how different compared to diablo 4?

[Stiles]

So I tried out Diablo 4 with the free trail but even though it's a free weekend Blizzard doesn't udnerstand what a free weekend is...

Well I really enjoyed the game but well it is still blizzard so I expect that the later parts are not that good. Now I would like to know how is POE2? Never played the first one so I'm curious if I enjoyed playing D4 if POE2 is worth more the money.

[ffrotty]

depends on what you enjoyed and didn't enjoy about D4.

some people like the simplicity of D4 and its itemization + builds, and endgame. others think it is vapid and obvious.

People have put hundreds of hours into poe2 and thousands into poe1.

i personally think poe's gameplay is clunkier, and the openness of the builds lead to the same few very similar meta builds due to the overpowered interactions of some skills and items.

D4's gameplay is way more robust and polished, but then the bosses and variety is ridiculously simple. They all feel like training dummies to me.

Unlike D4, POE2's skills are attached to weapon types, and you can have a weapon swap to give you access to a couple dozen skills per character. starting class changes your ascendancies which will either favor specific ability types (like, "slam" for maces) or general ones (like "attribute multipliers" for stat stacking builds).

The unique drops in POE are general as well and can function for multiple builds or very specific builds, unlike D4's class specific uniques... they're all like the any class usable uniques.

I dunno, watch youtube videos. it's not hard to see. And POE1 is free, so just play that and consider a slower/less complex version of it and you have POE2

[AFC_HIGHBURY]

I'll start by saying it's EA so campaign isn't finished yet (have 3 acts need to repeat them untill acts 4,5 and 6 are added), not all skills and class's are available currently, will be many nerfs along the way, with balancing, bugs, and for many it freez's pc (has a work around though).

With that said combat is definitely more engaging than D4 and you don't get showered with loot, instead you gamble on drops or trade (its an external site though). Boss mechanics are good for the most part, well telegraphed. game starts slow then speeds up by endgame. Poe2 is worth the money imo the mtx is also shared with the first game which is pretty good if you wanted to rotate around seasons etc.

[Acronen]

Both are fun for different reasons. Both have problems for different reasons.

TLDR version of it would be: Diablo 4 you progress way too fast. PoE 2 you progress way too slow (if playing SSF, can't speak about trading, I will never touch that mess.)

Diablo 4 is a more chill experience. PoE 2 more challenging. So depending on your mood, or what you are looking for from moment to moment would influence your fun level with either game.

[Havok]

I played D4 for about 300 hours, and it doesnt have a quarter of the value I feel like I have with POE2. I am actually starting out in POE1 because I enjoyed POE2 so much.

Diablo 4 is, a chill experience. If your dopamine receptors hit because you see big numbers and enjoy killing a boss in 2 seconds, yea, its fine. But it offers nothing else besides that.

POE2's endgame, despite slapped together in a few months, subject to change and develop over the next year, is still infinitely better than whatever D4s endgame thinks it is.

While it costs $30 to enter POE2, GGG gives you that $30 that you spent back into the games MTX shop as the game will eventually be free, and you can use that to purchase the most valuable thing you can, stash space. $30 gets you a lot if you get them on sale, which, happens every 3 weeks, currently 1 day left on this weekends stash sale. Would love to see blizzard give you $100 back in MTX. Spoiler alert, they dont. They want $100 for the game and DLC, and then $10 every season for the battle pass. And yes, stash space is free in D4, you are limited. afaik, the limit in POE2 is your wallet. $100 buys you far more value in stash space than D4's entry price can give.

With 6 classes, 12 ascensions, and 3 campaign acts, over the next year, we will be receiving 6 more classes, 24 more ascensions, 3 more campaign acts, overhaul to the endgame mapping, more bosses, and more maps.

Passive tree aside, the ability to make your build however you want is way better in POE2. You arent limited by anything but your creativity. Seen sorcerers with hammers, warriors with minions, monks with bows, archers with wands. You have infinitely more build variety in POE2 than D4 has in all of its classes. The available options in 1 of D4s classes for passive gains doesnt even make up 1/10 of a single pie slice on 1 class in POE2. And sure, a lot of it is fluff, and we are in a weird state of Damage > anything, but.. as time goes on, with how easily you can respec and build a custom off-meta/no-meta build, you can come up with something completely unique to you.

[Miha-Sith]

Diablo 4 is your loving mother. PoE2 is is your "loving" stepdad...

[DreadLordAvatar]

I think it's ok to say, move over D4....PoE2 bad.

[storm2150]

The majority of that 100 D4 price tag is spent on the campaign - it has gorgeous cinematics, a lot of scripted and voiced scenes. I quite enjoyed D4 'open world'.

POE2 on the other hand, has a very limited campaign (my opinon based on available acts). There are no vids, cutscenes are limited to 30 seconds of showing how boss jumps down to the arena. As for the world, it is a set of nodes on a drawn map that have their own biom based random generation.

From what I have seen POE 2 main attention is endgame activities (I am still on Act3 atm). The main difference is that most a big bunch of d4 players is there only for the campaign and don't play beyond that point.

While POE2 has drastically different approach. Meat and bones of this game -- is endgame. Campaign is is there only for being there and giving a possibility to train your muscle memory and test out builds.