{
"post": {
"title": "Path of Exile 2 - Early Access Gameplay features and Endgame reveal",
"selftext": "",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpIbaTXJD4g"
},
"comments": [
{
"body": "If you don't want to watch a 1.5 hour video, here is my summary:\n\nEarly Access will launch simultaneously on PC and console on Dec 6th.\n\nThere will be **six** of the **twelve** character classes available during the start of the early access, and **three** of the **six** Acts. The 3 acts will take ~25 hours for new players, taking you to level 45. There is then 'Cruel' difficulty which is a repeat of Acts 1 to 3, but hopefully will take a lot less time, and get you to level 65 when the endgame starts.\n\nMore content will be added to EA over time but it's unclear what will be added and at what pace. \n\n**Campaign**\n\n25 hour campaign with a bunch of optional side areas. Many optional bosses will provide permanent character upgrades like more resistances or Spirit, the resource used for auras and minions. \n\nThere are 50 bosses in EA and 400 monsters.\n\n**Classes**\nClasses are Monk, Warrior, Ranger, Mercenary, Witch, and Sorceress. \n\nThere are approximately 20-25 active skills per 'class', though of course you can mix and match any class and skill.\n\nA specific support gem can only be attached to one skill at a time, encouraging you to try out different ones. \n\nPassive skill points can be refunded from the get go with a small gold fee.\n\nYou can have 'alternate' skill points that are seamlessly swapped to when using different weapons and forms. E.g. Some points in lightning nodes on the tree vs. cold, and you swap to them depending on the weapon you use which you've set up to correspond to specific spells (cold vs. lightning). \n\nYou can now choose which attribute to pick (STR/DEX/INT) when going through the passive skill tree for the attribute nodes.\n\nEach class will have **two** of their **three** Ascendancy classes (subclasses) at launch of EA. So 12 Ascendancies total in EA, 36 in the final game when you consider all 12 classes. \n\nGetting your Ascendancy and points will require you to do three 'Trial' dungeons in Acts 2,3 and 4. Each one is distinct and is a complex challenge. The Act 2 Trial is similar to Sanctum from PoE 1, and the Act 3 one is like Ultimatum. There are also endgame versions of these. \n\nThey briefly showed off the 12 Ascendancies in the game. They seem far more involved and game-changing than most PoE 1 Ascendancies. For example, most of them seem to have new abilities, like the Chronomancer for the Sorceress which gets a Time Freeze and 'backtrack' ability, or the one that makes enemies drop health globes like in Diablo, or the one that lets you use your potions as bombs, or the epic Witch one that gives you a fiery hound pet, changes your resource system entirely by removing mana, and also lets you transform into a succubus form. \n\n**Items**\n\nWhite, blue, rare and unique rarities\n\nEach unique has its own unique 2D and 3D art. All 700 of them. \n\nCrafting is much more accessible, and currency for crafting drops more easily.\n\nYou can sell items for gold or disenchant them for currency. You can buy identified items for gold or gamble for something random. \n\nThey casually revealed sockets on equipment that can be socketed with runes that give more stats\n\nYou now only have 2 flasks, one life and one mana, though they hold 6-7 charges. Charges are gained by killing monsters. \n\nYou can now equip trinkets that act similar to utility flasks, but trigger automatically. E.g. a trinket that prevents a freeze from a monster. These also recharge with kills.\n\nBelts now affect flasks and trinkets in some ways. \n\n**Endgame**\n\nSomewhat similar system to Last Epoch's monoliths. There is one big infinite 'Atlas' with random zones. You put in a waystone to activate it and travel there. \n\nWaystones are itemized similar to maps in PoE. They have a tier but don't seem to correspond to specific locations or maps, but are more generica and can be slotted into any spot. You can use currency items on them like maps to up rarity, add benefits/difficulty etc.\n\nYou progress through the atlas by moving further and further away from the center, and it gets progressibly more dificult. If you fail a mission you have to go around that zone and can't just retry it (?)\n\nYou fight a boss every ~4 maps or so, not every map like in PoE. They are enhanced versions of campaign bosses, with different AI and tweaked abiliteis. \n\nShrines, Essences and Strongboxes return, maybe other stuff too. Essences are greatly simplified. \n\nThere are 'Precursor Towers' which reveal nodes around them, similar to beacons from Last Epoch\n\nMajor endgame systems return from PoE revamped and tweaked. These are Breach, Ritual, Delirium, Expedition. There are also endgame versions of the Ascendancy Trials, as well as some sort of uber boss system. \n\nYou encounter these mechanics randomly in a map, based on the icon above the node, and completing them gives you specific rewards.