Path of Exile 2 Early Access Report: Six Months In, Where

Q: What PoE2 Gets Right

Combat feels incredible. This is the biggest win, and 16 months in it remains true. PoE1's combat was often criticized as "run through maps and everything dies" — a screen full of explosions with little moment-to-moment decision making. PoE2 slowed things down meaningfully. Attacks have weight. Enemies telegraph dangerous moves. Dodging matters. Boss fights are genuinely engaging encounters rather than DPS checks. The dodge roll system — clearly inspired by the soulslike genre — transforms moment-to-moment gameplay. You're actively engaged in combat rather than passively watching your build do its thing. It's a controversial change for players who loved PoE1's speed, but it makes PoE2 feel like a distinctly different game in the best way. Class roster has expanded. Early access launched with six base classes — Warrior, Monk, Mercenary, Sorceress, Witch, and Ranger — each with two ascendancy paths. GGG has added two more classes since launch: Huntress — added in version 0.2.0 ("Dawn of

Q: Where It Struggles

Endgame still has variety gaps. PoE2's endgame is the Atlas of Worlds, unlocked through Ziggurat Refuge after completing the campaign — a shared lineage with PoE1. The Atlas provides the map-running loop you'd expect, but the breadth of integrated mechanics still doesn't yet match PoE1's Atlas, which has accumulated a decade of layered systems (Delve, Heist, Incursion, Betrayal, Sanctum, Ultimatum, etc.). GGG has steadily reintroduced PoE1 mechanics in reworked forms across patches, and the gap has narrowed considerably since launch — but you'll notice it. Performance issues persist (more selectively). Performance has improved dramatically since launch. The new engine remains beautiful but demanding, and certain boss encounters with heavy particle effects can still cause frame drops on mid-range hardware. Given the dodge-based combat, those drops feel more punishing than they would in PoE1. Trading is still PoE trading. GGG has maintained their "friction is a feature" approach to tradi

Q: Should You Play Now or Wait?

Play now if: You're an ARPG enthusiast who enjoys being part of a game's evolution You liked PoE1 and want to experience the sequel's take on the formula You enjoy theorycrafting in a meta that's still being figured out You're okay with occasional bugs and incomplete features You want to lock in early access progress before the eventual 1.0 Wait if: You want a polished, complete endgame experience Performance on mid-range hardware is a dealbreaker for you You prefer a finished product over an evolving one You're waiting for specific features (PvP isn't yet implemented in any meaningful form)

Path of Exile 2 Early Access: 16 Months In, Where Does It Stand?

A quick housekeeping note before we get into it: Path of Exile 2 launched into early access on December 6, 2024, not late 2025 — so as of April 2026 the game is roughly 16 months into early access, not six. We're well past the "first impressions" window and into "what kind of game is this actually becoming" territory. Grinding Gear Games has now shipped multiple substantial content patches, added two new classes, and rebalanced the entire endgame at least once. So this is less a launch-window snapshot and more a checkpoint on a game still in active evolution.

What PoE2 Gets Right

Combat feels incredible. This is the biggest win, and 16 months in it remains true. PoE1's combat was often criticized as "run through maps and everything dies" — a screen full of explosions with little moment-to-moment decision making. PoE2 slowed things down meaningfully. Attacks have weight. Enemies telegraph dangerous moves. Dodging matters. Boss fights are genuinely engaging encounters rather than DPS checks.

The dodge roll system — clearly inspired by the soulslike genre — transforms moment-to-moment gameplay. You're actively engaged in combat rather than passively watching your build do its thing. It's a controversial change for players who loved PoE1's speed, but it makes PoE2 feel like a distinctly different game in the best way.

Class roster has expanded. Early access launched with six base classes — Warrior, Monk, Mercenary, Sorceress, Witch, and Ranger — each with two ascendancy paths. GGG has added two more classes since launch:

Huntress — added in version 0.2.0 ("Dawn of the Hunt") in April 2025. Spear-and-buckler-focused; introduced new spear skill gems and a fast, mobile combat style.
Druid — added in version 0.4.0 ("The Last of The Druids") on December 12, 2025. Brought shapeshifting and nature-magic playstyles.

