how to equip and fire my first real skill.

Here's where I know you're either exaggerating or outright lying.

The game literally says something like "This is a skill gem, press [button] to open the skill panel and socket it, blah blah blah".

So I stopped reading. You may very well have good points here but I and many others will never know because we'll stop reading the second we see disingenuous comments like this one.

"

yummysushipjs#7638 wrote:

"

leventdost02#0252 wrote:

Dear GGG team,


After some progress, I found a skill gem (Lightning Arrow), but the game offered no explanation on how to use it. I had no idea where to socket it, how to activate it, or what effect it would have. I got stuck for nearly an hour trying to figure out how to equip and fire my first real skill.

Here's where I know you're either exaggerating or outright lying.

The game literally says something like "This is a skill gem, press [button] to open the skill panel and socket it, blah blah blah".

So I stopped reading. You may very well have good points here but I and many others will never know because we'll stop reading the second we see disingenuous comments like this one.

wow, you can read other peoples minds? and even can talk for them? good for you...this forum man...

"

yummysushipjs#7638 wrote:

"

leventdost02#0252 wrote:

Dear GGG team,


After some progress, I found a skill gem (Lightning Arrow), but the game offered no explanation on how to use it. I had no idea where to socket it, how to activate it, or what effect it would have. I got stuck for nearly an hour trying to figure out how to equip and fire my first real skill.

Here's where I know you're either exaggerating or outright lying.

The game literally says something like "This is a skill gem, press [button] to open the skill panel and socket it, blah blah blah".

So I stopped reading. You may very well have good points here but I and many others will never know because we'll stop reading the second we see disingenuous comments like this one.

Reply to yummysushipjs#7638:

Wow. That escalated quickly.

You accuse me of “exaggerating or outright lying” based on a single paragraph — without understanding the context, or apparently even reading the rest of the post.

Let me help you with reading comprehension, since you clearly struggle with it:
I never said I didn’t know afterward that it was Lightning Arrow. I said that at the moment I encountered it — as a new player — I had no clue what it was, what it did, or how to equip it. I figured it out later. That’s what “learning curve” means.

If your attention span is so short that one unfamiliar sentence makes you rage-quit a post, maybe you’re not ready for feedback discussions.
You’re not correcting anything — you're just looking for a cheap moment of superiority. That’s fine, but don’t expect to be taken seriously.

And just for the record:
Yes, the game may flash a tip like “press [button] to open skill panel” — but if you think that’s meaningful onboarding, then maybe this game should come with an IQ test at launch. Because the real problem isn’t reading tooltips — it’s understanding systems without being spoon-fed by tribal veterans like yourself.

Thanks for the drama, though. I’m sure you’ll find more imaginary liars to chase around the forums.

Yea…unless you went into settings and manually turned off tutorials before starting the game, this just isn’t true. It literally stops you from progressing and holds your hand through how to socket a skill and set a keybind.

I also bought PoE 2 new to the franchise. Sure, it’s immediately punishing with the first boss but it’s not THAT bad. It seems like what you’re asking for is a game that’s accessible to children without fully developed brain function and this game is not geared towards that audience.