With patch 0.3.0 about two weeks away from its official release, and given the tepid feedback on patch 0.2.0, what can the developers do to keep Path of Exile 2 on the right track?

Undoubtedly, patch 0.3.0 is one of the most important updates during the entire Early Access period, potentially impacting the future of the full game. Because it has already undergone two major updates before.

Although patches 0.1.0 and 0.2.0 are not satisfactory overall, POE 2 was released not long ago and players’ tolerance is still quite high. If the 0.3.0 patch update can bring huge success, then people will believe that the previous bad situation was just an accident, but if this update brings the opposite effect, then players may think that the level of POE 2 is limited to this and completely lose confidence in it. After all, things never happen three times.

Therefore, a smooth release of this patch is particularly important for the developers. So, what improvements does Path of Exile 2 need to make patch 0.3.0 a success?

Here, POECurrency.com has compiled a list of predicted improvements from a player’s perspective. While I don’t think they’ll be able to implement all of them, it’s important that they implement most of them and gradually implement some of them over time.

Campaign Improvements

In patch 0.3.0, I believe the campaign and endgame will definitely need some significant changes.

Adjust Map Layouts

For the campaign, I wouldn’t mention many changes, but they are certainly far-reaching. The first and foremost issue is definitely the pacing of the campaign, both in terms of actual gameplay time and gameplay experience.

While we saw some map layout changes in patch 0.2.1, I still believe they need further improvements in 0.3.0 to make the maps more fluid for players.

If possible, it would be helpful to guide players in the right direction, as large, complex maps can often be confusing. Even though we’ve played this map numerous times, we still can’t quite grasp the direction we should go on certain maps, especially in the critically grappling endgame. Going the wrong way often wastes time and causes us to miss out on a ton of PoE 2 currency.

So, I really hope they’ll do more map guidance and generally make the map smoother, perhaps even a bit smaller.

Movement Speed Boost

Now, another issue they need to address is movement speed. While many believe this could be achieved through implicit movement speed bonuses like boots, they didn’t explicitly state this adjustment would be included in the June developer interview.

So, I’m more inclined to believe they’re not planning to improve movement speed this way, but rather by adding Acceleration Shrines to the map. That way, every time we find a shrine, the dopamine rush will make us feel better, allowing us to clear the map faster and, ultimately, complete the campaign faster.

I think this satisfies both of the developer’s criteria: not actually increasing the character’s base movement speed, but also giving players more opportunities to gain increased movement speed during the campaign. I think this is a win-win situation.

Add New Acts

Next, another thing they need to consider is definitely adding new Acts. I know there are rumors that Act 4 is 99% certain to be added in patch 0.3.0, but I personally don’t think they’ll just add one Act. I even think they might add all three Acts, or even no new Acts at all. This is for a certain degree of consistency.

In Path of Exile 2, Cruel difficulty was introduced to facilitate the transition to Acts 4-6. So, in effect, players would have to play Acts 1-3 twice: once at Normal difficulty and again at Normal difficulty. This allows players to experience the endgame while waiting for the full release.

So, if they only add Act 4 in patch 0.3.0 instead of the remaining three Acts, it might simply be a way to extend the campaign.

However, many people have grown tired of repeating the same Act over and over again. Even though each campaign run earns valuable PoE 2 currency and XP, the tedious repetition only wears down players’ enthusiasm. Having to repeat Acts 1 through 3 for every character is already a problem in itself, and if the campaign is extended even further, I imagine it will undoubtedly spark player outrage.

Endgame Improvements

On the other hand, as we mentioned, the endgame in Path of Exile 2 feels like a patchwork haphazardly thrown together, and the gameplay experience is truly terrible. Therefore, I hope they will overhaul the endgame content in this update. A few minor fixes won’t improve the current state of affairs.

Remove Towers

First and foremost, I believe Towers needs to be removed. Of course, I’m not saying they absolutely need to be removed, but the way they function absolutely needs to change.

I’ve seen countless players complain that they always need a three- or four-tower setup for it to feel right on the map. If you don’t do this, it really won’t affect your game progress too much, but your drop rate of POE 2 Orbs and equipment will definitely be very low. This is a significant detriment to the experience.

If they want to keep towers, the developers must consider ways to eliminate the need for players to search for areas with multiple towers, or simply prevent towers from overlapping, so that only one tower can be built at a time.

Adjust Atlas Traversal Mechanic

Another frustrating issue is Atlas Map traversal mechanics. Often, we’re forced to traverse unwanted maps and areas because the areas we need to go to are behind them. In contrast, Path of Exile 1’s map system is much better, and your journey isn’t affected by any of this.

If they want to keep the traversal system, they must ensure that we have some way to change maps or select the ones we want to visit. For example, they could make each map layout a blank node, allowing players to place their desired maps into it, just like in the original game. This way, even if the traversal system is retained, players can still play the maps they want.

Improve The Crafting System

Next, here’s what most players have been asking for: Path of Exile 2’s crafting system definitely needs improvement.

First, many items currently cost too much, especially purple items, because of their low drop rate. This is why more and more players are seeking to get items directly for real money at secure stores like POECurrency.com.

But if the in-game crafting system were simpler and more convenient, perhaps we wouldn’t see items being inflated in price on Currency Exchanges. Yes, I think more crafting options would reduce inflation, especially if we could use currencies like POE 2 Divine Orb to craft gear.

Since Divine Orbs are currently just a trade currency, most people don’t actually use them. As a result, they accumulate, driving inflation up like crazy. So, if people had more opportunities to actually use their Divine Orbs, perhaps they could use them as crafting materials.

Increase Map Difficulty And Improve Loot Scaling

Finally, another area that needs improvement in endgame is map difficulty and tier progression. I don’t think the current Pinnacle bosses are particularly challenging. Even at T4 difficulty, they’re quite easy to defeat, and reaching and defeating them is quite quick, so players quickly run out of playable content.

Therefore, in future updates, the developers will undoubtedly add more challenges to the endgame, both in the bosses themselves and elsewhere.

Furthermore, I think the current endgame is quite linear. Most people only have a few things they need to do or want to do, and then it’s over. The gameplay isn’t as engaging as we’d like. Therefore, it would be great to have better endgame objectives.

Unfortunately, the current maps aren’t very rewarding or challenging. In the original game, as the map difficulty increased, the loot dropped increased in number and rarity. However, in PoE 2, you can get the maximum number of drops and rarity without affecting the map’s difficulty.

So, I really hope they’ll add more difficulty levels to make the maps more challenging, and that higher difficulty levels will result in better loot, giving players a truly rewarding experience.

These are the areas I think need improvement in Patch 0.3.0. These adjustments are currently the most anticipated by players and will significantly impact the future direction of PoE series. Hopefully, this update won’t disappoint! What other features do you think need tweaking? See you next time!