How Path of Exile 2 Aims to Avoid Common ARPG Criticisms

Key conclusions

• Path of Exile 2 prioritizes endgame content over a lengthy campaign to keep players engaged.
• Many ARPGs fail due to lack of or poorly executed endgame content.
• Grinding Gear Games has been focused on delivering a strong endgame experience in Path of Exile 2 since day one.

Sequel to the 2013 ARPG from Grinding Gear Games Path of exile, Path of exile 2is almost here, bringing with it everything players loved about the first game, as well as refined next-gen gameplay mechanics, vastly improved visuals, and an all-new story. There is certainly no shortage of live-action ARPGs on the market Path of exile 2 it can be hard to stand out. however, Path of exile 2 takes an approach that many other similar games don't, and that may lead to its success.

Game Rant recently had the opportunity to attend a live preview and presentation Path of exile 2where game director Jonathan Rogers gave us a detailed look at the gameplay, including a breakdown of the approach that many other live-action ARPGs criticize for taking a back seat. In particular, while many other live ARPGs tend to launch without significant endgame content, Path of exile 2 is doing its best to avoid that stigma and will launch in early access with hundreds of hours of endgame content for players to enjoy.

Path of Exile 2's focus on endgame content sets it apart

Many ARPGs end up being criticized for lacking significant endgame content

When it comes to live-action ARPGs, there's objectively no better way for a game to retain its player base than to have substantial endgame content as a long-term engagement factor, keeping players invested after the main story is completed or the initial leveling experience. Unfortunately, an all-too-common problem faced by many live-action ARPGs is insufficient or inconsistent endgame content, often leading to preemptive criticism of the genre as a whole. This problem is growing exponentially as the endgame content for these games takes too long to roll out, or they are simply released too soon before the content is released.

Sometimes it's not so much that a live ARPG doesn't have enough endgame content, it's that that content is executed poorly. For example, many ARPGs have repetitive endgame activities such as farming the same dungeons or finding gear without much variation, and while the repetitive gameplay loop can be done well, it's not often the case. Some games even stretch content with absurd grind requirements to artificially extend play time. However, this usually results in players quickly losing interest as the content becomes more of a chore rather than an entertaining and rewarding use of time.

Endgame rewards can also sometimes influence the reception of live ARPGs, creating little incentive to replay endgame content.

Diablo 4 is a great example of this in action, as it initially lacked variety in the endgame and perhaps relied too heavily on repetitive Nightmare Dungeons. Marvel's Avengers is another fairly recent example of a game that failed because of its endgame, as it was ultimately deemed too repetitive and not rewarding enough for the effort. Finally, written on BioWare's tombstone Hymn it's a claim of an endgame that essentially didn't exist, but only forcing players to move on to another game. To this day, Hymn is one of gaming's greatest tragedies, and a large part of that tragedy stems from its underpowered endgame.

Path of Exile 2 prioritizes endgame content over its campaign

Path of exile 2The goal is to do everything possible to prevent an endgame drop, even if it's in early access. During Art Path of exile 2 At the presentation we attended, Rogers said, “If we start with double the length of the campaign and a bad endgame, we have to say, 'Trust us, the good endgame will come later.' But if we start with a 25-hour campaign and a great endgame, it's easy for people to understand what's coming when we say, “Three more acts coming soon.” This is the basis Path of exile 2 decided to lean on, and it may save him from extinction in the end.

Instead of running a full campaign, Path of exile 2 will only launch in early access with three of the campaign's six actions, and this was planned in advance so that Grinding Gear Games could focus on creating better endgame content for players right at launch. After completing the first three acts of the campaign, players will have to go through those three acts again on Hard difficulty, which essentially makes the enemies more difficult, but the overall experience more rewarding. After completing this, players will have access to Path of exile 2's endgame, which currently has seven deep and unique systems.

Path of exile 2
The Cruel difficulty will only remain in the game until the next three story actions are added, after which players will only need to complete the entire campaign to access the endgame content.

It will be interesting to see if this strategy pays off in the end Path of exile 2but it certainly seems like a promising approach. Path of exile 2 is looking to succeed in an area where many other live ARPGs have failed, and it could very well end up with what it's already put out, even with an Early Access launch.