'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQL/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMCol//EAB8QAAEDBAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAxMABAUhESIxUf/aAAgBAQABPwDGtw2mQltbd2JRQtwqIV1+DyhinlDmVve/DX//xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgD/2gAIAQIBAT8AiRd//8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEC/9oACAEDAQE/AKZ//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Patch 0.2.0 just dropped for Path of Exile 2 on April 4, 2025, and players already are expressing frustration at how things are going. Whether on Reddit, Twitter, or Twitch, players have found the leveling experience to be a significant slog, compared to what they had just a few days ago. One Twitch streamer, Basegg, even went as far as to say it’s the worst experience ever in an ARPG:
Trending
“This is genuinely the worst leveling experience throughout any ARPG I have ever had. This is f**king insane, dude.”
Basegg’s experience isn’t unique, either. Players are clearly frustrated by the want of “slow, meaningful combat” by the developers. Redditor FreshmeatOW stated they took vacation time to play, but the experience was so bad that they removed vacation and went back to work.
Redditor AdEnvironmental5066, who claims to have 10,000+ hours in the previous game, are miserable in Path of Exile 2 0.2.0, calling it slow, a slog, and the skills appear to do no damage.
One of the most common complaints is that monster speed and damage remain the same, whereas players were nerfed. It feels unfair to many players that one would be nerfed, but the enemies stay just as strong. It’s one of the things worrying players, when it comes to the Curse nerfs.
What has the Path of Exile 2 community so frustrated about the 0.2.0 campaign experience?
As someone who has been actively playing since the 0.2.0 update for Path of Exile 2 launched, I can certainly see and agree with many of the complaints. Enemies had a ton of health and skills felt like they did no damage. The health of monsters was addressed earlier this morning, for lower-level characters in a Hotfix, but that’s just not enough.
Combat went to feeling incredibly fun, to feeling like more of a chore. I have no problem with “meaningful combat,” a phrase that’s been bandied about for some time now. However, when it just feels slow and miserable, that’s another story entirely.
Many of the cooldowns, nerfs, and delays added to skills just don’t feel fun. It will be interesting to see if Grinding Gear Games addresses the changes, because it’s pretty clear to see that some players aren't happy with what they’ve received. The game built up a great deal of goodwill from players with Path of Exile 1, but the most recent update (0.2.0) of Path of Exile 2 really has players up in arms.
Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features
- All new Ascendancies in path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt (0.2.0)
- Path of Exile 2: A Quick Summary of what’s new in Dawn of the Hunt
- Path of Exile 2’s upcoming content update is holding back PoE 1’s next league
