Here’s how you can survive for longer in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 ^[1] may have attracted countless fans new to the genre, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a cakewalk. On the contrary, MMORPGs are infamous for having a steep learning curve, and Path of Exile 2 sits dab in the center of it. The thing most newcomers will likely struggle with when playing the game for the first time is staying alive.

Today, we’re here to go through everything you need to know about staying alive in Path of Exile 2. This includes focusing on your defense, getting your health up, participating in side quests instead of just playing the main story, and other factors that will help you grow strong enough to tackle anything the game throws at you.

So, without further ado, here’s how you can survive for longer in Path of Exile 2. 

Focus on fortifying your defense

Surviving in Path of Exile 2 requires players to have good defense. They can do that by making a character that can take numerous hits to reduce the frequency of deaths. Players can start by equipping a shield, an item that allows them to block attacks from the front until their stagger meter ends. Players can upgrade their gear by constantly using whatever crafting currency they get. Here’s what a player should focus on when upgrading their character:

• More Maximum Life on their items
• Higher Strength on their items and passive skill tree
• Greater Fire, Cold, and Lightning resistance rolls on items. Players should try to have at least 30% resistance for each type)
• Use items that have high defensive stats by default. The types of items a player can use depend on their attributes. For example, a Warrior will increase their Strength attribute to use his skills, so upgrading is the best option.
• Armor (Strength): Reduces the physical hit damage the players get based on how much armor they have.
• Evasion (Dexterity): Increases a player’s chance to evade hits.
• Energy Shield (Intelligence): Gives players an Energy Shield, a second health pool that can recharge.
• A Raise Shield is used to block all damage from the front.
• Spending a defensive node on the player’s Class Ascendancy instead of going for more damage.
• Using defensive Spirit Gems instead of offensive ones.

Trying to implement all of them or combining some can allow players to handle more encounters as they go through the game.

Higher health

A player’s survival depends not only on their defense but also on their health and recovery. Here’s how they can improve it:

• Players should check what the vendors sell since they get new items whenever they level up.
• If players can trade, they should try doing that with other players instead of purchasing items directly from merchants or crafting them themselves. 
• Whenever a person gets an Orb of Transmutation or Orb of Augmentation, they should use it on life flasks to increase its stats.
• Be more conservative in using life flasks.
• Enhance life flasks with Charms.
• Players should use their gold to upgrade gear more often instead of hoarding it.

It’s important to keep in mind that most things rely on the orbs players have. After all, orbs have multiple uses, including stat-related and gear-related ones. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to either research ways to farm the most popular orbs or check out the Eloking Path of Exile 2 marketplace.

Side quests

If players have done everything and are still feeling underpowered and not surviving a lot, then the next step they should take is to check if they’ve done any side quests. It’s common for people to miss side content by going through the game, so gamers should backtrack to see if they’ve missed anything. Path of Exile 2 has numerous side content that grants players rewards and lets them level up by having them fight against weaker bosses.

Grinding experience

Like other RPGs, a surefire way to become powerful is to level up. Players should go to earlier areas and farm experience by creating new instances and killing enemies and bosses. To create a new instance, hold Ctrl, click on a waypoint, then select “New instance”. Gamers can farm until their character is strong enough to go against tougher areas and bosses.

Try to ensure that the level difference the player grinds is closer to their level because a higher gap won’t net more experience.

Crowd control

Combat in Path of Exile 2 is more hands-on, which means players should learn crowd control mechanics like stuns, freezes, and slows to stand a chance. Monsters in the game have a stun meter, which fills up as players damage them. The monsters get stunned once the meter is full, allowing players to hit them without getting hit back. Here are some crowd control effects in the game:

• Stun: Temporarily paralyzes the opponent.
• Freeze (Cold Damage): Stops enemies from moving.
• Electrocution (Lightning Damage): Immobilizes enemies for a bit.

Players can also make obstacles since they can help kite enemies and avoid damage during tough encounters.

Mobility

Path of Exile 2 has a dodge roll mechanic, making positioning and quick movements essential. Even if the player has the best gear, it’s good practice to dodge lethal attacks.

Players can dodge rolls to avoid telegraphed high-damage attacks. Also, equip boots with a higher Movement Speed statistic to improve mobility during a fight. Whenever a person dies in a boss fight, they should learn their movements and figure out their pattern.

FAQs

Why is it important to stay alive in Path of Exile 2?

While dying in Path of Exile 2 doesn’t mean something drastic happens like the player losing everything they have, it can still be fairly annoying. Dying in the “zone” essentially sends the player back to the start. Additionally, every enemy in the area respawns and the player loses all loot that was on the ground and remained unclaimed.

In a sense, players could say that dying in Path of Exile 2 is fairly similar to dying in any Soulslike game like Elden Ring ^[2] or the Dark Souls trilogy. Fortunately, Path of Exile 2 is much more forgiving too.

References

1. [1] "Official PoE 2 website". pathofexile2.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024
2. [2] "Official Elden Ring website". en.bandainamcoent.eu. Retrieved December 17, 2024