PoE2 Last Minute Changes are concerning...

Summary

• Concerns over the Rune/Socketable System: The current direction involving a massive influx of runes (now referred to as socketables) is criticized as overly convoluted compared to a traditional crafting bench.
• Crafting Bench vs. Rune System: Discussion suggests that as the game matures, a centralized crafting bench would be a more intuitive and less messy solution than hundreds of distinct runes.
• Impact of Crafting Changes: The latest crafting changes effectively nerf specific martial weapon mods, though caster weapons are perceived to be in a generally fine state.
• Ascendancy Design: Criticism centers on the lack of exciting choices within most ascendancy trees. Many nodes are viewed as underpowered or “must-take” (boring), lacking the meaningful trade-offs found in Path of Exile 1.
• Ultimatum Content: Lab trials involving Ultimatum mechanics are identified as a major difficulty spike that causes players to intentionally skip or delay progression until they are overleveled.

The Evolution of the Rune System

The recent decision to add approximately 150 additional runes to the existing pool (reaching nearly 300 total socketable items, including idols and soul cores) is concerning. While a unique system was arguably justified during the early testing phases of Path of Exile 2 to encourage exploration of new mechanics, the game is no longer in its infancy. Adding this volume of items creates unnecessary complexity, making the system feel less efficient than a standard, reliable crafting bench.

Crafting Meta and Weapon Balance

The shifting crafting landscape has introduced nerfs to specific essences—notably those affecting global defense amulets and percent mana mods on rings.

• Martial vs. Caster Weapons: Martial weapons are the primary concern, as the removal of certain attack-mod crafting options significantly impacts power progression. Caster weapons remain largely unaffected, as the “+5 custom mod” path remains a viable strategy.
• Accuracy as a Prefix: There is a recurring desire to see accuracy moved to a suffix to provide a buff to melee builds, though this may require a rework of the current Amazon class systems.

Ascendancy and Skill Tree Critiques

There is a consensus that many ascendancy nodes are currently unexciting. Unlike Path of Exile 1, where classes like Slayer or Elementalist offer hard, meaningful choices, the current Path of Exile 2 nodes often feel like a binary choice: either a node is good, or it is useless.

• Power Levels: While players are already considered “too powerful” in Path of Exile 2, the excitement of gaining power through ascendancy is missing.
• Potential Solutions: Rather than simply adding more nodes, the focus should be on buffing existing underpowered options to create genuine build diversity and decision-making. The “Bloodlines” system from Path of Exile 1 was praised as a potential model or future stopgap for improving player agency and variety.

Difficulty Spikes and Laboratory Content

A significant issue is the difficulty spike associated with Ultimatum encounters during character progression. This creates a situation where players frequently choose to skip “Cruel Lab” because the encounter feels disproportionately dangerous compared to the rest of the content at that level. This behavior highlights a mismatch between the difficulty of the challenge and the perceived necessity or power gain of the ascendancy points involved.