‘Path of Exile 2’ Feels Like the True Action RPG Successor to ‘Diablo’

Many studios have tried to match the success and legacy of Diablo II over the years. The 2000 action-RPG (ARPG) by Blizzard Entertainment has long been considered the gold standard for fantasy dungeon crawlers, and is generally thought of as one of the best games ever made. Choosing from multiple dark fantasy classes, players are tasked with killing countless armies of demonic creatures. The gameplay loop, while simple on paper, is perpetually engrossing — you’re constantly chasing the next spell to unlock or a new armor piece to replace current gear and grow stronger.

Over the years, Blizzard has continued working on the series, but different design decisions have been met with mixed reactions from longtime fans. Diablo III (2012) was a modern follow up to the ideas of Diablo II, but moved away from the series’ eerie atmosphere and placed bets on seasonal content, with the base game launching barebones to be improved upon as new mechanics were added over time.

2023’s Diablo IV aimed to recreate the aesthetics of Diablo II, but it’s also a live service game — meaning it has tons of microtransactions, and also requires a constant online connection, so it may someday simply die off forever. In an attempt to target lapsed players or those feeling nostalgic, the developer released Diablo II: Resurrected in 2021, essentially a remaster of the base game and its expansion, but plenty of other studios have attempted to recapture the old school vibe within a more modern presentation.

There have been many ARPGs since, including Grim Dawn (2016), Last Epoch (2019), and Lost Ark (2022) from recent years alone. But there’s one that has caught the attention of genre veterans for offering an amalgamation of mechanics that lead to an absurd degree of character progression possibilities: 2013’s Path of Exile — an ambitious, free-to-play take on the genre that has been in constant evolution for over a decade.

Now, there’s a sequel. Path of Exile 2 (launching Dec. 6 in early access) is a follow-up that’s set to provide another lengthy campaign with an extensive endgame, complete with a significant new look and feel. But will it live up to the standards set not just by its own predecessor, but by the early Diablo games that inspired it?

Here’s everything you need to know about Path of Exile 2 early access period, from an updated combat system that’s more in line with Dark Souls to a lengthy endgame system, and how it just may be the Diablo-like experience ARPG fans have been waiting for.

What is Path of Exile?

Developed by New Zealand-based studio Grinding Gear Games, the ARPG Path of Exile had a lucky release window. It launched one year after Diablo III, an anticipated title that was criticized for veering away from the beloved tone of its predecessor. Conversely, Path of Exile adhered more closely to that aesthetic, while introducing its own world and lore. Crucially, it’s also a free-to-play game, with microtransactions and in-game purchases extending mostly to cosmetics and additional stash tabs for your gear and items. Compared to Diablo III, which cost $60, Path of Exile felt like a clear winner, offering the kind of spiritual sequel fans wanted at a literal fraction of the price.

From the get-go, the game introduced fresh ideas that the studio has kept on iterating since: the daunting presence of the passive skill tree, which has over one thousand nodes and allows for a wild variety of synergies and character builds, as well as spells and abilities, which are tied to gems that can be purchased from NPC vendors or found as loot. Features like these are intrinsically part of Path of Exile‘s identity and differentiate the game from its inspiration

The introduction of “leagues” in 2013, Path of Exile‘s name convention for limited time seasons, further cemented the experience as its own beast. From the outside, they work similarly to others in the genre — during a 13-week cycle, players can create a league character and start from scratch, taking part in new content specifically for that league. The difference is: once a league is over, its features and mechanics are added to the main game. As opposed to other games where new features are constantly added, then removed for the next big gimmick.

There have been over 30 leagues since 2013, and they have all differed from one another substantially. If you jump into Path of Exile today, you’re bound to stumble upon a roguelike mode, a collection of in-game cards to find, a farm harvest system, an increasingly harder dungeon-crawling minigame, and even literal heists where you band together with hired thieves. While Grinding Gear Games has tweaked the presence of certain league content over the years, Path of Exile gradually became an amalgamation of mechanics and game modes coexisting together — on top of an already complex RPG.

From the game’s economy being dictated by the community, with players using in-game items as currency to trade rare gear items with one another and deciding on different prices based on supply and demand, to a sprawling endgame where you fight through increasingly challenging maps, no other ARPG has matched Path of Exile‘s ambition. 

What is new in Path of Exile 2?

