What I wanted - and some things I didn't know I wanted.

First off, let me applaud the developers for finally making a good WASD control scheme in an ARPG. It's virtually friction-free, compared to all the attempts of the past.

That said, it's time to move on to the ways this game differentiates itself from Path of Exile. Most obviously, the speed. Even if my feedback is based on early levels, I can tell this game is going to the slower and more methodical than the first game. It's not a good or a bad thing, it's just different. Since my first character is a mercenary, it's not a big deal, but if I was a melee class I might be pissed. Who knows.

Technically, I am SO happy this is not another UE5-style blur fest with forced upsampling that looks like fried ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Speaking of the looks, this is the first game I've played since Ghost of Tsushima with a proper HDR implementation, this game might even look better. I'm extremely pleased to see GGG took their time to give us this at a high rate of quality.

All of the above are minor praises I have to give to the game so let's move on to the major ones.

The boss design is phenomenal. I bet no matter which class you play, you will struggle with at least 1 of the first 5 bosses. As a mercenary, I've struggled with Draven and I don't think I'll beat him without overgearing. I know the mechanics, and I play it perfectly, but I just can't squeeze out the damage to drop him in time for my flasks to not run out. And that's something I'm prepared for. The other 4 bosses up til this point weren't exactly blatantly "easy" either. And I'm not in a rush to farm them hoping for gear for the next one.

But here's the thing, the slower pace compared to PoE makes every choice you make matter more, for better or worse. It's frustrating sometimes to get blocked by geometry when trying to roll out of harm's way. But similarly, it's exhilarating to lead every aggro'd enemy through a narrow chokepoint filled with your grenades.

I think the speed of PoE 2 will be the main contention point for whether you like it or not. I've always been a speed demon in PoE, but I'm definiitely up to this new task of playing more methodically.

What I wanted - and some things I didn't know I wanted. First off, let me applaud the developers for finally making a good WASD control scheme in an ARPG. It's virtually friction-free, compared to all the attempts of the past. That said, it's time to move on to the ways this game differentiates itself from Path of Exile. Most obviously, the speed. Even if my feedback is based on early levels, I can tell this game is going to the slower and more methodical than the first game. It's not a good or a bad thing, it's just different. Since my first character is a mercenary, it's not a big deal, but if I was a melee class I might be pissed. Who knows. Technically, I am SO happy this is not another UE5-style blur fest with forced upsampling that looks like fried assholes. Speaking of the looks, this is the first game I've played since Ghost of Tsushima with a proper HDR implementation, this game might even look better. I'm extremely pleased to see GGG took their time to give us this at a high rate of quality. All of the above are minor praises I have to give to the game so let's move on to the major ones. The boss design is phenomenal. I bet no matter which class you play, you will struggle with at least 1 of the first 5 bosses. As a mercenary, I've struggled with Draven and I don't think I'll beat him without overgearing. I know the mechanics, and I play it perfectly, but I just can't squeeze out the damage to drop him in time for my flasks to not run out. And that's something I'm prepared for. The other 4 bosses up til this point weren't exactly blatantly "easy" either. And I'm not in a rush to farm them hoping for gear for the next one. But here's the thing, the slower pace compared to PoE makes every choice you make matter more, for better or worse. It's frustrating sometimes to get blocked by geometry when trying to roll out of harm's way. But similarly, it's exhilarating to lead every aggro'd enemy through a narrow chokepoint filled with your grenades. I think the speed of PoE 2 will be the main contention point for whether you like it or not. I've always been a speed demon in PoE, but I'm definiitely up to this new task of playing more methodically.