5 League Mechanics in Path of Exile that should be added to the sequel

Path of Exile is widely considered to be the most successful ARPG on the market. Competing with full-priced AAA titles like Diablo 4 and passionate indie projects like Last Epoch, Path of Exile (colloquially known as PoE) is a clarion call for the Free-to-Play model among ARPG titles.

Grinding Gear Games, the developers of Path of Exile, announced a sequel titled Path of Exile 2 in 2019. Originally designed to continue PoE’s storyline, the expansion quickly became a standalone title, complete with a full six-act campaign and a robust post-campaign endgame system. The much-lauded league mechanics of Path of Exile are also slated to be a part of PoE 2’s endgame maps in a revamped fashion.

5 league mechanics that should be in Path of Exile 2

League mechanics are the lifeblood of PoE’s endgame mapping, and according to GGG, will continue to be so in the upcoming sequel. These mechanics are the gameplay elements of PoE’s seasonal content updates, drastically changing combat scenarios while offering unique rewards.

There are currently over twenty unique league mechanics in PoE. In this article, we will attempt to boil that list down to five, based on challenging combat, its effect on the trade economy, and replayability.

Essence

Essences are a cornerstone of crafting in PoE, regardless of the ongoing challenge league and its trade economy. These are obtained from killing monsters entombed in crystalline prisons, where random enemies are imbued with various effects and can easily kill unsuspecting players. Moreover, essences can be applied or “slammed” onto existing rare gear to guarantee a specific affix and randomize others.

Essences are easy to come by at any time of a league and are often used to create crafting bases for high-end endgame items. These currencies fuel the trade economy, while folks in solo self-found mode use them to quickly craft well-rolled gear. Considering the slower-paced combat of Path of Exile 2, having essence monsters as mini-bosses will do a lot of heavy lifting for early maps.

Blight

Blight is essentially ‘tower defense meets APRG’ rolled into a single league mechanic. Since its launch in 2019, Blight has been one of the most consistent mid to high-end loot generators, with little to no entry cost. Upon encountering a Blight tower and its disturbingly cheerful companion Sister Cassia, players are instructed to build modifiable defensive towers along mycelial lanes. Clearing the incoming enemies showers players with loot while additional chests, each containing a specific type of loot, spawn for each defeated portal.

Alongside normal gear and currency drops, Blight is the primary source of Oils used to enchant jewelry pieces, and occasionally Blight-specific unique gear and Blighted maps. Enchantments are build-defining and incredibly strong, so Oils are always in demand. Path of Exile 2’s tactical nature will allow Blight to be updated accordingly and help stabilize the game’s economy, even through the growing pains.

Expedition

Expedition is uniquely tricky because it has become a tentpole league mechanic of currency making in the early game and maybe even the mid-game. In this mechanic, players encounter one of the four Kalguuran NPCs, large quantities of explosives, and grave markers. Blowing up these sites unveils the hidden underground treasures and the undead. Killing the enemies and opening the chests will reward specific currencies that can be converted to gear, standard currencies, and much more.

Expedition is unique since players love the mechanic for its reward structure but hate it for it being an out-of-map system that takes them out of the flow. It also has both an in-map and standalone system, where one can delve into instanced Expedition encounters. This mechanic is tailor-made for SSF players for ease of access and is the only source of Runic gear that enables unique build archetypes, perfect for both PoE and PoE 2.

Harvest

Harvest is quite possibly the most controversial league mechanic ever launched in PoE. At its launch, it was the strongest crafting mechanic bar none, and even after the multitudes of nerfs and “adjustments” (read: more nerfs) it remains a formidable crafting tool for crafters of any skill level. The Sacred Grove has endured many changes and now players only need to cull a handful of enemies to obtain three unique resources. These resources can be traded to other players or used up via the Horticrafting station to utilize the various crafting effects.

Harvest will undoubtedly be the top pick of any PoE player who has been around since its heyday back in 2020. The crafting is almost all-encompassing and extremely easy to use, unlike Necropolis league's grave crafting, making it a perfect gateway crafting mechanic for players looking to understand the intricacies. However, the enemies might be a challenge as the wrong Archnemesis mods on the wrong enemy type can quickly spell disaster and burn through your portals.

Sanctum

We know, we know, Sanctum is boring but the roguelike mode is perfect for Path of Exile 2’s brutally tactical gameplay. Sanctum’s strength lies in its labyrinthine nature and unique enemies that punish thoughtless movement and poor decision-making. Due to player power far eclipsing enemy difficulty, Sanctum is used by players to generate a ludicrous amount of standard currency.

In Path of Exile 2, GGG can utilize the slower pace of combat to revamp the Forbidden Sanctum and the challenges. The upcoming skill gem system can be weaved into the reward structure to incentivize players to risk it all for those big money items.

There are no perfect top-five league mechanics because Path of Exile’s unique nature and gameplay loop make each one exciting and distinct. Players will often juggle between different mechanics since they might get bored with one strategy and it does not have any long-term effect on the enjoyability.

Therefore, it’s only logical for players to hope that GGG will successfully port over everything from Path of Exile to its sequel, despite all the risks.

Edited by Shraman Mitra