Developers of Path of Exile 2 Discuss the Game’s Most Challenging Update

Path of Exile 2, particularly with its “Dawn of the Hunt” update—the first major overhaul since the game’s early access debut last year—has been anything but smooth. When players dived in this past Friday, they were met with an experience so challenging it bordered on absurd. Even early-game encounters with weaker monsters felt like never-ending battles, and the new Huntress class didn’t pack much of a punch. The outcry on Reddit was immediate, with threads lamenting the experience as a “massive waste of time” and describing gameplay as “miserable.” Frustrated streamers didn’t hesitate to log off in anger.

In the wake of this backlash, Grinding Gear Games scrambled to roll out a series of small updates, aiming to offer players a fairer fight. They trimmed down monster health and enhanced the skills of certain characters, like skeletal minions. Still, a substantial chunk of the community feels that these tweaks haven’t solved the core issue of the game feeling stingy on rewards.

The developers addressed these concerns with a recent blog post, outlining their plans to improve various aspects of the patch. A significant focus is on the campaign’s sluggish pace, which requires a replay every new season—a task players aren’t particularly thrilled about, given the current slow crawl to the endgame dungeons.

Game director Jonathan Rogers shed some light on their intentions during an interview with popular streamer Zizaran. “We set out to tone down elements that made the endgame trivial before players even gathered the necessary items and such,” he shared candidly on Tuesday.

Mark Roberts, the co-director, didn’t mince words either, acknowledging outright mistakes, such as those underperforming skills that were quickly fixed. “We’ve been shooting from the hip, to be honest. We’re experimenting, seeing how the community reacts, and willing to backtrack when something doesn’t quite hit the mark.”

Rogers also highlighted a key challenge with PoE 2 compared to its predecessor. “We have a narrower target to hit. If we want combat to be more engaging, then there’s less room for error—balance is critical,” he explained. The aim was to avoid making players feel they had to sink thousands of hours into the game to enjoy it, unlike PoE 1. But capturing that intricate balance is proving challenging, especially with the game’s intent to incorporate thoughtful, dodging-centric mechanics, inspired by Soulslike titles.

Both Rogers and Roberts assured fans they’re considering various adjustments but stress they want to avoid swinging the pendulum too far the other way, where players could breeze through dungeons in mere hours. “Reaching a point where skilled players never encounter any challenge isn’t our goal—it would strip the game of its lasting appeal,” Rogers concluded.

The developers remain committed to finding a middle ground, striving to create a game that is tough yet rewarding—a dance that continues to challenge even the most seasoned creators in the industry.