Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 is developer Grinding Gear Games' self-dubbed "next generation action RPG," and this round-up will take you through everything you need to know about the game between its early access launch, to 1.0, and beyond.

After getting announced all the way back in 2019, Path of Exile 2 arrived in Early Access in December 2024 after it was delayed from its initial November 2024 release window. When it arrived a little more than a year after Diablo IV, comparisons between the two ARPGs were all over the place.

But at least at the time of its early access launch, it was already making a case for itself as the ARPG that all fans of the genre should play, as Wccftech's Francesco De Meo wrote at the time of its early access launch that "Grinding Gear Games has a very strong idea of how to evolve the formula of its predecessor to deliver an experience that is, undoubtedly, very fun at all skill levels." Right at launch, it saw more than 1 million players jump in, and that's all before it even hit 1.0.

Release Date, Platforms, Pricing

Path of Exile 2 arrived in early access on December 6, 2024. At the time of this writing, it remains in early access, and is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Grinding Gear Games has yet to announce an official 1.0 release date, but it is currently set to arrive at some point in 2026.

The base game is currently available for $29.99 USD, though there are several supporter pack DLCs that can be purchased to unlock some of the additional paid content that has been released since its early access launch. The Lord of Ogham Supporter Pack, for example, costs $59.99 USD and includes several additional cosmetics on top of the base game, while the King of Faridun Supporter Pack includes several more cosmetics and all of the ones included in the Lord of Ogham pack for $99.99 USD.

Here's a breakdown of each edition you can grab:

• Path of Exile 2 Early Access Supporter Pack - $29.99,
  • Base Game
  • 300 points

• Path of Exile 2 Lord of Ogham Supporter Pack - $59.99
  • Base Game
  • Lord of Ogham Armour Set
  • Lord of Ogham Back Attachment
  • The Rust King Portal Effect
  • Iron Count's Zweihander Sword Skin
  • Baby Crowbell Pet
  • Lord of Ogham Kiwi Pet
  • Commemorative Hillock Statue Hideout Decoration
  • Lord of Ogham Supporter Forum Title/Badge
  • Lord of Ogham Supporter Social Frame
  • 600 points

• Path of Exile 2 King of Faridun Supporter Pack - $99.99
  • Base Game
  • King of the Faridun Armour Set
  • King of the Faridun Back Attachment
  • Deshret's Blessing Level-up Effect
  • The Dreadnought Hideout
  • Tyranny's End Spear Skin
  • Faridun's Glory Bow Skin
  • King of the Faridun Kiwi Pet
  • Commemorative Vaal Oversoul Statue Hideout Decoration
  • King of the Faridun Supporter Forum Title/Badge
  • King of the Faridun Supporter Social Frame
  • Everything from the Lord of Ogham Supporter Pack
  • 1000 points

On top of that, there are several DLC supporter packs that only add cosmetics and other in-game items, they do not include a copy of the game, only the above three supporter packs include the game itself.

Genre and Setting

Path of Exile 2 is an action RPG or ARPG for short, and is set within developer Grinding Gear Games' established Path of Exile universe. It also includes MMO elements as it is a multiplayer focused game, though it can certainly be enjoyed as a single-player experience.

The game takes place in the fantasy world of Wraeclast, an oppressive and lethal continent filled with dangerous creatures and old secrets that threaten to destroy the world, corrupting Wraelcast and turning it into an even more dangerous place than it was before.

Gameplay

Path of Exile 2's gameplay is action-focused and asks you to deal with multiple enemies all at once in its top-down isometric view. You'll pick classes for your characters and build out their strengths to match your playstyle, and each class has its own Ascendancy specializations which further customizes your character to match your preferred method of play.

Outside of picking specific classes and building your character as you level up, Path of Exile 2 also features a skill gem system that grants you incredibly powerful active skills and 200 support gems that allow you to modify their behaviour for even deeper layers of customization. You can also dual-specialize your passive skill tree, and hundreds of items to collect for, once again, even deeper layers of customization.

You'll take your heavily customized character and pit them against multiple bosses as every area of the game's campaign ends with a boss fight, and once you're in the endgame, you'll be able to explore over 100 endgame maps to grind through and defeat a boss at the end of each one.

Tech and Specs

For all of its customization capabilities and intense combat encounters, you don't need a beefy machine to run Path of Exile 2. It has incredibly reasonable hardware requirements between its minimum and recommended specs, both of which you should be able to clear even if you have an aging PC.