Summary
There are still a lot of ways forPath of Exile 2to grow considering that it’s an early access game with over ten years of experience from the developers at GGG making its predecessor,Path of Exile. With a lot of key similarities and differences to the original, the sequel seems to be making a point of how action RPGs can grow and improve over time, which is further seen in its approach as compared to the currentDiablo 4and the iconicDiablo 2.Path of Exile 2’s endgamecould benefit from some changes, but one that GGG should implement is about choices within the campaign.
Path of Exile 2is not the first ARPG to have choices be meaningful during its campaign, with its predecessor doing the exact same thing, but to a different extent. One of the most important choices inPath of Exileis which Bandit Lord players should help, if any, as this can dramatically affect a given build. As much as this choice or similar ones can seem all-important and made carefully, they can be changed later on by spending Orbs of Regret. Instead,Path of Exile 2currently doesn’t have this same option.
There are fewer choices to be made inPath of Exile 2compared to the original game, but they do matter and can influence a given build quite a bit. An example comes fromPath of Exile 2’s Ancient Vows quest in Act 2, which tasks players with finding two parts of a Medallion that are revealed to be relics from different factions (the Sun Clan Relic and the Kabala Clan Relic). Reuniting these relics creates a Medallion in the Valley of Titans regions where players can choose one of two benefits and keep it for however long they please, just needing to head back to the Waypoint in the area to change it. This doesn’t apply to the Venom Draught quest reward, though.
In Act 3, and later again inPath of Exile 2’s Cruel difficultyin Act 3, players can complete a side-quest called The Slithering Dead. Here, players need to venture into the Venom Crypts to find an item called Venom Draught, which will give them a choice between three different rewards when taken back to Servi at the Ziggurat Encampment. These choices include:
These are all valuable rewards in their own right, but some may be dramatically better than others in the endgame. For example, a Chaos Inoculation build will not need the Venom Draught of Stone from Cruel difficulty, and a stat-stacking build withPath of Exile 2’s Unique ItemPillar of the Caged God will most likely need the +5 to all Attributes, as small as the buff may seem.
Why Path of Exile 2 Should Make Venom Draught Choices Changeable
The problem is that these choices are permanent, unlike quest choices inPath of Exileor even the Medallion choice inPath of Exile 2. As such, it doesn’t make much sense for these to be locked once picked, especially considering how punishing this can feel for new players or if one wants to respec their character and change their build.Path of Exile 2’s Ascendancy classes can’t be changedeither, unlike the original game, so it seems like the sequel is trying to make choices matter even more. At the end of the day, though, this approach can be unnecessarily punitive against players who may change their minds, so it would make sense to allow them to change this choice in some way in the future.
Path of Exile II
WHERE TO PLAY
Path of Exile 2 is a next generation free-to-play Action RPG created by Grinding Gear Games. Journey across the deadly continent of Wraeclast, meeting multiple immersive cultures while facing off against evil in many forms. Path of Exile 2 features twelve character classes, 240 Skill Gems, hundreds of equipment base types, a six-act campaign, more than a hundred unique boss fights, a deep endgame system and so much more. Play with your friends without losing any progress with couch co-op, cross-play and cross-progression.
