So far for campaign at least this patch is a huge step in the right direction.  Sprint makes the game much less of a slog.  Loot is dropping.  Abyss is a great campaign mechanic.  Can’t wait to get to act 4

The abyss mechanic is roughly a bit harder than the act bosses so far.

The optimization is SO much better in 0.3

Everything looks better, plays more efficiently and there is virtually no frame dropping / lagging now.

I was able to pump my settings up, actually, for the first time and suffered no tangible performance drop - with a 4080 in 4k.

Big facts tbh game feels GOOD

In a sea of complaints this is refreshing to see, I can’t wait to hop on and try it out. I had to be at work as soon as it went live so I’ve been theorycrafting all day in my head lol.

Yeah I’m a big fan, pace feels so much better with sprint once you get a feel for it (still hope it gets some tweaks)

Best the game has felt imo

Campaign has been insanely smooth with having the ability to have multiple of the same supports. Sprinting is very nice aside from collision issues on walls/ground objects. Loot is solid. I don’t wanna speak too soon but yeah this go around feels very nice.

I was a big hater after the initial release. Skipped 0.2, wasn’t planning on playing 0.3 but had some unexpected free time. The leveling experience is night and day.

Having fun so far as well. Sprint is a good addition if you want to backtrack.

I’m very happy with how the games feels too! I even convinced my husband to give it another try. He was really disappointed in 0.2. I hope it just gets better from here. Even the drops are good, especially with Abyss. It’s worth stopping to do the league mechanic for an extra currency or two.

Heck yeah I’m loving it too!

I’m playing Crossbows and Bows swap and it feels fucking ¹⁰⁄₁₀

Best thing for me are performance improvements. My load times improved so much and map opens much faster!

I agree, except the sprint implementation is definitely bad. Gives you a few moments of joy, only to run into an obstacle and take it all away. This game isn’t an isometric platformer, and I’m not looking to be edged. At the very least, don’t limit the turning speed…

Copying from my post because I’m still waiting for mods to approve it:

0.1 felt rushed/undeveloped and 0.2 felt antagonistic against the player/tedious. 0.3 I can finally see the vision.

• The balance on bosses is great.
• The drops are great.
• UX/UI on controller feels complete.
• Passive skill tree is a lot more interesting.
• I am no longer slow walking through massive maps due to new sprint mechanic. I can also avoid attacks I felt like were bullshit before with sprinting.
• Removed passive skill gem restrictions makes multiple skills actually viable, and I’m currently using 4 abilities without feeling horrible about it.
• Enemies don’t push you around or body block you as much (0.1)
• Not following a build and I feel like I can still progress the campaign (problem in both 0.1 and 0.2 arguably).
• Chest actually dropping loot.
• Charms in flasks tab makes that tab actually useful.
• Map indicators actually clear when you beat them (0.1)
• New trade system makes trade accessible for everyone, not just bots and sweats.
• I am able to craft during early to mid game (still not as much as I’d like, but it’s way better)
• Not getting one shot in starting zones lmao.
• No longer have to do Cruel.
• Not dying to a lot of on-death effects.
• Not stubbing my toe on tiny terrain.
• More sound/visual indicators for attacks I NEED to avoid.
• Loot filters updating without me having to go to a site is a plus.

I could go on, but these are just off the top of my head. To put it simply, before I was not having fun, and now I’m having fun. Not to say the games perfect; I am sure the end game is still rough compared to PoE 1, and the servers are quite shocking. But now I can finally jump in every consecutive league and not feel like I’m waiting for 1.0.

I must agree. Game is refreshing and intense. Graphics seem so crisp as well. I’m playing a ED/Contagion + Minions Witch and I’ve been melting the campaign. Also using Nvidia Smooth Motion via Nvidia Profile Inspector and it’s been very stable and no server issue aside from 1 crash. I give it a ¹⁰⁄₁₀.

I play bloodmage essence drain contagion and have the worst league start in my 7k hours poe1 and poe2 xd

I like poe2 but idk if I can get through another campaign. I made it to act 2 and it just feels like a slog. Just logged off and will try again tomorrow. Earliest I’ve logged of a season.

Yea. Sooo enjoying myself.

I don’t agree, still way too slow

Honestly if they can just figure out a way to get sprinting to not get caught up on small textures (there is a way to do it while on WASD but it’s hella clunky, I think mouse movement works fine though) and remove the stagger animation when you hit terrain (or shorten it by like 80-90%) then sprinting will be perfect imo

Instant weapon swap makes for a whole new game. I’m doing combos left and right just for fun because there’s no more jank associated with switching weapons. Dodge Roll feels more fluid and responsive too.

