It’d be fair to say we’re living in a refreshing new era for the action role-playing game (ARPG) genre. The rise of online multiplayer and seasonal updates for games has given the genre new life, letting players build wild new characters imbued with incredible power who can easily tear through monsters in search of loot.

There are so many excellent options, but one of the most interesting is surely Path of Exile 2. Grinding Gear Games built the first Path of Exile into a free-to-play phenomenon, and while the sequel will eventually follow the same business model, the game has been available since December 2024 in Early Access.

Paying now to play something you’ll be able to enjoy for free in the future might sound like a bizarre choice, but in my hundreds of hours with Path of Exile 2, I’ve not once felt as if I should have saved my money.

Even though the full game isn’t out yet, here’s why it could still be your next ARPG obsession.
 

An (almost) complete story

When Path of Exile 2 launched in Early Access last year, it did so with plenty of content available already. There were three story acts, but because the story was incomplete, you’d need to replay them on a tougher difficulty level before you were ready to head into the vast endgame.

However, as of the game’s recent update, The Third Edict, things are a little different. Grinding Gear Games has added a fourth act (more on that in a moment), but also a trio of interstitial acts. They’re only here until acts five and six are added, but give players a nonlinear way to level up ahead of endgame content.

And, as for act four, it might just be the game’s best yet. Path of Exile 2 is a good-looking game, whether you’re fighting through the burning village of Ogham or chasing loot in the desert as part of a huge convoy, but your quest to find a new monster-slaying weapon will take you to coastal towns and lava-filled caves in the Ngamakanui archipelago, all in any order you choose. 
 

Build diversity

At the time of writing, Path of Exile 2 has seven base classes with additional Ascendancy classes that players can specialize in. While The Third Edict update didn’t add a new base class, the Dawn of the Hunt update did with the Huntress.

Every class plays differently, too, so the crossbow-wielding Mercenary feels almost like you’re playing a twin-stick shooter, while the Warrior brings the pain with huge stun potential to soften up big foes.

Those specializations are key, too, with the Sorceress being a great example. She’s able to wield elemental magic like fire, frost, and lightning, but by picking the Chronomancer Ascendancy, she can manipulate time to freeze foes, increase move speed, or reset ability cooldowns. Or you can lean even further into elemental status effects with the Stormweaver Ascendancy, helping freeze, shock, and burn foes.

There’s so much flexibility offered with each option, and that all comes from the Skill Gem system. Rather than moving through a series of skill unlocks, players earn fresh Skill Gems that can be equipped in a series of slots to unlock new abilities.

These go hand in hand with Support Gems, which have seen a rework in the latest update with new levels. Support Gems accentuate and change the abilities of your Skills, so adding a Gem that can ignite foes when you deal fire damage can now also improve the damage rate from that ignition.

All in all, Path of Exile 2 is impressively flexible when it comes to combat, and the biggest challenge has become which class to play.
 

Challenging boss encounters

You’ll need all of those skills, too, because Path of Exile 2 is much tougher than your average isometric ARPG. Even if you’re leveled up considerably, bosses will still hit just as hard as you can, and there are some real doozies.

Count Geonor, the Putrid Wolf, marks the end of the first act with what definitely feels like a skill check for those looking to venture further. He’s tough but fair, transforming mid-fight into a man/wolf hybrid that attacks from the mist.

Even he pales in comparison to the Queen of Filth, who literally hurls the carcasses of her cannibal family at you, or Viper Napuatzi’s poison-filled arena that gradually shrinks. And yet, these will all help you hone your character for the challenges of the eventual endgame.

There are still dozens of bosses I’ve not seen yet, and many that are yet to come, but perhaps most impressive is the scale of some of them. Zalmarath, the Living Colossus, for example, doesn’t make itself known until you’re standing on a precarious platform. It’s such a huge foe that it doesn’t even fit on the screen, its lower body trailing off into an abyss, and its fight is a spectacle—and it’s not alone, either.
 

Even better with friends

As with many ARPGs, Path of Exile 2 offers co-op, and it’s a great way to call for backup when tackling a tough boss or just to hang out with friends.

It’s also a great way to highlight the aforementioned character build diversity, as you freeze enemies so your companion can smash them, or they deal poison damage while you hand out the Burning status effect.

Cross-play has been supported since the Early Access launch, making it easy to play with your friends on any platform. Bosses also scale so they’re still challenging even with a teammate.
 

Quality of life improvements

Path of Exile 2’s The Third Edict update added a major fan-requested feature: Asynchronous Trade. Item trading has been a core part of the Path of Exile franchise since the beginning, but it required both the buyer and seller to be online together. Now, with the arrival of a new NPC that can hold whatever loot you’re selling, you can trade items even when you’re logged out.

That’s not the only change, either. Aside from removing the need to replay the game’s first three acts on a tougher difficulty to reach the endgame, the Atlas of Worlds system, where players can spend dozens of hours searching for new gear, has been significantly expanded with new encounters and maps to keep it fresh.

Navigating those areas is now slicker, too, thanks to the ability to sprint through maps to speed up travel times.
 

It’s only going to get better

Despite so much being added in recent updates and constant balance tweaks, Path of Exile 2 still isn’t complete. In fact, there’s still a long way to go until it is, with Grinding Gear Games promising more classes, act six, and additional improvements in the months to come.

Once you’re in, though, it’s hard to get out. Path of Exile 2 is a fiendishly enjoyable game that more than lives up to its predecessor’s legacy.