PoE 2's greatest strength may be accessibility for new players. „I could never get my firends to convert to PoE 1”
The latest installment of Path of Exile still gathers new fans. Among other things, players are attracted by the improvements of bad mechanics known from the first part.
After the first two weeks of Early Access, Path of Exile 2 is doing very well. Players still have their reasons to complain, but we are still talking about a game that rivals last year's Diablo 4 in popularity. Some people are even attracted by the high level of difficulty, although this is not the only reason why Grinding Gear Games' title is gathering new fans.
"PoE 2 is on its way to becoming best ARPG in history"
In the opinion of some players, a big advantage of PoE 2 is its accessibility for new players, which was lacking in the previous installment of the series from eleven years ago. The author of the post on the game's subreddit bases their observations on the experiences of their friends who never played the first part. They note that although many criticize the reduced loot in the second installment, it actually improves the fluidity of the gameplay.
After pitching Poe 1 to friends some years ago, it always ended up with the same dreaded questions.
"How do I know which axe does more DPS?" Oh yeah, well you see, there is this thing called path of building, and you upload everything manually, it's great! No, it's not a webpage, you have to download it. Yeah, trust me, it's safe.
"I seriously need new boots. Where is the auction house?" Oh yeah, well, you see, press alt + tab and google "poe trade." Yeah, that one. So now you will whisper to the guy automatically in the game, so you have to alt + tab again and wait to see if he responds. No, there isn't another way. Yeah, I know, it's weird
- zodiac9094.
The examples cited above boil down to the fact that huge amounts of loot worked well in older games. Nowadays, using different programs for sorting can be both cumbersome and off-putting for those looking to begin their journey with the ARPG genre. PoE 2 is neater in this respect.
Commentators clarify the thread, pointing out that the amount of loot grows with the hours spent having fun. However, this occurs after a while and doesn't target new fans immediately. The second part also prides itself on how polished it is in terms of animation, graphics, and campaign structure.
I only managed about 7 hours on POE 1. I’m sure if I stuck at it things might have been different. Something about POE 2 is just different. It’s hooked me from the get go. It is so polished, feels great to play
- ChocoboNinja.
I've owned PoE 1 since 2016... I've played it for 17 minutes. lready 80+ hours into 2
Of course, let's not forget that PoE 2 is still in Early Access and, contrary to appearances, many things can still change.