Path of Exile 2's disastrous new update reveals the core tension at the heart of its design: How do you make a game with meaningful combat when everyone just wants to blast monsters?

Path of Exile 2 has been a polarizing game right from the beginning. Those of us who have sunk an impossible number of hours in the original were used to a certain pace, one that's familiar to players of isometric ARPGs more broadly—blast monsters, collect loot, blast monsters faster...
Read more.