In Path of Exile 2, the new update went live last night. However, instead of delivering no nerfs as promised, one class was completely broken right afterwards.
Which class is it? The developers of Path of Exile 2 originally intended to not nerf any characters in this update, but only to buff them. However, when players logged back into their warrior characters, they found themselves facing broken builds.
The totem is now completely dead
What was broken? The new patch of Path of Exile 2 was supposed to fix the support skill “astral projection”. This skill usually ensures that an ability is cast at the target location instead of at the player’s position. This in combination with the “Shockwave Totem” was previously bugged.
As indicated in the patch notes, the issue was supposed to be resolved after the update. However, instead of fixing the problem, the developers seemingly broke the totem completely. A user on Reddit displays the exact issue in a before / after comparison.
In the video, it is clearly visible that the totems no longer attack correctly and also have some sort of delay before they cast their spells.
For the community on Reddit, this was a slap in the face, as the builds surrounding totems are among the few that work well with the warrior. Without functioning totems, the class becomes nearly unplayable for many gamers.
Re-specing is also no longer so easy due to the advanced league, as many players have already finely tailored their items to their build.
How are the developers reacting? The developers of Path of Exile 2 are reacting quickly and already released the bug fix in the next hotfix (via PathofExile.com). This is now live, and the builds should function as they did before.
However, what the developers cannot fix quickly is the outraged community. The last patch and the broken totems have sparked a debate about the warrior class itself.
Here you can see the trailer of Path of Exile 2:
The worst class in PoE2
What is being discussed? The community of Path of Exile 2 is unhappy with the warrior class in the game. The last patch, which brought a 15% buff to the armor defense value, did not go far enough for the gamers.
The community on Reddit accuses the developers of a “survivorship bias”, meaning the distortion in favor of the survivors. This implies that the developers would attempt to cater to the remaining warrior players by bringing buffs like the one to the armor value into the ARPG.
However, fundamentally, nothing would change for the class. On paper, such a change would make warriors better off. But those who have already switched classes early on due to playstyle will not return because of a 15% better armor.
For Enemy50 on Reddit, the problem already starts with the animations: “My main criticism of the warrior is that the skills don’t have a good ‘feel’. I never get tired of shooting lightning from my hands, but the animation for swinging the mace is very mediocre. The screams are cool, though.”
GoblinBreeder also gives good feedback to the developers on Reddit: “I love the weighty feel of the abilities. I just think they need defensive properties associated with their use if they tie you to such slow attack speeds. It’s just not viable in the fast endgame, you will die if you try to use Sunder or Rolling Slam.”
Feedback also comes from aicis on Reddit who says: “The warriors are fine. It’s the mace that needs improving.”
Odd-Cranberry589 on Reddit sees it only partially that way: “There are some issues with the warrior passive tree, as well as other factors to consider, […] but yes, just fixing the maces or starting there could be the best method.”
How the developers will implement changes to the warrior in the future and whether totems will play an important role in that is still unclear. Many of the melee classes in Path of Exile 2 have not yet been released, which also contributes to the limited selection of builds. Due to his build, a gamer had to become riskier: Since day 1, there has been a competition in Path of Exile 2, right before the end, the favorite makes a crucial mistake
