I think Path of Exile 2 should have PvP.

Exactly how it should be implemented, I am not completely sure, but I think most players, including the developers, already understand that PvP should not be the main focus of the game, nor should PvE be heavily balanced around it. With that in mind, I think there are ways to add PvP without creating a conflict with PvE.

One of the best solutions would be to add level locking or experience locking. Just like it sounds, players would have the option to enable or disable experience gain. This alone would give players control over what level range feels best for PvP.

For example, not everyone wants PvP to revolve around god-tier, endgame gear. If players had the option to lock themselves at, say, level 40, then the community could naturally create PvP brackets and dueling scenes around that level. That would let players decide for themselves what kind of PvP is most fun and most balanced.

Honestly, level locking plus PvP is probably all the developers really need to add. Anything beyond that, like PvP zones, objectives, or special rewards, would be nice, but not mandatory.

This is also where I think Diablo 4 failed. It pushed PvP with endgame-geared characters and offered PvP zones and objectives, but it did not give players enough control to create their own level-based restrictions. Because of that, the community had less freedom to decide what level range or gearing style made for the best PvP experience.

Whenever I make PvP posts in ARPG communities like Diablo 4 or PoE 2, I always see comments like:
“THIS ISN’T A PVP GAME”
or
“PVP WILL RUIN PVE”
or
“PVP SHOULD NOT BE THE BALANCE FOCUS”

But I think that misses the point. Most players asking for PvP are not asking for the game to be balanced around PvP. The real question is: how can PvP be added without interfering with PvE? That is why I keep coming back to level locking as the answer.

Another term often associated with this style of PvP is twinking, where lower-level characters are intentionally geared for PvP. That kind of system can be very fun in ARPGs because it creates different goals and builds outside of pure endgame farming.

I also think PvP could actually incentivize PvE farming and trading. There are players, myself included, who would absolutely trade endgame PvE gear for low- or mid-level gear that is ideal for PvP. That could help the trade economy by keeping low-, mid-, and high-tier gear all relevant and moving through the market.

At the end of the day, this is just an itch I would like to scratch in PoE 2. PvE farming can get stale after a while, and PvP gives another reason to keep building, gearing, and experimenting. I like the idea of PvP existing alongside PvE, not competing with it.

Not against having the ability to fight other players like poe1 already has, but I dont think there could ever be pvp within a game like poe and manage to provide diverse builds with competitive/compelling gameplay.

To try and crunch the power scaling together I think there'd have to be so many restrictions on skills, gear, player level that build options would be very limited. That combined with classes not designed around pvp combat to begin with would probably lead to 1-2 builds being untouchable.

Still not against the idea as side gimmick. two of of my favourite poe1 memories are from pvp, sorta. 1st was instantly killing a friend when he made different bandit quest choice. 2nd was tricking my other friend into my hideouts pvp arena, they beat me, then his carrion scavangers ate my spectres corpses. : D

No rest for the wicked is looking to have some viable pvp. I don't think I would want dev time spent on pvp for poe2. Time is finite and I rather it be spent on what most people will actually interact with. PvP in poe2 would just devolve into 1 shot or be 1 shot and the devs spending time resolving that is of no interest to me.