Path of Exile 2 Early Access has been very well received since its release, not only because it is the first sequel to POE series that has been popular with MMO players for decades, but more importantly, POE 2 itself provides players with a great co-op experience, even in Early Access stage.
However, GGG must not stop here if it wants to maintain the original enthusiasm of the large number of players after the full version of POE 2 is released, because there are indeed some design choices that are not ideal.
With this in mind, let’s talk about the co-op mode issues in Path of Exile 2 that need some serious adjustments, and improving them may really help POE 2 take the top spot in multiplayer co-op games!
1. Teleporting
First, let’s start with something that many players have been complaining about, and that is Teleporting.
Teleporting has always been a very important core mechanic of group games, but in POE 2, it is unnecessarily complicated.
If you’re on the same map as your teammates, you can’t even teleport to them! You either have to walk, which can take a long time on enormous maps, or walk back and forth through town portals. That’s right, either you teleport to the town, then teleport to their checkpoint, and your teammates have to open their portals so you can jump back to them. It’s tedious and a waste of time.
The solution seems simple, though: by using an existing button in UI, let us teleport directly to our teammates, no matter where they are. GGG could perhaps add a short cast time to balance things out. That would save a lot of trouble.
2. Map Display
Another headache is the map display, which is complex and unclear map information that can easily make players completely lost.
Not only that, there is no way to sync map discovery between teams, which means that if your team explores separately, the areas they discover will not be synced with everyone else’s map, which will just keep wasting your time backtracking. Imagine how frustrating it would be when you spent an hour exploring a map that your teammates have already swept and never found an Exalted Orb!
In fact, we don’t need military-level planning to scout the map in cooperation, just a simple shared map. This will greatly improve the exploration process, reduce backtracking, and keep everyone on the same page.
3. Resurrection Speed
It is well known that it takes a long time to revive teammates in POE 2, especially when the enemy keeps interrupting you. Everything will easily return to the starting point.
Some players may want to say that as long as the character’s survivability is improved, it will not be easily killed? But seriously, building evasion or relying on crowd control skills such as stun, shock, or freeze will indeed help, but even so, it is a hit and miss. Not to mention, a high-survivability character often requires an enormous investment of POE Currency, which is difficult for early players to do.
In contrast, shorter casting time or immunity to interruption will often help us a lot. In addition, outside of combat, why not completely eliminate the casting time? This is completely unnecessary downtime. Although they have made some minor changes to the casting time in patch 0.1.1, the penalty system still feels a bit over the top.
Other than that, respawn options in POE 2 are minimal. If you die in co-op, you can basically just wait for someone to revive you, or wait for everyone to wipe out and then respawn together. This is totally unnecessary.
Imagine dying on the other side of the map and then you just sit there doing nothing, waiting for your buddies to come and rescue you, which is absolutely frustrating in the middle of story progression.
I think GGG could have just let players respawn in towns for non-endgame content. That way, you can rejoin the action right away instead of dragging everyone down. If you want to have a better chance of winning battles after respawning and upgrade your gear with more orbs, why not join the giveaways that are often offered in IGGM Discord? You have nothing to lose, anyway!
4. Flask Charges
Next, let’s talk about Flasks. Flasks only recharge when you land a critical hit, which doesn’t make sense in co-op, especially if your teammates use Culling mechanic or deal a lot more damage than you do. Of course, you can improve this by finding potions with charge modifiers, but the effect is poor.
So what’s a better solution? In short, count the kills of the entire squad. If someone kills, everyone’s Flask should be charged. Only such a simple and fair application method can keep the action going.
Also Read: Path of Exile 2 Currency Free Giveaways & Promotions
5. Skill Effect Display
Now turn to this headache skill effect problem in POE 2. If you have ever played with a spellcaster, you will know how difficult it is. Their spells, special effects and minions fill the entire screen, and you can’t even see your character. What’s worse, this also includes the skills of the boss you should avoid. Fire spells are the worst, especially between the firewall and the explosion, everything is a mess.
Therefore, players urgently call for a simple slider to adjust the transparency of teammates' spells and minions to solve this problem.
6. Endgame
Finally, let’s talk about the endgame survival problem. Because in the endgame map, if you die, you’re done, just like the hardcore mode in Diablo 4. When you die in co-op, you either wait in town or lie on the ground until your partner completes the map, which is terrible for co-op. Not only is it harder if one of you dies, the others have to do the rest of the mission alone without you, but you don’t get any loot.
Why not use the existing portal system to improve this? There are already six portals per map, so why not let players use them to respawn? Of course, the penalty mechanism still has to be retained, but it allows everyone to participate. This will make map making feel more collaborative, less punitive for co-op players, and more fun for those who are looking for a higher difficulty challenge!
Outro
Well, these are the 6 points that we have summarized that are in desperate need of improvement in POE 2’s multiplayer co-op mode. These changes will make co-op more fun.
Although this is already a great game, some adjustments like this will further improve the co-op experience. So, what do you think? Do you think there are still areas that need to be adjusted? See you next time!