Grinding Gear Games’ Path of Exile 2 continues to evolve through its ongoing patches, with patch 3.x and its follow-up 3.1 update marking some of the most impactful shifts the ARPG has seen so far. From sweeping campaign reworks to balance passes that shake up the meta, these updates have left the community divided — some praising the improvements, others frustrated by lingering flaws.

Having played multiple characters across both Softcore and Hardcore modes — from caster archetypes to melee monks and bow builds — I’ve had a chance to experience these patches from nearly every perspective. Below, I’ll break down my impressions of the recent updates, POE 2 Divine Orbs, what didn’t, and where PoE2 currently stands in the ever-evolving ARPG landscape.

The Campaign: A Fresh Yet Familiar Journey

The campaign in PoE2 has long been the backbone of its progression, and with the latest updates, it finally feels like it’s hit a more cohesive stride. The removal of Cruel Difficulty was one of the best quality-of-life decisions Grinding Gear Games could’ve made. Gone are the days of grinding the same acts multiple times; instead, players now progress through a single, more polished narrative arc that feels both meaningful and streamlined.

Act Four and the Interludes

The addition of Act 4 and the interludes between acts has transformed the pacing of the early and mid-game experience. Act 4, in particular, stands out as one of the best-designed acts so far — dynamic, visually rich, and full of memorable encounters. The introduction of non-linear progression within Act 4 allows players to tackle objectives in multiple orders, offering a refreshing sense of freedom and replayability.

The bosses here deserve special mention: the Monkey King encounter, the Kuri fight, and the final battle with Tabakai all provide unique mechanical twists. These fights feel deliberate rather than drawn-out slugfests, though the narrative-heavy approach sometimes gets in the way. Tabakai’s extensive dialogue and prolonged roleplay sequences, for example, could benefit from a skip option — especially for players running alts or speedrunning.

Campaign Length and Zone Size

That said, the campaign still feels too long in parts. While Act 4 improved pacing, earlier zones — especially sprawling desert areas — often overstay their welcome. Even with the addition of sprinting, which drastically improves movement and traversal, there’s still a sense that the campaign could be trimmed by 10–15% without losing its depth or atmosphere. The larger zone design looks beautiful, but it can make progression feel slow, particularly for melee builds that depend on proximity combat.

The Good: Core Mechanics and Quality of Life

Patch 3.x wasn’t just about content — it brought meaningful mechanical and quality-of-life improvements that have redefined how PoE2 feels to play.

Sprinting and Movement Flow

The new sprint mechanic is arguably one of the most significant upgrades PoE2 has introduced in years. It’s subtle at first, but once you get used to it, going back feels impossible. Sprinting not only speeds up campaign progress but also injects a natural rhythm into combat, allowing players to reposition more fluidly during fights. It strikes a nice balance between Path of Exile’s traditional tactical movement and the faster pace of other ARPGs like Diablo IV or Last Epoch.

User Interface and Visual Improvements

The visual polish in these patches is stunning. Animations are smoother, ability effects are more readable, and the interface has been refined without losing PoE’s signature complexity. Small touches — like clearer enemy telegraphs and updated health globe visuals — make the game far more accessible for both new and veteran players.

The Bad: Campaign Fatigue and Pacing Issues

Even with the improvements, PoE2’s campaign pacing remains a mixed bag. Some areas drag unnecessarily long, and backtracking can feel punishing, especially for melee or short-ranged characters. The early-game enemy density is another sore spot — sometimes too sparse in wide zones, sometimes overwhelming in cramped ones.

Grinding Gear Games has made great strides toward making the story mode more engaging, but the overall flow still feels uneven. If they could compress certain sections and reduce travel-heavy dead zones, the campaign could easily rank among the best in the ARPG genre.

Character Balance: A Game of Extremes

Here’s where things get messy. After extensive playtime across both Hardcore and Softcore — including a caster, a monk-style melee build, and a bow-focused ranger — one thing stands out: balance is rough.

Skill Disparity and Build Power Gaps

The difference between strong and weak builds is massive right now. Players who pick meta-defining skills like Lightning Rod or Lightning Arrow can breeze through the campaign, shredding bosses and mobs with ease. In contrast, those experimenting with under-tuned or mechanically clunky abilities often struggle to stay alive, especially in Hardcore.

