Grinding Gear Games (GGG), the developers behind Path of Exile 2, have introduced more emergency changes to the action role-playing game following a strong backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update. This update, which was released earlier this month, has led to a significant drop in Steam user reviews, plummeting to 'mostly negative' due to its heavy nerfs.

The Dawn of the Hunt expansion introduced the new Huntress class, who uses a Spear and Buckler and specializes in hybrid melee and ranged combat. It also brought five new ascension classes: the Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich. Alongside these additions, the update included mechanical overhauls, over one hundred new unique items, and expanded crafting options. However, the community's reaction was overwhelmingly negative, with many players feeling that the game's pace had been slowed down excessively, turning the experience into a "total slog."

"Every boss fight is incredibly longer than it needs to be. Most of the skills do little to no damage. I understand they said they wanted to slow gameplay down, but I don't think I will even make it more than one week in this league at this point. It just feels incredibly awful right now, IF you can even get the game to run and be stable. That is a HUGE if."

Another negative review adds, "If you're a masochist who enjoys being punished for little to no reward, this game is for you. If you're not, it's likely that you won't enjoy the game."

Players have pointed out issues from the initial release version (0.1), such as overly large areas, slow movement, and forced combo gameplay, which were exacerbated in the new version (0.2 - Dawn of the Hunt). The loot system was also nerfed, making it harder to obtain rare items or crafting currencies from bosses and rare monsters. Additionally, the forced combo gameplay felt restrictive to many, going against the freedom typically enjoyed in action RPGs.

Despite the game's initial success and high player numbers at launch, these changes have not only affected Path of Exile 2 but also impacted the development of Path of Exile 1, which maintains a dedicated fanbase. In response, GGG has promised more adjustments in the upcoming 0.2.0e update, scheduled for release on April 11.

The key question for Path of Exile 2 players now is whether these changes will be substantial enough to address the community's concerns and restore the game's positive reception.

Path of Exile 2 Update 0.2.0e Patch Notes:

Monster Speed Changes

Players reported being overwhelmed by monsters due to various factors. GGG has addressed these issues on a case-by-case basis, with changes listed by act, and made the following general adjustments:

• Removed interrupt events on melee attacks for many human monsters, such as Cultists in Freythorn, Faridun, and Tribal Humans in Act Three, to prevent relentless pursuit and allow players time to engage and use skills.
• The Haste Aura monster modifier no longer appears on already fast monsters.

Act 1

• Werewolf Prowlers and Tendril Prowlers now enter a walking stance after melee actions, only running if the player moves a certain distance away.
• Hungering Stalkers have 12% less Life and Damage to account for their high movement and attack speed.
• Reduced the number of Bloom Serpents in The Red Vale and Venomous Crabs in the Hunting Grounds.
• Cultists in Freythorn no longer have interrupt events on their attacks and now walk after melee actions.
• Blood Cretins' Blood Pools duration decreased from 6 to 4 seconds, with the area of effect now matching the visual.
• Reduced the density of challenging monsters in Ogham Manor.

Act 2

• Boulder Ants in Titan Valley replaced by Risen Maraketh to reduce irritating monster movement.
• Faridun modified to remove interrupt events on their attacks.

Act 3

• Diretusk Boar and Antlion Charger now more likely to push players to the side during charges.
• Adjusted monster pack composition in the Lost City to have fewer ranged monsters.
• Significantly adjusted Azak Bog, reducing ranged and elite monsters and removing interrupt events.
• Fixed Slitherspitter's poison spray in Venom Crypts to deal Physical Damage instead of Chaos Damage.
• Identified an issue with inconsistent monster spawn density in some areas, to be fixed in a later patch.

Further monster changes are planned for future updates, some of which require new animations and additional time.

Boss Changes

• Viper Napuatzi: Reduced the amount and size of Chaos Rains, with faster cleanup of visual effects to make drop locations clearer.
• Uxmal: Reduced the frequency of location changes, prevented Energy Shield recharge while in the air, and reduced the use of Flame Breath.
• Xyclucian: Removed ground foliage in the arena to improve visibility of effects.

Player Minion Changes

• Minion revive timers now increase less with each successive minion death, mitigating long waits when many minions die.
• Disenchanting Bind Spectre or Tame Beast gems now unbinds them, allowing reuse.
• Tamed beasts can now fit through gaps the player can navigate.

Other Player Balance

• Rally support can now support any Melee Attack, not just Strikes or Slams.
• Glory (used by Hammer of the Gods and Spear of Solaris) is no longer consumed if interrupted.
• Fixed a bug with Blood Boils from the Ritualist ascendancy not propagating when monsters explode on death.

Crafting Changes

• Added all mods to runes for caster weapons (Desert, Glacial, Storm, Iron, Body, Mind, Rebirth, Inspiration, Stone, Vision) for Wands and Staves.
• Renly's abandoned shop in the Burning Village now offers a Blank rune, forgeable into any elemental rune.
• 12 Artificers Orb's now drop at fixed locations throughout the campaign.

Performance Improvements

• Optimized ground foliage in many areas to improve performance.

0.2.0E Deployment Timeline

The 0.2.0e patch is scheduled for deployment at around 10AM NZT. Additional changes are being prepared for release after the weekend.

Charm Changes

GGG aims to make charms more useful and accessible:

• Charm slots on belts now granted by implicit mods, with the number of slots randomized up to a cap based on the belt's level.
• Belts have 1 charm slot until level 32, up to 2 until level 64, and up to 3 from level 65 onwards.
• Unique Belts can have up to 3 charm slots, with future plans to remove the cap on charm-increasing mods.
• Fixed issues where charms did not protect from the hit that activated them.
• Enhanced Charm mods to be more powerful and rewarding.

Stash Tab Affinities

• Added Stash Tab Affinities for Socketables, Fragments (including Tablets and Trial Keys), Breach, Expedition, and Ritual items.
• Charms can now be stored in the Flask stash tab or any tab with the Flask affinity.

Atlas Bookmarks

• Added the ability to bookmark locations on the atlas for easy navigation.
• Up to 16 bookmarks can be created, with icons and optional labels.
• Bookmarks appear as icons around the screen's edge, allowing for easy scrolling or instant navigation.
• A list of bookmarks is available under the legend for quick access.