Path of ExcitePath of Exile 2 is Diablo 4's first real competition, and I'm actually glad it arrives in a quiet period for Blizzard's gameDiablo 4 has reached a point where I can feel okay putting it down for now, and get excited about the next game like it coming out very soon.Image credit: VG247 Article by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on Nov. 26, 2024 Diablo 4 has completed more than a single rotation around the sun. Since its initial release in June, 2023, Blizzard delivered several fundamental changes to its itemisation, levelling experience, difficultly options, and dramatically changed the structure of its endgame.The game received one full expansion, six seasons, and plenty of updates that managed to address almost all grievances players have had with it. In many ways, the Diablo 4 of late-2024 is altogether different from the one that came out in the summer of the prior year. Before it needed to do any of that, however, it was my favourite ARPG regardless, because even that often maligned launch version delivered on the things I care about most in those games.But its time for Diablo 4 to take a rest, because Path of Exile 2 looks to be the first game since its release that stands any real chance at luring in the formers casual audience - the majority of the people who play it.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. That style of action RPG; the isometric, loot-driven, grim narratives about worlds ending and corruption of longstanding faiths, thats my jam. I follow the ones I find interesting when they get announced, but end up playing them for far shorter than Id like because Im usually underwhelmed by the moment-to-moment of their gameplay, and Im inevitably driven back to Diablo.Earlier this year, at one of Diablo 4s roughest stretches since release, along came the 1.0 launch of Last Epoch. It was fine. It played well enough, but the focus was clearly on an endgame I never cared about or managed to stick around long enough to reach. It often felt like a game that goes out of its way to cater to every whim of its most dedicated players, introducing systems and solving problems that the majority of players wouldnt even recognise as such. It came and went, only managing to keep its most dedicated players around.And so, Diablo 4s reign was once again unchallenged, and all the work Blizzard put into the game clearly made it the favourite ARPG amongst the loudest players in the ARPG community. But that reign is about to threatened by the arrival of Path of Exile 2. Diablo 4's first proper rival is a real looker, too. | Image credit: Grinding Gear GamesTruthfully, I never saw the original Path of Exile as any threat to Diablo. The idea that it would leave any dent in the massive - casual - audience of Blizzards ARPG never really made sense to me; its like a YouTube thumbnail proclaiming the death of Call of Duty at the hands of Arma.Path of Exile, however, has been one of the most enduring out of all of them, so every year or so Id download the damn thing, and put about six or seven hours into it before I bounce off. I could stomach its limited inventory, comically large passive skill tree, unnecessarily complex gem system, and even how it handles item identification, but I could never get past how clunky and unsatisfying its combat is.The games developer, Grinding Gear Games, even recognised that as a shortcoming of its game, and attempted to change it some years ago, which got me to once again redownload it, only to quickly drop it yet again.I have yet to actually play a minute of Path of Exile 2, but from everything weve been hearing, seeing, and reading about the upcoming release, it sounds like GGG is finally going after the Diablo audience; the people who like satisfying action, a bit of loot, and the production quality of the big games.I watch and play a lot of ARPGs, so I tend to notice things about character movement, attack animation priority, heft and weight and all that more than, Im willing to guess, most people do. This is where I see most of the progress, and to my eyes, it looks closer than ever to Diablos combat flow - especially Diablo 4s. Path of Exile 2 is no less epic than its predecessor. | Image credit: Grinding Gear GamesNow, I know Path of Exile 2 is still going to be a far more complex game than Diablo 4. The developer recently spent over an hour going over features and systems, most of which were strictly made for the endgame, even though the early access launch build only includes a portion of the core campaign. It looks to be a more accessible game, sure, but Itd be silly for GGG to abandon its core audience now.I still see a few of the presentational issues Ive always had a problem with in PoE in the sequel, and I know Im going to want certain Diablo 4 features in PoE2 that most likely wont ever be mirrored. The difference this time, though, is that Im actually looking forward to playing; moving my character, interacting with the world, feeling that oomph of combat. Would that be enough to get me to look past all the complexities? I dont know.My own feelings on the nuances of combat aside, its hard not to see the release of Path of Exile 2 as anything but a marker of how healthy the subgenre remains. Were well past Game X existing solely to kill Game Y. I want, and love, both of them co-existing, and theres plenty of room for more games still. Secretly, though, I am worried I might become one of those PoE fiends who go into a tirade every time a casual onlooker mocks something in their favourite game. A tirade that almost always starts with, No, you dont understand.Path of Exile 2 releases on December 6 on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.