This imbalance skews perceptions of difficulty. When some players claim the campaign is too easy and others say it’s punishing, both can be right — depending on what skill they’re using. A properly tuned ARPG should challenge everyone while still allowing flexibility in playstyle, and PoE2’s current meta hasn’t quite achieved that yet.

Caster vs. Melee vs. Ranged

Melee remains in a tough spot. Despite improvements to attack animations and responsiveness, melee builds still lag behind ranged and spellcaster counterparts in both clear speed and survivability. Casters and bow users can kite and control the flow of battle, while melee characters are often forced into risky engagements that feel unrewarding by comparison.

That said, monk-style “hollow palm” builds have carved out a fun niche in Hardcore, offering a satisfying balance between mobility, power, and skill expression. They’re not overpowered but feel fair — something PoE2 could learn from when fine-tuning its future balance patches.

Crafting and Economy Changes

Crafting in PoE2 has seen significant overhaul attempts — and while progress has been made, it’s still a contentious area. The new systems simplify some of the more tedious aspects of item crafting but at the cost of flexibility.

The latest crafting balance patch streamlined the process for casual players, allowing for more deterministic outcomes when creating usable gear. However, it also reduced the high-end customization options that made PoE crafting a deep, rewarding endgame pursuit for veterans. The tension between accessibility and complexity remains a central design challenge for GGG.

Endgame Feedback: Towers, Tablets, and Beyond

The 3.1 patch brought sweeping endgame adjustments that fundamentally altered how players engage with late-game content. The new Tower and Tablet systems — though experimental — show promising direction.

Towers

Towers act as modular endgame structures offering different modifiers and rewards, similar in spirit to mapping but with a more structured, escalating difficulty. They reward strategic play and resource management, though some players find their scaling too punishing at higher tiers. Risk feels meaningful again, which is refreshing, but tuning still needs work to make the difficulty curve less erratic.

Tablets

The Tablet system, on the other hand, adds puzzle-like mechanics that mix exploration and risk-reward decision-making. These are a fantastic addition to the endgame loop, rewarding creative thinking and adaptability. However, optimization and clarity remain issues — sometimes the interface doesn’t communicate clearly what you’re locking yourself into, leading to frustrating losses.

The Abyss League and Seasonal Design

The Abyss League was introduced as part of the seasonal layer in this patch, and while it’s visually striking, the gameplay integration feels inconsistent. Abyss encounters can be exhilarating when they work — chaining waves of enemies into escalating chaos — but sometimes they stall or fail to trigger correctly.

Still, the Abyss content offers excellent loot density, and the unique items tied to it are powerful enough to justify the risk. For many players, it’s been the most engaging seasonal mechanic since Ritual or Metamorph leagues.

Technical Performance and Stability

On the technical side, PoE2’s stability has improved noticeably. Load times are faster, crashes are less frequent, and most of the persistent desync issues that plagued earlier versions have been ironed out. However, large group play and high-density encounters still push the engine to its limits, particularly in Abyss or Tower runs where dozens of enemies and particle effects overlap.

GGG has been steadily improving optimization, but given the game’s complexity and graphical ambitions, occasional performance dips remain expected.

The Community Perspective

The PoE community remains as divided as ever. Veterans appreciate the mechanical depth and incremental improvements, while newcomers still find the game intimidating. Streamers and content creators have been vocal about balance frustrations, yet most agree that PoE2’s foundation is stronger than ever.

Many players, myself included, see PoE2 as a work in progress — a rough diamond steadily being polished with each patch. The developers’ willingness to experiment, even at the risk of backlash, speaks to their commitment to long-term evolution rather than short-term satisfaction.

Final Thoughts: A Strong Patch with Room to Grow

Overall, patches 3.x and 3.1 have been a net positive for Path of Exile 2. The campaign feels more cohesive, the endgame has gained depth, and movement mechanics like sprinting have modernized the gameplay flow cheap POE 2 Chaos Orbs. Yet, glaring balance issues and uneven pacing continue to hold the game back from true greatness.

If Grinding Gear Games can address skill disparities, shorten the campaign’s sluggish zones, and refine crafting depth without alienating casual players, PoE2 could easily cement itself as the defining ARPG of its generation.

For now, it’s a compelling, complex, and occasionally frustrating experience — one that rewards patience, experimentation, and mastery. For fans of deep systems and endless tinkering, Path of Exile 2 remains a journey worth taking.