\n\nEach mechanic grants a tablet when you complete them, and these can be slotted into towers to add those mechanics to nearby nodes. And yes they stack with multiple towers in the area. \n\nAtlas Skill Tree returns, but the different mechanics have their own progression. E.g. doing Breach and beating the boss gives you points for the Breach skill tree. \n\nBreach gives Catalysts that buff rings and amulet quality, and Breach Rings now work all the time and can have their quality up to 50%\n\nRitual gives 'Omens' which alter crafting in their own unique way e.g. making Exalted Orbs only add prefix mods.\n\nDelirium grants 'Distilled Emotions' which seem similar to Oils from PoE 1 that you got from Blight. These add Notable Skills from the tree to your character as an enchantment on items. They can also add Delirium to maps. \n\nLogbooks return for Expeditions.\n\nEndgame Trials - Act 2 one will provide Jewels that you can socket into your passive tree. There are also Relics like in Sanctum that can be equipped and consumed during runs to alter it \nAct 3 one provides Vaal Orbs for corrupting items.\n\nPinnacle Boss has its own Atlas skill tree progression. Need to kill Lieutenants, then 3 of the main bosses, then you can challenge the Pinnacle boss. \n\nAll in all, Endgame looks very deep.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "God damn, thank you for this"
},
{
"body": "Thanks!!! Did they mention of or do we know if progress carries over to the full game when it eventually releases?",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Actually just got an answer from their FAQ: \n\n\"No, there will not be a wipe. We will do new leagues but none of your characters will be wiped, they will just go to a league called Early Access (so they will never be in Standard). In some cases characters in old leagues might be somewhat broken by balance changes though. After launch the \"Early Access\" characters will still exist.\"",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Wow thanks again. You're the best!! ",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Keep in mind, characters in Early Access will likely be victims of design changes that will take place regularly throughout EA, and also after 1.0 full release.\n\nSkills and support gems will be altered, the passive tree will almost certainly be notably different in a year, entire mechanics could be redesigned, etc.\n\nIt's cool that EA characters will exist in perpetuity, but don't expect your build to function exactly the same way in 12 months. EA is not 1.0 for a reason.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Yeah. I hate the season thing where you can't keep using your same character for everything/all content. I'll probably just wait. I don't know 🤷♂️ "
}
]
}
]
}
]
},
{
"body": "That's a good question, I don't remember them mentioning it during the livestream.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "How does this differ from the closed beta the last time? I can't remember how many acts the closed beta was."
}
]
}
]
},
{
"body": "Thank you !"
},
{
"body": "Thank you!!"
}
]
},
{
"body": "we also found out today that we wont need ps plus to play the game. remember that trailer where it showed we will need ps plus? seems like they either worked it out with sony or something.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Wait really? I'm usually PC gamer, but I do have PS5 for relaxing on my couch, I thought any online game on PS5 require PS Plus, is that not the case? \n\n \nUpd: google apparently exists, many F2P games don't require PS Plus it turns out, including stuff like Fortnite, Genshin etc. Cool!",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Free games generally do not require ps+"
}
]
}
]
},
{
"body": "I'm looking forward to this gem."
},
{
"body": "Played this at PAX West last summer. You all are in for a treat."
},
{
"body": "It’s crazy I thought this was just like a “beta test” but it’s literally just early access into a release.\n\nFucking hyped"
},
{
"body": "Cant wait"
},
{
"body": "This looks fantastic. Can't wait."
},
{
"body": "As someone who has never played POE, this looks incredibly overwhelming in just about every aspect. I saw gameplay and comparatively it looks like Diablo (another game I’ve never played myself). But once they started talking about tablets and power ups and collectibles, and converting things into other things, it all went a bit pear shaped for me. I hope people enjoy the release, I’m sure I’ll watch it on Twitch, but it might not be the right game for me",
"replies": [
{
"body": "That's been poe's main issue since inception. Either you want the complexity or not and most ppl don't play video games for complexity. \n\nPoe2 isn't much different but it'll launch with alot of content siphoned from poe"
},
{
"body": "As a casual PoE player, I get through the campaign and never really mess with the end game. Grinding games and sorting inventory just doesn’t appeal to me. If I grind a game, it’s because I enjoy the gameplay of it, not the loot aspect.\n\nWhat I enjoyed about PoE though is they have mixed a lot of their seasonal mechanics into the eternal stuff, so there’s a helluva lot of game to be played. Just finding out what mechanics were in the game was enough to push me for several dozen hours."
