Played a lot of ARPGs in my life, and somehow even Diablo 4 feels more enjoyable than this. I keep coming back to PoE 2, hoping they'll eventually address at least some of its biggest issues, but the core design choices that make it less enjoyable than PoE 1, Diablo II: Resurrected, Diablo III, or many other ARPGs remain unchanged.
To me, it feels like GGG is suffering from an escalation of commitment. The game seems to have been designed from day one to be as different from traditional ARPGs as possible, and now it's difficult to move away from that vision. No amount of theorycrafting can save you (unless you're playing one of the currently overpowered builds). Your success depends far more on your reflexes than on your build, and while that sounds interesting on paper, I don't think it's enjoyable in practice.
The player feels slow in almost every aspect: movement, skill progression, and gearing. The enemies don't. They behave like PoE 1 monsters but with devastating "must dodge at all costs" attacks layered on top. Add a screen filled with visual effects, dozens of enemies, and constant area denial, and at some point it starts feeling more like Dance Dance Revolution on hard mode than an ARPG.
Yes, I know there are ways to bypass many of these problems, and the endgame eventually becomes much closer to PoE 1. But that doesn't change the fact that the core experience—especially for new players—is, in my opinion, simply not fun.
Instead of addressing these underlying design issues, GGG keeps mitigating them with balance patches and numerical adjustments. The game is built so heavily around Souls-like combat principles that changing direction now would probably require rewriting a huge part of its core gameplay. As it stands today, I would always recommend PoE 1 over PoE 2, or even most other decent ARPGs.
What makes this especially disappointing is that almost everything else is fantastic. The story, atmosphere, world design, visuals, music, and overall presentation are excellent. My problem isn't with the production quality—it's with the core gameplay philosophy. I simply don't think Souls-like combat translates well into an ARPG.
Before anyone says "git gud": I actually enjoy Souls games. The difference is that Souls games are designed around carefully fighting one or a few dangerous enemies. ARPGs are about mowing through large groups of monsters while developing increasingly powerful builds. Mixing those two philosophies just doesn't work for me. The result often feels less like an ARPG and more like a bullet hell game.
This is, of course, just my opinion. There are plenty of players who genuinely enjoy this direction, and I'm happy they do. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.