Yeah, I’ve been playing some standard this week in anticipation and 0.3 noticeably feels different. The new support gem system also feels miles better than the previous. Just started act 3 so I’m curious to see how late game will feel.

While I love the new features I’m still not a fan that they punish you sooooo much for playing coop. Me and a friend just took 40 mins for Geonor, then I tried again solo and it was first try and super quick. Something about how they penalise damage when in a team feels off.

We’re both melee characters but it still shouldn’t be such a balance divide between casters / melee.

But man I LOVE SPRINT!

yeah. from the little time I had today, the game is in a better state.

big wing for

- instant weapon swap

- multiple supports of same kind.

- sprinting I use it for backtracking

- reduced attribute requirements

- new nodes on the passive tree

- Abyss mechanic can be beneficial for currency drops early on.

- minions feel better

I’ve died to the abysses a few times. They’re fun, finding one is like “oh shit” and I have to switch on a bit more to do them.

The loot seems so much better this season, I don’t know if it is the league mechanic at work or what.

Don’t rush it.  Endgame still the same.

Not having to do campaign twice is already such a big thing for me lol. I like PoE2 campaign but not enough to do it twice. Game is in great state.

so far i hate the league mechanic (hoping it improves). im still annoyed armor seems worthless tbh. enjoying the game for sure but it in the 6-⁷⁄₁₀ range for me this far.

Loot is definitely better aside from runes but campaign still feeling like a slog for me. At least we only have to do it once now

The changes were too significant. I’m nearing 11-12 hours played, with nothing but snack breaks. That can’t be good.

It’s been great, game runs WAY better for me now too. Just wish the bosses and act bosses especially were made harder again. I can just stand in alot of attacks now

Game is fun.

Minions feel great too early campaign so far. Buff is great

is this normal on a legendary item, 15 mods. Got this drop in act 2, been playing poe 2 since day one of beta, and never seen an item like this.

https://preview.redd.it/pg0m406ds3mf1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f64116b19cf0cf63a2effe6cf4ef08f115c2842

Sprint is nice if a bit clunky. I’m not sure about balance. Looks like they missed the mark on some stuff. But maybe we won’t really know until it shakes out a bit more. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up quickly buffing some stuff though. Some of the numbers just look… bad.

The performance boost is honestly a game-changer, it feels so smooth now. The Abyss mechanic is a perfect level of challenge that makes the campaign way more engaging.

I’ve been at work all day, can anybody chime in on if melee classes feel any better?

What’s a good class for me to pick? Can’t decide 

I thought all the changes sounded good, and there is another act for content… but I think I’m going to skip the season and just play a couple early access league characters.

I’m not in end game yet anyways, and I don’t plan to play this season enough to care about market values, though tHe in game instant buy without needing to talk to the person or get them to leave a run out wait for them… is absolutely fantastic for all future markets.

I’m hoping for Druid later and I’ll jump into new season for that… maybe even a second class

spear and parry are still not in a good place

as a Ranger I’m really loving sprinting about to setup big damage. the green fissures are common enough to feel worthwhile and rewarding without being too much of a chore.

Only got to play a short while but I’m impressed by how the server is holding up. Well maybe the free weekend did not get that much traction but still

Still has room to get better but this was a huge leap in the right direction. Some criticism still from me but something like 80% of it is gone now. GGG did well this league.

Game feels insanely better I quit at 24 last time but I can see new people like me sticking around

I do like how abyss works in PoE 2. It is rewarding enough to really help with gearing through the first three acts.

I’m so, so damn happy to see orbs and loot finally dropping at the “feeling good rate”. Can craft good stuff and if it turns out bad? Well the next chance is around couple corners.

Fake account no real person who plays poe could be satisfied and happy with ggg /s

The QOL feels really great all around. Playing sorc with some infusions just about to get to Act 3 having fun. Just trying to piece it all together with infusions. So far I feel like the spark, flame wall, orb of storms is working well. I’m not sure where to path in the ascendency

I’m enjoying the skill that turns fire into Chaos damage, seeing purple flame walls is pretty awesome. Only downside the minions I have that is that persistent buff that makes flaming skulls doesn’t seem to actual covert the damage.

Gameplay is smooth. I’m picking up decent items. Decent currency. Abyss stuff is fun. They feel like mini strong-holds and the rewards feel worth it, not at all like wisps last season which felt like a waste of time.