},
{
"body": "Tablets = you can force additional mechanics into your maps. Maps are like \"solo\" dungeons. Activities that are added to the maps, that have its own monsters and some unique rewards.\n\nHonestly, atlas tree in PoE1 (that does similar thing of giving you agency to shape your endgame content) is one of my favorite innovations in \"play forever\" kind of games. Hard to compare to anything else even, but imagine maps as FF \"solo\" dungeons that can also have minibosses or activities with its own mechanics, materials and rewards. Materials and rewards that are useful to you or other players (and can be sold to other players). Mechanics that eventually lead to a \"key\" to a pinnacle boss you can face, or sell the key to other players.\n\nAnd the agency that devs give to you make it possible to run mechanics that you enjoy, or your character is good at, and skip the ones you are not a fan of.\n\nPoE is overwhelming - but it also a huge source of content to enjoy, be it killing monsters, crafting loot or killing bosses."
}
]
},
{
"body": "But will they respect my time or will they balance the game for streamers and people that like to trade on discord?",
"replies": [
{
"body": "You wont need discord but your time won't be valued.\n\nAs a casual dad myself i don't think I'd even get to end game before a new season starts"
},
{
"body": "Currency exchange market is now both in PoE1 and will be in PoE2 on launch. You have to trade with other people for items though"
}
]
},
{
"body": "Will this be free to play or do you have to buy it for early access??",
"replies": [
{
"body": "The early access is paid. You have to pay $30 minimum to buy a supporter pack for access, which also gives you $30 worth of points for their store.\n\nThe final game when it launches (in six months to a year) will be free to play.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "This will be on console to? Sweet I’ll be getting it on PS5 Pro!",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Yes will be on console",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Do we know if buying a key from the site will grant acess to all the other platforms?",
"replies": [
{
"body": "I don't know for sure, but I'd assume you have to buy on PS5. Perhaps they sell PS5-keys on their website, but I'd assume you have to go through Sony's payment system.\n\nEdit: In the FAQ they released, they mention that PS5 players have to wait until EA launch to buy a key, likely meaning it will only be purchasable in Sony's game-buying ecosystem.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Interesting, because my PoE account now has its EA key bound to the account, and everything should be shared between platforms in PoE2 - including MTXes etc.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "MTX purchased outside of the Playstation ecosystem cannot be used on PS4/PS5. Even in PoE 2. Everything that costs money will be inaccessible to you on PS5 unless you bought it on PSN. There's still crossplay and crossprogression, so you can play with other platform's players and you can use your same PoE 2 characters on PS5/PC still.\n\nEvery other platform has cross MTX functionality.\n\nWe can't buy a PoE 2 EA key for PS5 until December 6th. You won't be able to use that key to access PoE 2 EA on PS5 unless you get lucky and there's a bug."
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
]
},
{
"body": "Team Monk or Marauder. The classes and new gem system look insane. That skill tree swap with weapon swap in bananas! \n\n\nDecember 6th is right around the corner. I'm going to assume server issues the first day or two and then we'll be rockin."
},
{
"body": "When can we expect the full release?",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Minimum 6 months of early access they said, potentially longer if they find issues to address."
},
{
"body": "Minimum 6 months and they said they want to full release in 2025"
}
]
},
{
"body": "Such a small thing, but I may be most excited about the potion changes. So many builds it ended up feeling like you were playing a damn piano and I just wanted to run around and kill stuff somewhat efficiently."
},
{
"body": "I will be new to this but i am assuming anyone can play this early access or is it by invite only?",
"replies": [
{
"body": "You have to buy a $30 supporter pack (or a more expensive one) to get access, though you also get $30 worth of points for their store."
}
]
},
{
"body": "Is the only way to level up through the campaign? Because right now it is not fully completed so I want to play the completed campaign in the full release after 6 months."
},
{
"body": "How do I unlock early access? When I go to POE 2 on the PS store it just says announced and there are no purchasing options.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "They might not be selling it for consoles yet."
}
]
}
]
}