Grinding Gear Games isn't exactly known for rushing things. If you’ve been following the development of the sequel to the most complex ARPG on the planet, you know the wait has been agonizing. It’s been years. We’re finally here, though. Path of Exile 2 early access isn't just a beta test in the modern, "pre-order for three days early" sense; it’s a massive, foundational shift in how we click on monsters and watch them explode into loot.
Honestly? It feels different. Not just "better graphics" different, though the engine overhaul makes the original game look like a relic from a forgotten era. It’s the weight of the combat. In the first game, you basically became a walking god-machine that deleted three screens of enemies by breathing. In the sequel, specifically in this early access build, you actually have to care about what the monsters are doing.
What Path of Exile 2 early access actually changes
Most people expected more of the same, but the reality is that Jonathan Rogers and the team at GGG have basically rebuilt the genre's DNA. The biggest shocker for long-time fans is the movement. You can move while attacking now—at least with certain skills—and every single class has a dedicated dodge roll. It sounds small. It’s not. It changes the entire rhythm of the game from a spreadsheet simulator into something that feels more like a soulslike had a baby with a traditional isometric looter.
The Skill Gem Overhaul is the Real Hero
In the old system, your gear dictated your skills. You needed a six-link chest piece to feel powerful. If you found a better armor piece with bad sockets, you were screwed. That’s gone. In Path of Exile 2 early access, the sockets are on the gems themselves.
Think about that for a second.
You find a cool new pair of boots? You just put them on. No stressing over whether you have enough Jeweller's Orbs to make them usable. This shift alone removes about 40% of the friction that kept new players from sticking with the first game. It’s a massive quality-of-life win that doesn't sacrifice the "big brain" complexity the series is known for. You’ve still got the massive passive tree. It’s still daunting. It’s still beautiful in its absurdity.
The Boss Fights are a Wake-up Call
If you go into this thinking you can just face-tank everything, you’re going to have a bad time. The bosses in the early access acts are brutal. They have mechanics that actually require you to use that new dodge roll. GGG has implemented what they call "Resetting Bosses," meaning if you die, the boss's health resets. No more "corpse throwing" your way through a difficult encounter.
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It’s polarizing. Some people hate it. Personally, I think it makes the victory feel earned. When you finally take down the Executioner or any of the act bosses, it's because you actually learned the dance. You didn't just out-gear the content.
Gold is here and it’s weirdly okay
Purists might scream, but gold is a thing now. In the original Path of Exile, the economy was built entirely on barter using functional items like Orbs of Alteration or Chaos Orbs. In Path of Exile 2 early access, gold exists alongside those currencies. It's used for vendor items and, crucially, for respecs.
Respeccing your character used to be a nightmare for casual players. You needed Regret Orbs, which were expensive early on. Now, you just pay some gold. It encourages experimentation. You aren't punished for trying a weird build and realizing at level 30 that it sucks. You just pay the tax and move on.
Classes and the New Weapon Swap System
We’ve got twelve character classes now, two for each combination of Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence. The Monk and the Mercenary are the standouts so far. The Mercenary plays like a top-down shooter, utilizing crossbows that function like assault rifles or shotguns depending on the ammo gems you slot. It’s wild.
Then there’s the weapon swapping.
Path of Exile 2 allows you to set specific passive skills to trigger only when you have a specific weapon equipped. Imagine casting a frost spell with a staff that gains bonuses from your "staff passives," and then automatically switching to a flail for a melee strike that utilizes your "shield passives." The game handles the swap instantly. It’s fluid. It allows for "hybrid" builds that actually work, rather than just being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.
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Performance and the Engine
Let’s be real: Path of Exile 1 is a technical mess. It stutters, it crashes, and the visual clutter is blinding. The sequel’s engine is a different beast entirely. The lighting is moody. The physics are reactive. When you hit a crate, it doesn't just disappear; it splinters based on the direction of the impact.
But this comes at a cost. You’re going to need a decent rig. The Path of Exile 2 early access requirements are significantly higher than the first game. If you're still rocking a GPU from six years ago, you might struggle to maintain a stable 60 FPS when the screen gets busy. GGG has integrated better upscaling tech like DLSS and FSR, which helps, but the baseline for entry has definitely moved up.
Couch Co-op and Accessibility
One of the most surprising additions is the focus on couch co-op. You can play through the entire early access campaign with a friend on the same screen. They even revamped the UI to handle two players at once, including simultaneous inventory management. It’s a clear play for the console market, but it’s a win for PC players who want to play with their partners without needing two separate setups.
Is it "dumbed down"? No. It’s just more readable. The game explains things better. The tutorials don't just dump a wall of text on you; they show you.
The Mounting Competition
The ARPG landscape is crowded now. We have Diablo 4, Last Epoch, and Grim Dawn still kicking. GGG isn't ignoring this. They know they need to keep the "hardcore" soul while making the game approachable enough to grow the player base.
Last Epoch did a great job with its crafting system, and you can see some of that influence in how GGG has refined their own systems. They aren't copying, but they are clearly observing what players find fun in 2026. The result is a game that feels like it has a much higher production value than anything they’ve done before.
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Is the Early Access Worth Your Time?
If you’re expecting a finished, polished masterpiece with zero bugs, wait for the full release. It’s called early access for a reason. There are balance issues. Some skills feel way overtuned, while others feel like you're hitting enemies with a wet noodle.
However, if you want to be part of the conversation and help shape the future of the game, it’s essential. The feedback loops during this period are how GGG decides what stays and what goes. They are famously reactive to their community, sometimes to a fault.
Practical Steps for New Players
Getting started in the Path of Exile 2 early access can be overwhelming despite the improvements. Here is how you should actually approach your first ten hours if you don't want to burn out:
- Don't skip the dodge roll training. Seriously. Practice it in the first area. It’s the difference between life and death against the first major boss.
- Focus on one or two damage types. Even with the new respec system, trying to do "a little bit of everything" will make your character feel weak by Act 2.
- Use your gold frequently. Don't hoard it. Use it to keep your gear up to date at vendors, especially for life and resistance stats.
- Read the new Skill Gem tooltips. They provide much more data than the old ones did. Pay attention to "Keywords"—they tell you exactly what modifiers will actually boost your damage.
- Experiment with the Mercenary. Even if you usually hate ranged classes, the crossbow mechanics in PoE 2 are a technological marvel and show off what the new engine can really do.
The endgame is still being refined, and many features are locked behind later stages of the early access rollout. But the foundation is rock solid. Path of Exile 2 isn't just a sequel; it's an attempt to reclaim the throne of the ARPG genre by proving that complexity and playability can coexist. It's a bold gamble, but based on what we're seeing right now, it’s one that’s likely to pay off for both the developers and the players who have been waiting since 2019.
The campaign is long, the bosses are hard, and the loot is plentiful. That's really all anyone wanted. It’s a good time to be a fan of clicking on monsters.
Log in, try not to die too much, and remember that every death is a lesson in a game that finally values your skill as much as your gear. The road to the full 1.0 release is going to be a wild ride, and this early access phase is just the beginning of the chaos.