The Path of Exile 2 1.0 update will wrap up the ARPG’s main campaign, but Game Director Jonathan Rogers is teasing something unexpected.
The 1.0 launch of Path of Exile 2 will bring the end of its campaign, and until now I'd just assumed that was in the form of Acts Five and Six, much as developer Grinding Gear Games had originally suggested. Now, I'm not sure what to think. We caught up with the action RPG's Game Director Jonathan Rogers at Gamescom to discuss the new Duelist class and the runup to full release, only to find him being strangely mysterious about the finale - although he does promise it'll include "some of the most epic shit we've ever made."
"We're being a bit coy," Rogers tells us. "We're finishing the campaign, it's more than one act, but we're being a bit coy about exactly what everything there is." That's certainly a less straightforward answer than I'd expected. What is confirmed is that the three interlude acts that currently carry you between Act Four's conclusion and the Path of Exile 2 endgame proper are going away, although the additional elements that GGG built for them will be recycled in other forms.
"All the bosses and stuff, all the monsters, all the things we did in the interludes that were unique, they're all either going to be in endgame, or they're going to be in a quest," Rogers explains. "So it's not like you're really losing anything there." He says the interludes were "really important" to make so that GGG could strip out PoE 2's previous demand that you complete the campaign twice per character. "None of it was really wasted development, but the quality of what you'll have now after the end of Act Four is significantly better."
The initial three acts of Path of Exile 2's campaign were strong, and have only improved as GGG has tightened up the pacing in subsequent updates, but Act Four was a notable step up in quality. Last month, fellow Game Director Mark Roberts told me GGG had gotten "really good at making acts" in the time since PoE 2's launch, and Rogers reiterates that here. "I am very proud of Act- of the end of the campaign. It's very cool, and also there's some of the most epic shit we've ever made in there." Still 'playing coy' with the wording there, it seems.
Whatever 1.0 looks like, Path of Exile 2 is making its long-awaited transition to free-to-play in a market that's stacked with great ARPGs. The live-service cycle includes two Paths of Exile, Diablo 4, Torchlight Infinite, and Last Epoch to name just a few. We've just had a new expansion for Grim Dawn, and Titan Quest 2's early access is rumbling along nicely. Despite this, Rogers is confident that the league model with its seasonal resets creates "room for way more ARPGs in the market" than other genres like MMOs, where a single game can demand your full attention.
"Ideally, if the releases aren't on top of each other anyway, you can have a situation where you can just play more," Rogers remarks. "Players can play many different ARPGs, and that's what I would hope that they would do." Occasional clashes can and will happen, however. "I honestly do try and pay attention to the other ARPG releases to try not to stamp on them, but sometimes it's unavoidable."
Competition helps all sides grow, and Rogers emphasizes, "Our goal here is basically just to be the ARPG that is the best at all the things in the market that we can be. We've got the best combat, we've got the best skill design, we've got the best build stuff, we've got the best bosses, and we've got the best endgame. That's my goal. I want to just do it perfectly, right? I know that's always a chase to try and perfect everything, but it really is what I try to do."
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.pcgamesn.com/path-of-exile-2/campaign-final-acts-interview-gamescom