Path of Exile continues to exist as its own isolated experience, but Grinding Gear Games is building new foundations with Path of Exile 2. According to the studio, one of the motivations behind the sequel was simply the limitations of working within the confines of the original title. The decade-old game has started to show its age, not just in visuals, but in more crucial aspects like the combat, which was tied to old character rigs (digital skeletons that give characters the ability to be animated). Changing the rigs meant changing items and rebalancing entire existing systems. As such, the studio decided it was time to start anew.

Alongside a new presentation that matches today’s standards in terms of visuals and physics tech, as well as a deep story campaign to plunge through, there are some substantial additions to boot. First, users can now opt for using directional keys (WASD) for movement, as opposed to having to click the environment to direct the character. There’s also a dodge roll available, which can cancel character animations, allowing for a quick escape, even in the midst of an attack or a spell. 

The developers haven’t just added these features to expand movement variety — the new character classes, such as the mercenary, greatly benefit from them. The class’s signature weapon, a crossbow, can mimic the feel of an assault rifle, a shotgun, a sniper, or a grenade launcher depending on the skills and ammunition type in use. Being able to shoot while moving is key in making the class’s integration seamless in the sequel. The same applies to shields, another new item type that adds yet another layer of strategy to consider.

The dodge roll ties the new movement together nicely, and it’s especially welcoming when using a controller to play on PC or consoles. The developers have also added new skills related to the dodge roll, such as the ability to leave behind an illusory copy of your character to act as a decoy, which make the new mechanic feel essential to the modernized gameplay the sequel implements.

Leagues are also making a comeback, with content from Path of Exile being revamped and integrated into the sequel, offering new rewards while preserving the general essence of the corresponding mechanic introduced in each league. An example of this is the ritual league, which features totems that can spawn a group of challenging enemies. Once they’re taken down, the totem will be charged, and you’re given the chance to fight a harder version of the same enemy wave to improve the rewards of the whole encounter.

After finishing the campaign, the endgame has players running through maps (individual levels with varying enemies, modifiers, and rewards), but the sequel tackles this concept differently. The presentation is more in the vein of the board from the Civilization games — as maps are completed, the board will expand, removing a fog of war to unlock more maps and specific destinations with modifiers, loot, and so on. A large majority of the league content previously introduced in Path of Exile is present here, and can be focused on in any order or pace.

Should you play Path of Exile 2 in early access?

Path of Exile 2 already sounds quite ambitious, but what does “early access” mean, exactly? 

Early access offers a chance to play a game before the official launch, with studios releasing updates over time and making improvements to the mechanics based on user feedback. In the case of Path of Exile 2’s launch, three out of the six campaign acts are available. While the latter half of the story will be added in the future, Grinding Gear Games has packed in the endgame portion.

In short, once players are done with the first run of the initial three campaign acts, they unlock a higher difficulty to replay said acts and hit the current level 65 cap. Once a character reaches that milestone, the game unlocks access to the endgame.

The studio estimates that first run through the current story acts should take around 25 hours. It’s worth mentioning that, while the full game will eventually be free-to-play, the supporter pack needed to play in early access is priced at $30.

Ahead of the official public start date for early access, members of the press were able to play a preview build of the game on a private server. From the get-go, the sequel’s presentation is much more polished — visuals, animations, and voice acting are all stronger than its predecessor. There’s a bigger focus on the story, with more cinematic cutscenes setting the tone of the plot in the vein of Diablo and illustrated portraits that imbue personality in NPCs. 

The campaign’s structure isn’t linear, though, and players are free to jump back and forth between previously unlocked areas at their leisure. Exploration encourages subsequent visits, adding tons of side quests, optional dungeons, and bosses outside of the main objectives.

The combat in Path of Exile 2 is greatly improved over its predecessor. The sequel is still an ARPG, but the timing of attacks, especially during boss encounters, forces more methodic gameplay in the vein of Dark Souls. Bosses, in particular, have a series of attack patterns to learn, as well as telegraphed moves that can deal a lethal blow and must be dodged. 

Compared to recent games like No Rest for the Wicked (2024), which is also heavily influenced by Soulslikes but remains somewhat stagnant throughout the course of the game, combat does become snappier the further you progress in Path of Exile 2. But tools like the dodge roll are paramount to survival. The game is much more strategic now, instead of simply button mashing or spamming the same skills over and over to victory.

For players who are looking for alternatives to Diablo IV, the early access launch of Path of Exile 2 has plenty to offer. Considering how much the original grew over time, getting in the door early will allow players to be a part of the game’s evolution. The ambitions of the sequel are clear, and even with only half of its campaign available, the endgame is bound to trap newcomers into the satisfying loop that Path of Exile has become known for.

Path of Exile 2 is now available in early access for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.