Path of Exile 2 Devs Implement Urgent Fixes Amid 'Mostly Negative' Steam Reviews

Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has responded to the community's backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update with a series of emergency changes. The update, released earlier this month, introduced the new Huntress class and five new ascension classes, along with numerous mechanical overhauls and over 100 new unique items. However, the community's reaction was overwhelmingly negative, with many players criticizing the update for slowing down the game's pace to an unbearable level.

The discontent among players was evident in the Steam user reviews, which plummeted to 'mostly negative.' One of the most helpful reviews from the last 30 days highlighted issues such as excessively long boss fights, ineffective skills, and poor game stability. Another review expressed frustration over the forced combo gameplay and reduced loot drops, which contrasted with the freedom players enjoyed in previous versions.

In response, GGG has released patch notes for the upcoming 0.2.0e update, scheduled for April 11. The changes are aimed at addressing the community's concerns and improving the overall gameplay experience. Here's a detailed look at the patch notes:

Monster Speed Changes

• Many human monsters, including Cultists in Freythorn, Faridun, and Tribal Humans in Act Three, will no longer interrupt their melee attacks if the player moves out of range.
• The Haste Aura monster modifier has been removed from fast monsters.

Act 1

• Werewolf Prowlers and Tendril Prowlers will now walk after performing a melee action, only running if the player moves away.
• Hungering Stalkers have 12% less Life and Damage.
• Reduced the number of Bloom Serpents in The Red Vale and Venomous Crabs in the Hunting Grounds.
• Cultists in Freythorn no longer have interrupt events on their attacks and will walk after melee actions.
• Blood Cretins' Blood Pools duration reduced from 6 to 4 seconds.
• Reduced monster density in Ogham Manor.

Act 2

• Boulder Ants in Titan Valley replaced by Risen Maraketh.
• Faridun modified to remove interrupt events on their attacks.

Act 3

• Diretusk Boar and Antlion Charger's charge mechanics adjusted to push players to the side.
• Adjusted monster composition in the Lost City and Azak Bog to reduce ranged and elite monsters.
• Fixed Slitherspitter's poison spray in Venom Crypts to deal Physical Damage instead of Chaos Damage.

Boss Changes

• Reduced the amount and size of Chaos Rains in the Viper Napuatzi fight.
• Uxmal's fight mechanics adjusted to reduce location changes, prevent Energy Shield recharge while in the air, and use Flame Breath less often.
• Xyclucian's arena cleared of ground foliage to improve visibility of effects.

Player Minion Changes

• Minion revive timers now increase less with each successive minion death.
• Disenchanting Bind Spectre or Tame Beast gems will unbind them.
• Tamed beasts can now fit through gaps the player can.

Other Player Balance

• Rally support can now be used with any Melee Attack.
• Glory is no longer consumed if the player is interrupted while using the skill.
• Fixed a bug with Blood Boils from the Ritualist ascendancy.

Crafting Changes

• Added mods to runes for caster weapons.
• Renly's abandoned shop in the Burning Village now offers a Blank rune that can be forged into any elemental rune.

Performance Improvements

• Optimized ground foliage in many areas to improve performance.

0.2.0E Deployment Timeline

• The patch will be deployed at around 10AM NZT.

Future Changes

• Charm slots on belts will be granted by implicit mods, with the number of slots depending on the belt's level.
• Several charm issues fixed, and charm mods made more powerful.
• Stash Tab Affinities added for various item categories.
• Atlas Bookmarks introduced to easily locate nodes on the atlas.

These changes aim to address the community's concerns and improve the gameplay experience. However, it remains to be seen whether these adjustments will be sufficient to restore player satisfaction and bring the game back to a positive reception.