"Path of Exile 2 Dev Responds to Negative Steam Reviews with Emergency Updates"

Grinding Gear Games, the developer behind Path of Exile 2, has responded to the community's backlash against the Dawn of the Hunt update with a series of emergency changes. The update, released earlier this month, introduced the new Huntress class, five new ascension classes, and over one hundred new unique items, along with significant crafting enhancements. However, the community criticized the update for slowing down the game's pace, leading to a "total slog" and plummeting Steam user reviews to 'mostly negative.'

The 'most helpful' review on Steam in the last 30 days highlighted the prolonged boss fights, ineffective skills, and overall poor gameplay experience, exacerbated by game stability issues. Other negative reviews echoed these sentiments, pointing out the nerfed loot, forced combo gameplay, and slow movement across large areas, which starkly contrasted with the freedom and flexibility players expect from an action role-playing game (ARPG) like Path of Exile.

In response, GGG has rolled out patch 0.2.0e, set to launch on April 11, to address these concerns. The update focuses on several key areas:

Monster Speed Changes

GGG has made adjustments to monster behavior to reduce player overwhelm. Notable changes include removing interrupt events from human monsters like Cultists, Faridun, and Tribal Humans in Act Three, which previously allowed them to relentlessly pursue players. The Haste Aura modifier has also been removed from fast monsters.

In Act 1, Werewolf Prowlers and Tendril Prowlers will now walk after melee actions, reducing their speed unless the player moves away. Hungering Stalkers have had their life and damage reduced, and the number of Bloom Serpents and Venomous Crabs has been decreased in specific areas. Similar adjustments have been made across Acts 2 and 3 to improve player experience.

Boss Changes

Boss encounters have been tweaked to enhance player enjoyment. Viper Napuatzi's Chaos Rains have been reduced in number and size, and Uxmal's fight has been adjusted to be less frustrating, including fewer location changes and reduced use of Flame Breath. Xyclucian's arena has been cleared of ground foliage to improve visibility of his effects.

Player Minion Changes

Minion revive timers have been adjusted to prevent long delays when multiple minions die. Disenchanting Bind Spectre or Tame Beast gems now unbinds them, and tamed beasts can navigate through gaps accessible to players.

Other Player Balance

Additional player balance changes include expanding the Rally support skill to any melee attack and fixing bugs related to the Ritualist's Blood Boils skill.

Crafting Changes

All caster weapon mods have been added to runes, and Renly's shop now offers a Blank rune that can be forged into any elemental rune. Artificers Orb drops have been fixed to ensure availability throughout the campaign.

Performance Improvements

Ground foliage in several areas has been optimized to enhance game performance.

0.2.0E Deployment Timeline

Patch 0.2.0e is scheduled for deployment at 10AM NZT, with additional changes planned for post-weekend release.

Charm Changes

Charm functionality has been improved with new charm slots on belts based on area level and the ability to reroll these slots with Divine Orbs. Charm mods have been enhanced to be more powerful and effective.

Stash Tab Affinities

New stash tab affinities have been introduced for various item categories, including Socketables, Fragments, Breach, Expedition, and Ritual items, with charms now able to be stored in Flask stash tabs.

Atlas Bookmarks

A new feature allowing players to bookmark locations on their atlas has been added, enabling quick navigation with up to 16 bookmarks at a time.

These updates reflect GGG's commitment to addressing player feedback and improving the Path of Exile 2 experience. The question remains whether these changes will be sufficient to restore the community's faith and improve the game's reception on Steam.