Shortly after Blizzard announced Diablo 4 to the world at BlizzCon 2019, Grinding Gear Games showed the world Path of Exile 2 at ExileCon 2019. Excitement for both titles has hit fever pitch, and many are wondering what game to spend their precious time on.
While both games are shaping up to be fantastic in their own right, some systems and features seem to be lacking when you compare both to each other. Path of Exile favors immense character depth and deep customization, while Diablo is more about visceral combat and fantastic worldbuilding. Here are 10 reasons that one game triumphs over the other.
10 Path Of Exile 2 Is Better: Frequent Updates
Grinding Gear Games, the developers of Path of Exile, have updated their game for over 6 years now with constant additions to their game. New skills, items, and Acts have beefed up this aRPG to compete with Blizzard's anticipated game.
The release of Path of Exile 2 won't stop content updates, either. With new leagues, limited-time events with special mechanics, being added every 3 months it'll be hard for Diablo 4 to keep up with that update schedule. When players get bored with a current league, they can leave knowing to come back a month or 2 later for new content.
9 Diablo 4 Is Better: Co-op Focus
Diablo 4 has very unique classes with different abilities, but certain characters can synergize those abilities together to devastating effect. The Sorceress might freeze enemies, for example, while the Druid charges them while in his shapeshifted form.
The possibilities for cooperative play are endless and exciting, and with the push for shared world elements in this installment, it seems that Blizzard wants players to interact with each other as much as possible. For the build variety PoE has, the game is heavily biased towards solo content, lacking instanced item drops or content demanding of multiple players.
8 Path Of Exile 2 Is Better: Endgame
Building off of the excellent foundation its predecessor laid out, PoE 2 will share the end game systems that PoE has. This means that players will be able to play in one of over one hundred dungeon tilesets, filled with unique monsters and bosses.
These maps can be modified by the players using the currency they find throughout their adventures, turning these maps into treasure-filled deathtraps that only the best builds can beat. The map progression ultimately culminates into endgame boss fights that provide some of the strongest loot in the game. If that gets tiring, players can also enter an infinite dungeon called Delve to see how far they can travel underground without dying. Hopefully, Blizzard can bring an endgame system or set of systems as comprehensive as this.
7 Diablo 4 Is Better: PvP
Blizzard has mentioned there are dedicated zones in D4 meant for player versus player action. It might not be as comprehensive as Overwatch, but fighting friends or strangers for the coolest gear that dropped is a large part of the aRPG genre that, thankfully, Blizzard is embracing.
Path of Exile currently has a weak PvP offering, only allowing players in certain arenas to fight each other for no gain. In Diablo 4, meanwhile, players can encounter other hostile players in certain curated locations in the world, allowing for tense and engaging areas that would otherwise not be possible. The lack of balance of skills in PoE makes the PvP offering less appealing than what Blizzard is offering.
6 Path Of Exile 2 Is Better: Plentiful Content
With a merged client, Path of Exile 2 will benefit from all of the additions and improvements the previous game had. Although it has a unique campaign, all skills, prestige classes, and tilesets will be carried over to the next game.
Most importantly, however, is to note how long PoE has been supported. With the plethora of content added since 2013, it has a massive leg up in things to do and enemies to fight compared to what Blizzard could provide. Grinding Gear Games have also made both games share the same endgame systems, meaning that Path of Exile 2 can build on the hundreds of maps, bosses, and encounters developed over the years. It will be really hard to beat what PoE provides already.
5 Diablo 4 Is Better: Class Identity
Classes in Diablo 4 are distinct, each coming with unique skills and talents. Add to this class-specific sets and legendaries, and it is easy to see that every class plays dramatically different from each other.
While Path of Exile has Ascendencies, prestige classes players acquire throughout the campaign, they do not offer the specific class identity many aRPG fans love. The Druid in Diablo is known for his shapeshifting and earth-based magic, but any class in Path of Exile can fill that role if they use the correct skills. This means that every character can feel the same and rather boring compared to the designed skills available for specific classes in Diablo 4.
4 Path Of Exile 2 Is Better: Character Builds
While class identity may be lacking, Path of Exile has an impressive character customization system that allows any character to use any skill if they have the required attributes. A Witch could use the same melee heavy skills a Maurader can, and a Templar could use the same bow skills a Ranger can.
This system allows for unique builds not possible in other aRPGs, such as spell casting archers or necromancer trap characters. Combined with a passive tree with near-infinite options and hundreds of uniques, players can create almost any build imaginable. While Diablo has to account for the class and current class sets, PoE just has to add a new skill gem or item to create exciting new possibilities.
3 Diablo 4 Is Better: Shared World Elements
Shared world elements are a recent trend in gaming, combining MMO-lite elements into games where it wouldn't normally be seen. Games like Destiny and The Division have central towns where you can see other players before venturing out into instanced missions.
Diablo 4 seems to be following suit with open-world bosses that anyone can fight. Unlike previous installments, however, players can team up with seamlessly matchmade teams to take on these goliaths. This is a first in the aRPG genre and extremely refreshing from the constant instance-based dungeon romps many are used to.
2 Path Of Exile 2 Is Better: Skill System
Touched on earlier, Path of Exile has a deep skill system that allows any class to use any skill, provided they have sufficient stats to use that skill. In Path of Exile 2, Grinding Gear Games is simplifying the system by having support gems—modifiers to your skills—be stored in skill gems themselves instead of items.
This massive change means it is easier to tell what gems work on what skills, meaning it won't be as daunting for new players to understand. This also means that players won't have to spend resources or time adding sockets and links into newly-earned items to use them. Leveling will be much better, and this system allows for additional main skills to be used, as there will be significantly more slots for 6link items—the most sockets available to enhance a skill.
1 Diablo 4 Is Better: Story
If Blizzard has shown anything in the past decade, they know how to tell a great story with breathtaking visuals. The cinematic trailer for Diablo 4 is simply stunning and shows the premise for a much darker game than its predecessor.
The lore for Diablo has had significantly more time to be developed than Path of Exiles has. While not typically a focal point for dungeon crawlers, Diablo has both a satisfying combat loop and amazing worldbuilding. All of this helps create memorable campaigns and experiences that very few games can replicate.