Jumping into Path of Exile 2 feels like walking into a familiar house that's been remodelled overnight. You recognise the shape of it, but the doors don't always open where you expect. A lot of us are asking the same thing: does this sequel actually respect your time, whether you're a grizzled veteran or a first-time exile? You'll hear strong opinions either way, and you can't really dodge the topic when PoE 2 Items and progression choices start shaping how smooth (or rough) your first dozen hours feel.
Where Veterans Feel the Friction
If you've sunk years into the original, the ambition is obvious, but so is the anxiety. The new passive tree and the reworked gem setup land differently depending on what you loved about PoE. Some players miss that "mad scientist" vibe—those goofy, brilliant moments where you'd duct-tape mechanics together and somehow it worked. Now things can feel more guided. Not hand-holding, exactly, just narrower. There's also a lingering worry that the game's trying to sand down the weird edges that made builds feel personal, even when they were a mess. Veterans don't mind learning new systems; they mind losing the freedom to be wrong in interesting ways.
Newcomer-Friendly Changes That Actually Help
At the same time, it's hard not to appreciate what GGG is doing for newer players. Decoupling skills from gear sockets is a big deal. It cuts down on that old stress where your "best" item was useless because the links were bad. The game nudging you toward sensible support gems also matters more than people admit. New players don't want a spreadsheet. They want to try something, see it work, and keep moving. These tweaks make experimenting feel safer, and they reduce the chance you'll accidentally ruin your character before you even understand what went wrong.
The Early Game Still Bites Back
But then Act 1 happens, and you realise the welcome mat has nails in it. Difficulty spikes come fast, and the loot pacing can feel stingy when you're desperate for any meaningful upgrade. I've watched friends bounce off the game in the first couple hours, not because they're "bad," but because the feedback loop is harsh. You die, you walk back, you try again, and you still don't know what you could've changed. Veterans can read the math between the lines—resists, mitigation, skill uptime—while new players just feel punished. The "Soulslike" comparison pops up for a reason, and not everyone wants that in an ARPG night.
A Sequel Caught Between Two Promises
Right now, Path of Exile 2 plays like it's balancing two crowds in real time. It trims old barriers so beginners can get their feet under them, then it cranks the heat so high that plenty still tap out early. It tightens combat and flow for veterans, yet some of those same vets miss the wild, breakable sandbox that kept them theorycrafting for years. If GGG can ease the opening hours without flattening the depth, the bridge might hold; until then, a lot of players will keep judging their experience by how quickly they can get stable gear and momentum—especially when they're eyeing PoE 2 Items for sale as a shortcut to stop the early grind from swallowing the fun.
