Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has responded to the community's backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update by implementing further emergency changes. The update, which launched earlier this month, introduced the new Huntress class, five new ascension classes, over one hundred unique items, and expanded crafting options. However, it was met with significant criticism due to extensive nerfs that many players felt slowed the game down too much.
The community's discontent was evident in the plummeting Steam user reviews, which have shifted to 'mostly negative'. Players expressed frustration over prolonged boss fights, ineffective skills, and a general feeling that the game had become a "total slog". Some reviews highlighted issues with game stability, slow movement, and forced combo gameplay, which contrasted with the freedom typically enjoyed in action role-playing games (ARPGs).
In response, GGG has released patch notes for update 0.2.0e, set to deploy on April 11. The patch addresses several key areas of concern:
Monster Speed Changes: Adjustments have been made to reduce the overwhelming presence of monsters, particularly in Acts 1, 2, and 3. Changes include removing interrupt events for certain monsters, reducing the speed and life of others, and adjusting the density of challenging monsters in specific areas.
Boss Changes: Modifications to bosses like Viper Napuatzi, Uxmal, and Xyclucian aim to make fights less frustrating by reducing the frequency of certain attacks and improving visibility of effects.
Player Minion Changes: The revive timer for minions has been altered to prevent long delays when multiple minions die, and improvements have been made to the functionality of certain minion-related skills.
Other Player Balance: Additional tweaks include expanding the use of Rally support to all melee attacks and fixing bugs related to certain skills.
Crafting Changes: All mods have been added to runes for caster weapons, and a new feature allows players to forge elemental runes at Renly's shop in the Burning Village.
Performance Improvements: Optimizations have been made to ground foliage to improve game performance.
Looking ahead, GGG has outlined further changes to be implemented post-weekend, including enhancements to the charm system, the addition of Stash Tab Affinities for various item categories, and the introduction of Atlas Bookmarks for easier navigation.
The question remains whether these changes will be sufficient to address the community's concerns and restore positive sentiment towards Path of Exile 2. Despite the initial success and high player numbers at launch, the game's reception has been marred by these issues, which have also affected the development of Path of Exile 1.
