Summary
Path of Exile 2has been announced as the upcoming successor to the original free-to-play ARPG, with hundreds of thousands of players now anticipating the game’s 2024 closed beta. In an extensive showcase at ExileCon 2023,Path of Exile 2was revealed to feature a number of new classes and quality-of-life changes that are unprecedented within the genre. With the potential to grow even larger within the ARPG genre, there’s one aspect of the series that further sets it apart.
Falling short of the franchise’s legacy for many outspoken fans,Diablo 4has become one of Blizzard’s most controversial releases with its own shift to a full live-service model. The earlier entries in the series may have originally defined the ARPG genre to begin with, but the slow growth ofPath of Exilehas turned it into a series strong enough to host its own convention. The balance provided by co-op gameplay has always been at the heart of ARPGs, and it’s one of the areas thatPath of Exile 2can truly stand outamong its competition.
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The First Path of Exile Continues to Set a Precedent
With its sequel alreadycompared against the latestDiabloby some fans,Path of Exilehas maintained a large playerbase despite being available for nearly a decade. Known for its massive web of skills and meaningful boss mechanics, the free-to-play title from Grinding Gear Games also has the innate advantage of featuring a six-player co-op overDiablo’s four.Path of Exile 2is set to feature multiple new class options, but even the first entry provides the potential for more diversity with its party size alone.
It may still be supported now leading up to the sequel’s release, butPath of Exilewill actually continue to be fully supported with new updates afterward. In an experimental endeavor for a live service title, the developer has committed to adding expansions to both games concurrently along with supporting microtransactions being carried over between the two. In a market where in-game purchases are becoming more common in fully priced titles, free-to-play games likePath of Exile 2are much more appealing when it comes to gathering a large party of friends for co-op andgrowing the ARPG marketin general.
Path of Exile 2’s Hype Reflects Diablo 4’s Status in the ARPG Genre
The rushed development ofDiablo 4has been rumored to have led to the game not being the title it could have been, and its always-online status is controversial. Players have comparedPath of Exilefavorably against it despite that game’s age and value, and the ability to play with two more friends makes the decision understandable even now. DeveloperGrinding Gear Games weighed inon the reception surrounding Blizzard’s game by pointing outDiablo 4’s emphasis on more MMO-esque mechanics.
Diablo 4may be experiencing issuesthat recent hot-fix patches and developer feedback have begun to resolve, but it’s still the nature of ARPG games to develop over time and become better with continued updates. The good faith shown by features like allowing even more players to join in the battle along with the continued support of the firstPath of Exilehas clearly sparked a discussion about the series’ growing future status. More classes than ever are set to be featured inPath of Exile 2, and having up to six players join together is only likely to show off the series' insane build diversity when it finally launches next year.
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