First time doing Sorc and the infusions are fun. I don’t feel like I need them to be strong, but I’m having fun chaining them together and I feel rewarded when I do.

I’m having a lot of fun. 0.3 is an A+

Mine is running stutter free and the roll is awesome

I haven’t played since launch and the game feels sooo much easier than a good way. It now feels like a difficult at times ARPG and not a dark souls arpg. The balance is a lot better, and I’m actually having a good time in the campaign

Only thing, on ps5 the premium tabs won’t let you stash things.

are there new skills?

The new uniques! We have dropped three so far in act 1 and we are using all of them, they aren’t broken but it feels so good to have them usable!

I love the abyss mechanic its basically like a more fun breach imo

Sprinting is huge. Makes it so much better. Abyss change is awesome. I’m glad we don’t have to chase something down again.

Campaign feels the best it has up to act 3 where I’m at. Only issue though it’s a massive one is constant crashing

I wasted 10 minutes finding scatter shot. It is not called scatter shot anymore -.- then I went to bed bcs eu….

Still getting game lock up and map resets

Is the weapon set assignment of skill gone? I no longer see the option to set in the skill menu.

Exp is fast as well esp on low levels. Minions are better now since they can actually hit mobs

I think the exact opposite. I think you guys are lucky and thinking others are as lucky as you too.

I’m trying to play chayula monk with hollow palm and the game feels so slow (I am not following any guide, I just want to experiment and try things).

I’m at the end of act 2 and can’t find good gear. Every time I level, I check the vendors but they always have items with shitty mods. Same with the drops too. Trying to craft myself but don’t have enough currency. And I only found 7 ex so far (almost all of them from abyss btw). And I only found 4 rings so far, they were all trash.

Currently I dont have anything useful. Couldn’t kill jamanra and quit. I’ll take a break for a week and try again.

The skills fit together so well, like as long as you put some thought into it, you can assemble a few skills that make each other better and feel like a curated LoL character

I think with them not having to hammer down the druid allowed them to do a lot of QOL additions

Highly agree as well. I will say that sprinting feels nice but could use some ironing out like you said. I’d personally like a dedicated sprint button instead of it coming off a roll.

Jonathan said that they wanted to really focus on movement with this patch. It’s showing they did.

Sprint is by FAAAAAAR the best thing they added in the game. That slow gameplay was boring af and at least i can make some miles in a shorter time now

Yes, this time launch was flawless. I can’t wait to discover the rest of the campaign.

I love how it feels now , I feel like I’m gaming and if I die or something it’s because of skill issue and wrong decisions…game is fantastic love the new changes and new features. It’s a step in the right direction Thank you GGG !

4-5 hours and you are in Act3? Wtf..

I am same amount of hours and still in act 1

What Sorc build are you running? I’m playing sorceress for the first time. I always play melee, so not sure what to go for now.

Abyss is feeling nicely rewarding. Also enjoy the crafting options it adds.

Sprint is awesome atm I think.

It makes you move way faster, but also keeps within the vibe of PoE2 by giving a stun when you ram into something and a delay to get out of it.

I think it’s really good like that

Get the f*king bird out of the game. You guys don’t seem to know how to balance shit.

I managed to spend 3 hours getting half way through Act 1 so far xD (graveyard boss down). Abyss spawns got hands. I guess full clearing each zone is not necessary 😅

Agreed. Enjoying it a lot. Last season had to resort to a build guide and it was still a pain in the ass. This seasonno guide and passing seems right.

I agree, early game is far less of a hassle and slog. My only point of criticism is the evasion rework. Melee having only 20%sh evasion as an evasion/es character is… Painful. Weren’t we supposed to have baseline deflection or am I imagining things?

What about crashes and disconnects? Are there any? I can’t play for 2 days after launch due to social life so I can’t ch3ck it myself 🥲

Agree completely. The game seems that little bit harder also, which makes it feel more rewarding. Looking forward to the grind!

While that sprint does help a bit with the slog campaign, it has to be the worst sprint ive ever seen in a video game. Design like that makes me hopeless for these devs.

Playing Sorc. The new skill rotation with infusions turns this into an entirely different, much more strategic and very fun rotation. I feel that I have a lot of options now, even at low levels, and rotating skill for combos makes a lot of sense and is highly incentivized. The clear speed seems completely fine and so far everything was fair. But I have trashed every boss in lightning speed, they sometimes last shorter than a rare. I think the bosses need some serious HP buff.

Yep loving it

Except sprint. The fact that GGG forced sprint into hold dodge roll without the option to disable or have on separate key makes me not want to play.

