Grinding Gear Games, the developer behind Path of Exile 2, has announced another round of urgent updates following the turbulent response to the recent Dawn of the Hunt expansion. The backlash has pushed the game’s Steam rating into “mostly negative” territory, prompting the studio to respond with additional fixes.
Released earlier this month, Dawn of the Hunt introduced the Huntress, a new class wielding both spear and buckler, excelling in a hybrid of melee and ranged combat. The update also brought five new ascendancy classes—Ritualist, Amazon, Smith of Kitava, Tactician, and Lich—alongside major mechanical updates, over 100 new unique items, and an expanded crafting system.
However, instead of praise, the update was met with frustration from the community. Many players criticized the significant slowdown in gameplay, describing the experience as unnecessarily dragged out and unenjoyable.
Negative Reviews Reflect Growing Discontent
One of the most upvoted user reviews on Steam in the past month summed up several concerns, stating that boss encounters dragged on far too long, damage output from most abilities felt underwhelming, and the game itself was unstable. The reviewer remarked that although developers had indicated a desire to reduce the pace of gameplay, the result was a tedious experience, making it unlikely they would continue playing past a week.
Another player remarked that the current build seemed tailored for those who enjoy challenging games with little reward, implying that casual players might find the game unrewarding and frustrating.
Further criticisms included the large map sizes coupled with slow movement speed, and the restrictive nature of the enforced combo-based combat. Some players expressed frustration at the lack of freedom to explore their preferred builds, stating that the game’s direction now feels dictated by the developers’ vision rather than player choice.
One long-time fan, with over 5,000 hours in the first Path of Exile, shared a sense of disappointment, expressing love for the developers but explaining that they could not recommend the game in its current state. Still, there remained hope that the issues would be resolved over time.
Incoming Patch 0.2.0e Promises Adjustments
Grinding Gear Games had already detailed an initial set of changes but is now preparing to release patch 0.2.0e on April 11. The update targets various gameplay concerns, particularly the overwhelming behavior of monsters.
Monster Behavior Tweaks
A key change involves modifying how some monsters handle attack sequences. In particular, human-type enemies—like Freythorn Cultists, Faridun, and Act Three’s tribal humans—will no longer cancel their melee attacks if players move out of range, making combat less punishing.
Other general changes include the removal of the Haste Aura modifier from monsters that are already fast.
Act-Specific Modifications
Act 1 Updates:
- Werewolf and Tendril Prowlers now switch to walking post-attack, only resuming a run if players move too far away.
- Hungering Stalkers have had their health and damage reduced by 12%.
- The population of Bloom Serpents and Venomous Crabs in various zones has been cut down.
- Freythorn Cultists now lack attack interruptions and walk after attacking.
- Blood Pool effects on death have been shortened, and their visuals better aligned.
- Overall monster density has been reduced in Ogham Manor.
Act 2 Updates:
- Boulder Ants in Titan Valley have been replaced with Risen Maraketh for a smoother combat experience.
- The Faridun have had their attack interruptions removed.
Act 3 Updates:
- Charging monsters now push players aside rather than carrying them.
- Ranged enemies have been reduced in the Lost City and Azak Bog.
- Slitherspitter poison was incorrectly dealing chaos damage and has been corrected.
- A fix for uneven monster density in some rooms is in development for a later patch.
Boss Fight Rebalancing
Viper Napuatzi, known for being particularly difficult, has had the number and size of chaos rain projectiles reduced, and the visuals cleaned up for clarity during loot drops.
Uxmal has been adjusted to teleport less, no longer regenerates his energy shield mid-air, and uses flame breath less frequently.
Xyclucian’s arena has had visual clutter removed to make his effects easier to track.
Minion and Player Changes
Adjustments to revive timers for player minions aim to prevent constant resets when multiple minions die quickly. Other quality-of-life improvements include:
- Reusable spectre and beast gems after disenchantment.
- Tamed beasts now able to pass through player-sized gaps.
Balance Updates Include:
- Rally Support now works with all melee attacks.
- “Glory” is no longer consumed if an ability is interrupted.
- Fixed a bug affecting blood propagation from Ritualist ascendancy.
Crafting Improvements
Caster rune modifications are now fully implemented for wands and staves, with various thematic runes available. Renly’s shop now offers a Blank rune for elemental customization, and a set number of Artificers Orbs can now be found in fixed campaign locations.
Performance Enhancements
Numerous areas have had ground foliage optimized to improve performance.
Update Timeline and Future Adjustments
Patch 0.2.0e is scheduled for deployment at 10 AM NZT. However, several internal updates did not make it into this patch and are slated for a future release.
Post-Weekend Changes Preview
Charm System Overhaul:
- Charm slots are now tied to belt level and drop zones.
- Up to 3 charm slots are possible depending on item level.
- Unique belts now consistently support up to 3 slots, with plans to expand this.
Charm functionality has also been improved, with more powerful effects and proper trigger behavior implemented.
New Stash Tab Affinities:
- Additional categories added: Socketables, Fragments, Breach, Expedition, Ritual.
- Charms can now be stored in flask-affinity tabs.
Atlas Bookmarking:
- Players can now bookmark nodes on the Atlas for easy navigation.
- Up to 16 bookmarks can be set, each with custom icons and optional labels.