Will you be able to play the PoE1 Campaign with a PoE2 character?

[Zugs]

So I'm a new player and am just catching myself up with the PoE2 news. Got to say I'm incredibly excited for the new graphics, characters, gem system and the ability to have all my auras activate with 1 slot. And of course, everything else. I think I understand the majority of it but do have a question to clarify some misunderstandings on my part.

So in PoE2 when I go to create a new character, if I choose a PoE2 character (one that was added in PoE2) can I play the PoE1 campaign with him/her? And vice-versa with a PoE1 character playing the PoE2 campaign? I'm guessing that you would be able to? And if not, how would this work? I know PoE1 and PoE2 are the same game and PoE2 is an expansion. As in PoE2 is not separate. It's fundamentally just PoE. But I'm not clear on how the characters and campaigns work with eachother. But thought I'd ask nonetheless.

As well, in general, are there any downsides (from any perspective) to PoE2 and it's changes that are actually warranted and not just misunderstandings? Like will I lose access to any items or anything like that? Looking through the forums, it looks like a lot of people are/were worrying and thinking X is going to happen when in reality, X is not going to happen. Thought I'd ask to get a clear answer vs wading through all the BS. Thanks guys and gals!

[.ATOM.]

I'd like to know this as well...

[Drake]

You're overanalysing stuff.

What's going to happen is that it's the same 7 chars with the same tree but that will play 7 new acts instead of the 10 actual maps and then will go to the same atlas as POE1.

The actual thing changing besides acts, is that the POE2 chars will choose 3 new ascendancies (and if I understood right, if you unclock ascandancies in poe2, you will be able to use them with a poe 1 char and vice versa, so any char you'll make will have 6 ascendancies). Maybe visuals will change too (or they might just change them in poe 1 too to make them the same).

They are not separate games, it's just choosing a set of acts over another, meaning there is no difference once you reach endgame between poe1 chars and poe 2 chars, they will be the same.

That said, if you create a char in poe1, you won't be able to go to poe 2 act areas and vice versa, but it would be useless anyway because quests will most likely be the same meta wise (meaning will have an ascendancy quest, a bandit like quest, pantheon quests, several skill point quests etc.), since chars have to be the same by endgame.
So once you did the acts, you did them, no reason to go back, you'll just focus on maps and masters like you're doing right now.

[Astasia]

No. The PoE2 characters are unique to the PoE2 story which takes place like 20 years after PoE1 IIRC. What defines these characters is going to be their new dialog and responses to the PoE2 story, and none of that is going to be recorded or done for PoE1. However the PoE2 models are probably going to be applied to the PoE1 characters so they look the same, so playing an Assassin in PoE2 is going to look the same as playing an Assassin in PoE1, the difference is just going to be the voice and dialog.

If your question is about the "extra" classes coming later, they haven't said anything. My guess is they will be very dialog "light" and playable in both campaigns.

The stash is probably going to be the same regardless of what campaign you start as, and after both campaigns all characters go to the same shared endgame on equal footing. There should be no disadvantage of picking one over the other. I suspect they wont get the balance quite right for "racing" though, we'll have to see about that one.

[craigal]

If they are all going to be equal at end game, does that mean the POE 1 characters will be getting the new gem/skill system?

[Astasia]

Yes. Really they need to stop calling it PoE2, it creates too much confusion. I use it because people know what I'm talking about, but really it's just PoE version 4.0.0. The update will have a separate campaign and character dialog, but everything else will be the same between versions. It's all the same game with the same gameplay.