Path of Exile 2 isn't the kind of ARPG you boot up for a chill hour before bed. You load in, you take two steps, and the game's already asking if your build makes sense. If you played the first one, the vibe hits fast: that galaxy-sized passive tree, the co-op rhythm of clearing rooms and comparing drops, the constant itch to tweak "one more point." Even the economy talk starts early, because plenty of players end up hunting for cheapest poe 2 currency just to smooth out gearing when the RNG refuses to cooperate and you're stuck one upgrade short of feeling powerful.
When Challenge Turns Into Drag
The rough part is how easily "hard" can slide into "slow." Around big balance swings, like the Dawn of the Hunt changes people argued about, you could feel the mood shift overnight. Skills that used to pop started to thud. Packs took longer. Boss fights weren't just tense; they were repetitive, like you were doing the same safe pattern for minutes because pushing your damage window got punished. A lot of players don't mind dying. They mind wasting time. And when progression feels like you're paying a tax just to reach the fun parts, reviews get salty fast.
Depth, Builds, and That First Wall
Still, the depth is why most of us keep coming back. The new class lineup gives you different ways to solve the same mess. The Huntress can make you play sharper, more positional. The Druid opens up that shapeshift fantasy while still asking you to respect the numbers. But here's the catch: new players hit a wall and it's not always combat. It's inventory Tetris, crafting confusion, and the classic PoE moment where you realize your damage isn't low because your weapon is bad, but because your links, tags, or scaling don't match. You'll brick a character. Everyone does. Then you reroll and pretend it was "planned."
Why People Stay Anyway
What keeps the community from walking is the sense that this thing's still being built in public. Endgame systems are expanding, seasonal twists keep the loot chase from going stale, and the studio does seem to react when the noise gets loud enough. They've backed off changes that clearly weren't landing, and that matters. It turns the whole game into a weird conversation: players complain, devs adjust, and the next patch becomes another experiment. It's messy, but it's alive, and that's more than you can say for a lot of "finished" games.
Keeping Your Momentum
If you're sticking with PoE 2 long-term, momentum is everything—having the right map sustain, a build that doesn't stall in yellow-tier content, and enough trading power to fix holes before they become weeks of frustration. That's why some players use U4GM to pick up game currency or items when they'd rather spend their limited time actually playing than grinding the same zone hoping the upgrade finally drops, and it can make the whole loop feel less punishing without changing what makes the game tick.
