Path of Exile 2 Shows Off Some Explosive Gameplay of the Druid, Warrior, and Huntress
Aug. 28, 2023Path of Exile 2 Shows Off Some Explosive Gameplay of the Druid, Warrior, and Huntress
Path of Exile 2 shows off a ton of Druidgameplay, as well as some sneak peeks at the new Warrior and Huntress classes.
Grinding Gear Games have just recently showcased the new Druid class in all their elemental and shapeshifting fury. They also released some developer sit-down footage in which they talk about the combo potential that the Warriors and Huntresses will have access to.
The Philosophy in Path of Exile 2 is that players are rewarded for working towards their damage. It isn’t as straightforward as the first game, as combining your various skills and effects will be crucial to efficiency. Today, we take a look at three of the classes that were given much love during Exilecon, the Druid, Warrior, and Huntress.
Druids in Path of Exile 2 are your typical hybrid class that can shapeshift and use elemental magic to devastate their foes. The Druid is a mix of Strength and Intelligence, which is evident in their animal and human forms, respectively. The focus was given on the Druid’s Bear form with supplementary abilities he can use while in human form.
Just like in Diablo 4, shapeshifting skills cause you to transform immediately to the relevant form. Using Bear Maul will almost instantly turn you into a bear while using elemental magic will revert you to your puny human form.
Combining attacks and effects is exceptionally effective on Druids. Their basic Bear Maul skill deals area damage in a frontal cone, which generates a resource called Rage. You can then follow it up with Rampage, which lets the Druid go wild and repeatedly slam the ground and any enemy unfortunate enough to be caught underneath. Rampages cost Rage, which can be accumulated by using Maul. The more Rage you have, the longer you can maintain the Rampage.
Another big bear skill is called Furious Slam. This is more of a crowd-control effect that stuns enemies in a large area but does minimal damage. The thing about this skill is that it has a wind-up time that requires the bear to stand on its hind legs before furiously slamming the ground. However, Maul already causes the Druid to stand up, meaning you can immediately chain the two hits negating one cast segment entirely.
When talking about caster form, four main abilities were given a highlight: Lightning Storm, Summon Wolf, Tornado, and Volcano. Path of Exile 2 wants Druid players to maximize the time in a shapeshifted form, so the caster abilities are usually either buffs or area skills that tend to last a long time.
Lightning Storm is a basic piece of magic that designates an area to be bombarded by tiny lightning bolts. While it does not do too much damage, the bolts inflict the Shocked debuff which essentially just increases the damage an enemy takes.
Tornado is an area skill that slows down lesser foes. Summon Wolves literally summons wolves. However, summoning them debuffs nearby enemies, making them more prone to being hit by critical strikes.
Volcano is quite interesting as it has a multitude of uses. At its core, Volcano summons a small volcano that continuously spews out molten rocks that burn enemies. The longer you hold down the cast button, the more rocks that can potentially be launched.
However, the kicker here is that hitting the Volcano with a slam-based attack will force it to launch even more volcanic rocks. A Furious Slam would be great for this but think of Rampage, which would repeatedly slam on the ground, making more and more rocks launch from our tiny hazard.
New as well in Path of Exile 2 is the Warrior class, which looks to be heavy on strength like the previous game’s Marauder. Warriors are big on mobility, as even basic attacks have some sort of movement tied to them. One of their specific effects is called Armor Break and can open up the class for some truly terrifying combos.
For example, you can initiate with a skill that causes Armor Break, then use a Leap Attack to trigger a stun on your enemies. You can then follow up with a super-powered slam attack that’s extremely slow but deals a ton of damage.
Another attack is called Sunder, which basically has the warrior hit the ground and create shockwaves in a line. Every enemy hit by the shockwave emits aftershocks, dealing even more damage to grouped-up enemies. Armor Break plus Sunder will not only increase the damage taken by each monster but will also cause the aftershocks to deal more damage.
Warriors can also use an ability called Infernal Cry, which is essentially a taunt that also has the caster deal extra damage as fire. Enemies that die while taunted explode into a firey mess.
Now, putting it all together, you can chain all of these skills in a way that’s devastating to enemies. Armor Break into Leap stun, into a taunt, and finally Sunder them. The extra fire damage will come in handy here, as it will essentially let you create your own fireworks on the ground.
We will also be getting the Huntress class added to Path of Exile 2. She looks to have a playstyle that would mimic Diablo 2’s Amazon, as she is big on spears and mobility (mobility seems to be huge in PoE2, especially with the new dodge roll feature for all characters).
Whirling Strike is one excellent skill in the Huntress kit that creates a whirlwind of cuts around the Huntress. You can use it over and over again, increasing the ability’s effective area (and also presumably increasing the damage dealt). Moving out of the whirlwind by any means, such as walking, dodging, or via another skill, will cause the area to explode for damage, but will dispel the effect.
You can use a dodge attack to quickly get out of the Whirling Strike and then continue the onslaught with your throwing speakers.
Another effective ability is called Spear Field, which can be used on the ground to slow down a group of enemies. Puncture is an ability that will cause the Huntress to thrust forward and inflict bleed stacks on the enemies she hits. The further the distance traveled, the more bleeding is inflicted.
All the skills used in tandem promote a highly active playstyle, just like Diablo IV’s Rogue. You can slow down enemies in a Spear Field, then follow up with tons of Whirling Strikes. Dodge out of the area to trigger the explosion, then Puncture back in to continue the flurry of hits. The Huntress is all about weaving in and out of combat, knowing when to charge up attacks, exploit opportunities, and get out of sticky situations.
Auberon
Writer at Fextralife. I really like vanilla ice cream.