That brings the live class count to eight as of April 2026, with more planned for the eventual 1.0 launch (the full game is targeted for twelve classes total). Each class currently has two ascendancies; GGG has indicated three per class as the eventual goal.

The official PoE2 site and community resource poe2db have been invaluable for build planning as the roster expands.

The skill gem system is better than ever. PoE2's reworked support gem system addresses one of PoE1's longest-standing complexity issues. Instead of 6-linking gear, each skill gem has its own support sockets. Build diversity is broader — you can run multiple fully supported skills rather than one primary skill with everything else as utility.

Where It Struggles

Endgame still has variety gaps. PoE2's endgame is the Atlas of Worlds, unlocked through Ziggurat Refuge after completing the campaign — a shared lineage with PoE1. The Atlas provides the map-running loop you'd expect, but the breadth of integrated mechanics still doesn't yet match PoE1's Atlas, which has accumulated a decade of layered systems (Delve, Heist, Incursion, Betrayal, Sanctum, Ultimatum, etc.). GGG has steadily reintroduced PoE1 mechanics in reworked forms across patches, and the gap has narrowed considerably since launch — but you'll notice it.

Performance issues persist (more selectively). Performance has improved dramatically since launch. The new engine remains beautiful but demanding, and certain boss encounters with heavy particle effects can still cause frame drops on mid-range hardware. Given the dodge-based combat, those drops feel more punishing than they would in PoE1.

Trading is still PoE trading. GGG has maintained their "friction is a feature" approach to trading, and the community remains divided. The trade website works, but the lack of an in-game auction house means buying and selling involves the same whisper-and-wait gameplay PoE1 players either tolerate or despise.

The Economy

PoE2's economy is familiar to PoE1 veterans — currency-based, with Divine Orbs and Chaos Orbs serving as primary trade currencies. Sixteen months in, the early access economy remains volatile, with item values shifting dramatically between patches as balance changes reshape the meta. This is normal for a live ARPG and especially expected during EA, where league-style resets and class introductions reshuffle the entire market.

For players who want to buy PoE2 currency or accounts with established progression, AccountShark covers Path of Exile 2.

Comparing to the Competition

The ARPG space in 2026 is crowded:

Diablo 4 offers a more accessible, visually polished experience with seasonal content; the Lord of Hatred expansion (the second one, after Vessel of Hatred) launches April 28, 2026.
Last Epoch carves out a niche between D4's accessibility and PoE's complexity.
PoE1 still exists and still receives updates (GGG maintains both games).

PoE2's unique position is as the "deep" ARPG — the one that rewards system mastery, build theorycrafting, and knowledge accumulation. If D4 is the ARPG equivalent of a blockbuster action movie, PoE2 is the ARPG equivalent of a complex novel. Both are valid; they're just different experiences.

Should You Play Now or Wait?

Play now if:

You're an ARPG enthusiast who enjoys being part of a game's evolution
You liked PoE1 and want to experience the sequel's take on the formula
You enjoy theorycrafting in a meta that's still being figured out
You're okay with occasional bugs and incomplete features
You want to lock in early access progress before the eventual 1.0

Wait if:

You want a polished, complete endgame experience
Performance on mid-range hardware is a dealbreaker for you
You prefer a finished product over an evolving one
You're waiting for specific features (PvP isn't yet implemented in any meaningful form)

The Verdict

Path of Exile 2 is a genuinely excellent ARPG that's still finding its final form. The combat is the best in the genre, the build system is deep and rewarding, and the foundation for a truly special game is clearly there. Sixteen months of early access patches have steadily filled in gaps — Huntress and Druid added meaningful class variety, Atlas of Worlds has been iteratively expanded, and performance is markedly better than launch.

What it still needs is time — time for GGG to layer in the remaining endgame variety that made PoE1 legendary, time for the next class additions (and the move to three ascendancies per class), and time for the meta to fully mature.

Sixteen months in, PoE2 in early access is better than many finished games. The question is just how good it'll be when it reaches 1.0.

For ARPG fans, this is the one to watch.

Sources: Path of Exile 2 official site, Wikipedia: Path of Exile 2.