Completely ruined my playstyle. No thanks

Is it just me or do enemies feel like they die faster now? I’m actually enjoying the campaign this time around because I feel somewhat powerful at low level.

I actually use alchs and exalts now without worrying if I need to save them for when I hit a wall. Usually around A3 viper. It’s been great so far. The league mechanic is also leaps and bounds better than the OG abyss mechanic from 1. The pit is very fun too and decent rewards. All round I am back to playing after 6 months off.

The game feels so much smoother with loot and currency. The essence change is also great that garuntees a modifier when upgrading to rare

Very much agree. I like everything so far except for Rapid Shot, which I think was made literally unusable by the patch. Not remotely a big deal, as I’ve actually maxed out the rest of my skill bar with merc skills I very much enjoy using. It feels like I actually have tools to deal with most situations now, whereas last two leagues there were definitely things that ate Merc for breakfast without really much counterplay.

Abyss feels really really good, especially after the massive disappointment that was Wisps in 0.2 which I gave up on after one or two map-long hunts that ended in a blue and some white drops.

Waiting on my friend group to start leveling a Sorc but it looks like Incinerate will still be usable from what I’m reading in the skill description, which I’m definitely excited about as it was my favorite spell from wayyyyy back in PoE 1 when it was called Scorching Ray.

Yes but please, as a WASD player, let me sprint using shift key while keeping the dodge on a different input.

4-5 hours and you’re in act 3? 4-5 hours and I’m still exploring Act 1.

I just talked about this too, I played the loot patch 0.2.0g and loot was already feeling better then, but with the new essence changes and additional support gem tiers, the game feels so much better overall. Progression is more gradual which is great, we actually feel upgrades with our supports instead of the huge gulf between progress previously where your only support gem power boost came in mid act 3.

feels great if you don’t play a melee

I only beat act 1 in 4hrs, am I cooked?

I felt boring and tired to play. Might be I am old.

First time poe2. I came from poe1 and the game feels harder. 5 hours in and just fin Act 1, die like 4-5 times at the count manor boss 😂. Crossbows reload are stupid af

The maps are still too big even with sprint. I dont get the obsession with massive maps with dead ends

Has aiming with skills been fixed? I stopped playing after the game came out because of how terrible the auto aim system was but curious if it’s been fixed yet

Honestly, I think it feels like ass. I’m not sure if it’s a skill issue on my end or not, by my Monk is getting absolutely cooked by mobs. It feels like I have no survivability while being melee whatsoever.

Anyone have any tips that might help me understand how to scale monk defensives? Is it simply “use meditate on Invoker between packs” and Chalupa is dogshit?

So far I think the games feels just that much better, and I like the abyssal theme much more than 0.2

As a Minion fan, I am having the time of my life. They feel so powerful and worth building into now. Definitely a huge step in the right direction. Much better balance of fun v buildcrafting v challenge.

The Abyssal stuff has already cause some funny chaotic situations and I do love the random challenge they sprinkle into the core experience.

Also have to say that this seems like a big leap forward, still in the campaign obviously, but it’s fun and engaging - beautiful game, nice vibe, but I guess after 3000-4000 hours on PoE 1 I miss the deep story and memorable characters - but that will come…

Endgame will be interesting, still not a fan of it but I think it can be taken in some very interesting directions and the framework is solid, so lots of potential

Can anyone confirm if it feels like 0.3 has had some performance optimizations compared to 0.2? Stopped playing 0.2 near the end game due to the frame drops, and stuttering so I’m curious if the game feels like its running smoother then it did during DoTH.

Are maps still in one death hardcore?

100% W Patch overall. Even the Titan Doomers were proven wrong. Cook more GGG!

It’s so good

All the tweaking has worked! Really really fun experience so far, a night and day difference from .20 or even .21 patch. They are really honing in on the balancing and it feels great!!!

Now level a melee build and give us an update.

Coming back again after beginning of the last patch. The beginning of this game still needs to be dialed down some. It’s crazy how hard it is right in the beginning area. I really think that will lose many new players and they should reconsider the early phase of the game to draw people in.

I’m shield charging all around! It’s so fun! Me too was expecting other classes but I’m ok with it.

Really? I’m getting frame rate drops. Loading from waypoint to waypoint takes forever. Sound bugs. They need to work on optimizing this game instead of working on leagues

I’m having so much fun, i’m loving it!! Great job GGG

Yeah it felt awsome until I took ascendacy that doesnt fucking work Ancestral spirits dont spawn on totems wtf