Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games has released a new video showcasing the second act of Path of Exile 2 and the new spear weapon, which has both close and long range capabilities, and the new crossbow weapon. The first thing I noticed is that POE 2 is starting to look more like a combination of Diablo 2 and 3. The player movement seem to be much better than in POE 1 and the graphics have certainly been upgraded (not sure if it supports RTX). Heck, Act 2 of POE2 even starts with you in Caravan like D3, except the caravan in POE 2 is mobile and thus allows you flexibility in choosing missions.
The Spear Weapon is interesting as it allows for hit and run style of combat, capable of dealing damage up close and then maneuvering to a distance to trigger other effects. The crossbow, on the other hand, seems to be more of a multipurpose shotgun slash projectile launcher as compared to the traditional bow weapon. I love how the various skills can be modified much more extensively in Path of Exile 2, main skills can be customized to your playstyle and preferences by the various modifiers to the type and scope of the effect. It would be interesting to see how the community solves this new meta.
Unfortunately, the POE 2 video also states that Path of Exile 2 wont be arriving this 2021 so it’s possible that we will see multiple new expansions released for the original free to play Path of Exile game this year.
PATH OF EXILE: ULTIMATUM EXPANSION
Another big announcement was the original POE’s newest expansion: Ultimatum. The main feature of Ultimatum is fighting of increasing waves of enemies except you will have a choice before each new wave: exit the event with your current rewards or fight stronger waves of monsters to get even better rewards at the risk of losing earned items.
For Ultimatum, GGG has reworked a ton of rewards for the various game modes such as Syndicate, Vaal Temple, Breach, Betrayal and even the core game drops: these include new currency types such as the new veiled orb, which rerolls an rare item with veiled mods to it, and new unique items. Other improvements are quality of life improvements, reworked jewel, scarabs and essences.
Also…wait what? Did GGG just say the unique belt Headhunter (one of the much in demand and expensive item in-game) can now drop on sufficiently high level monsters on the core game? Sign me up!
The Ultimatum expansion releases for the Free to Play game Path of Exile next week on April 16 PDT.
More information can be found here: https://www.pathofexile.com/ultimatum
