This is typically where I ramble about games, and normally I have more of a point when I start my ramblings but this time I don't really. I mostly just want to talk about the other game genre I like a lot, ARPGs, and my experiences with Path Of Exile 2.
At some point, I genuinely believe that PoE2 will be the best ARPG on the market, but I don't think the game is there yet. The game has an extensive endgame with a lot of cool ideas and mechanics, but I find myself torn about the implementation. The fundamentals are there, but the way they integrate into gameplay currently doesn't feel cohesive.
The first time you enter delirium or a breach or something, you genuinely don't know what it is or what's about to happen. If you contrast that with a ritual, where the actual campaign has an entire mission specifically teaching you what that is, it ends up feeling like "we have this because PoE1".
Now having said that, the campaign isn't complete yet. If the second half of the campaign does integrate these critical endgame mechanics into itself, then I suspect all my complaints will vanish into thin air. It's too early days to really make a call as to how this will end up playing out.
As weird as this may also sound, I don't think the endgame has enough variety. There's far more stuff to do overall than say Diablo 4, but also there isn't. On paper, there are far more activities, but they really do all feel exactly the same with just a different coat of paint.
This is one area where Diablo 4 actually shines over PoE2, variety. Infernal Hoards feels different than a Nightmare Dungeon, which feels different than a Pit run, which feels different than an Undercity run... Everything feels like it's a different activity. PoE2 has a hard time making an Expedition feel realistically any different than a Ritual.
Where PoE2 does shine over any other ARPG on the market is the chase. They have nailed the satisfaction you get from chasing down a rare drop, even if it is just currency. The way the crafting system works, those rare currency orbs are incredibly important.
Even if you can't clear a map with a high enough difficulty to get gear better than you have, those currency orbs are used to trade for gear. So when that ever so rare Divine Orb drops, thats essentially a new piece of gear right there. One that you chose from a marketplace of gear.
Diablo 4 is very bad at this. Because of the way the gear and loot system works, you can very easily acquire the best in slot items. Even if they aren't perfect, they will always be enough to clear Torment 4. Now sure, you can chase down the perfect versions of that gear. You can hunt that 4 Greater Affix Masterworked Mythic, but why? There's no point. There is no harder content to clear, no greater rewards other than bragging rights for clearing the Pit faster.
Diablo 4 overall does a much better job at integrating it's mechanics into overall gameplay and game feel, as well as has a more defined sense of variety. My genuine hope is that PoE2 can look at that and start doing some of that too. Because PoE2 is clearly going to become the best ARPG on the market, if it isn't already it will get there. I just hope it can become the best version of itself it can be as well.
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