MJ is MOP’s resident Path of Exile person, and I’m sure she’ll get the core-fans some red meat once she gets her hands on the new build, but since I was the MOP staffer who got to attend Summer Games Fest this year, I’m the one who gets to talk to y’all about how someone who doesn’t usually enjoy isometric point and click games may have played a little too much Path of Exile 2. And no, I wasn’t playing on a keyboard and mouse like I’d prefer; I was even playing on an Xbox controller, my most hated of controllers.
Now first, I have to admit I have no idea how long I played POE2. PR sat me down at a station so I could be prepared for my interview, but for those who don’t know, MOP goes in with prepared questions anyway. Hands-on time is important since we don’t get to take builds home, but dev access is valuable too since marketing can’t sanitize what they say.
That being said, aside from the A, B, Y, X layout, the controls were great. Movement was responsive, aiming was a breeze, abilities fired off properly assuming I hit the right button… I felt like I had the kind of control I usually am afforded on a keyboard with WASD movement – even for somebody who’s not usually a point-and-click guy.
I went with the Warrior class and took the path focused on stuns and knockdowns since that’s how I roll. In retrospect, I probably should have taken a ranged class, but I love to be in the thick of the action.
Once I escaped the hangman’s opening noose, I fled to the tutorial: open this, equip that, drink a potion, that sort of thing. It was all pretty familiar. I’d seen people around social media wondering if the game might be easier with the focus on the console crowd and couch co-op, and the devs have suggest they’re hoping to make the game more accessible for casuals, but this was not my experience. Even though it was the starter location, I ended up dying too much thinking I could absorb hits as a heavy-hitting melee character.
I could not. Much as in POE, dodging and positioning are vital. Several trips to town or the spawn point reminded me of that. Once I got back into the habit of setting up positioning (and hitting the right buttons to dodge), things went more smoothly but still presented a challenge.
Fighting one of the mud mobs and two larvae was quite a task, but also the norm in that particular level. I could occasionally take two spawns if I didn’t hit the wrong button when trying to dodge, but I also had to potion multiple times. That’s kind of important to note.
If you didn’t know, I’m kind of a hoarder. Using potions in starter areas is rare for a basic fight, at least for me. My inclination in ARPGs is to hoard pots for dungeons, but POE2 wasn’t letting me do that. Maybe the game would get easier if I stayed in one zone, ground levels and gear, and then moved forward after everything dies to the stench of my crusty club, but I’m guessing the early challenges I faced probably won’t exactly ease up if I’m playing level/gear-appropriate content. If you’re looking for a challenge, I think POE2 will still give it to you.
I wish I could say more, but mid-fight, Grinding Gear’s console director Trevor Gamon was ready for our interview, and I had to be hauled away. I was informed that couch co-op was something I could have played, but sadly we didn’t have time, so beg MJ to give that a whirl when she can!
With that in mind, I had to ask Gamon about the challenges the game would present players, especially those from POE1. I figured couch co-op could make things much easier, as you’d have someone with you to communicate with. Buddies can bring their own character or share your account, all of which sounded pretty social when compared with playing with people online who may not even type let alone use voice chat.
However, Gamon told me that one of the drawbacks to couch co-op in POE2 is having to share a screen. The camera isn’t focused on one player or the other, and it tries to prioritize the boss in big fights, but it does mean focusing more on your character rather than just the center of the screen, which I know I struggle with when playing certain multiplayer games.
While Gamon says there’s a “50/50 mix” of player stats and player skills that determine how challenging content can be, again, I had some struggles in the starter zone even when things went well. I think skill, or at least prioritizing your health over your damage, is still going to be important. That being said, between that and the control options now available to players, Gamon said there haven’t been any noticeable differences in which classes people picked up based on control options – or in class balance for that matter. People just seem to gravitate toward what naturally appeals to them.
Even though I’m not a big POE player, I knew that the original POE2 announcement portended, in the words of MJ, a “mega-mega expansion.” However, Gamon says that in his opinion, it was always intended to be a full-blown sequel. The challenges GGG has faced, like overhauling whole systems, could be seen as a lot for any update, but even with shared micro-transaction purchases across two games, making a whole new game with new characters and character progression is quite different from just playing your daily character with the option to make an alt for new starter content.
But the sequel does give the team other opportunities. Again, couch co-op is part of this, and apparently it wasn’t nearly as difficult as you might imagine, outside of some of the backend work (such as having two characters on screen at once and being able to import characters from other accounts).
The sharing of premium cosmetic options between games is a welcome addition too, and Gamon said there’s no fear of focusing on cosmetics that may make more sense in one game than the other. That is, if a new outfit references a cool boss in POE2, there’s no concern about potential player backlash for it appearing in POE1, and given the typical POE playstyle, I think that seems like a good call.
Naturally, this also means catering to the console crowd, especially with controllers and couch co-op. Simply doing a console version seems easy enough in theory, but I guess adding crossplay on top of that means it’s easier to simply make a new game, something I kept feeling like devs hinted at throughout SGF.
Player reactions to the announcement of a full sequel have apparently given the studio confidence in its success. Gamon says while they do trust their own instincts as developers, they do listen to players. That’s kind of how couch co-op is being dealt with: The team wanted to experiment with it since not a lot of other companies in this field have that as an option. It felt natural to them, especially when bringing the game to console.
Consoles and controllers are in that same group. I had told Gamon I’m more of a WASD player and that the point-and-click nature of POE1 was one of the entry barriers for me; he pointed out that allowing for keyboard movement or controllers expands not just current player options but welcomes new players to potentially join the community.
And the POE player community so far seems to like the idea of that flexibility, and it hasn’t negatively impacted any design choices in the rest of the game. That is, if you don’t have someone to couch co-op with or you lack a controller, you don’t have to worry about not being able to do certain boss fights, or at least in theory.
However, Gamon did tell me that in tests, couch co-op players have a natural tendency to vocally communicate. Having someone physically there means you can manually point to areas or objects on the screen, something that’s a bit tougher if you’re just using voice chat. Still, couch players also have to contend with a camera where they aren’t the central focus (though I’m told each player is equally rated in terms of camera prioritization), so again, there are ups and downs to both options.
I’m still not sure POE2 is totally for me, but I have to say that if someone sat me down, turned it on, and said, “Wanna kill a few bosses?” I’d be glad to take that controller. Though probably with something ranged this time to cut back on the death counter!
