Highlights
- Path of Exile 2 is set to challenge Diablo 4 with its extensive class options, boasting a total of twelve base classes compared to Diablo 4's five.
- The addition of three Ascendancy classes for each character class in Path of Exile 2 further enhances diversity and replay value, offering a total of 48 different class combinations.
- While Diablo 4 may introduce new classes in future expansions, Path of Exile 2 already covers virtually all of Diablo 4's archetypes, appealing to ARPG veterans looking for a rich class-based experience.
Diablo 4 has recently been on a lot of players' radars due to its incredible marketing campaign and rave reviews, and just as gamers are pointing out the flaws of its seasonal approach, Grinding Gear Games is stealing Blizzard's thunder thanks to Path of Exile 2. Path of Exile was released almost ten years ago as a sort of spiritual successor to Diablo 2, but it grew to become much more, to the point that a sequel is on the way and will open the gates of its beta next year. With both being ARPGs and sharing roots, it's no wonder that Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4 are so similar in many regards - but GGG's new game has an ace up its sleeve.
One of the best selling points for Diablo 4's gameplay was that it returned to the series' roots after all the changes that Diablo 3 and Diablo Immortal went through, and the first indicator of this was that its classes all drew inspiration from the franchise's classics. Path of Exile 2 doesn't have a whole franchise to use a springboard, but still, it shows to have learned valuable lessons from the original, especially when it comes to classes.
Path of Exile 2 Gets More Than Double Diablo 4's Classes
Path of Exile currently boasts seven characters to choose from, which essentially act as classes, and then six of them have three Ascendancy classes each, with the seventh only having one. However, Path of Exile base characters didn't really have much of an advantage over one another before Ascendancy classes launched because the main difference between them was the starting point on the shared passive tree. This gave players a lot of flexibility, but it also came at the cost of individual classes' identities. Ascendancy classes fixed this, but they are still very different from Diablo 4's classes - and by extension, its predecessors'.
Diablo 4's classes all have a refined identity that translates into unique abilities and gameplay mechanics, which makes experiencing the game through all of them all the more appealing. Path of Exile 2 does the same thing, this time around making some skills exclusive to one class, which gives each class its time in the limelight - but that's not all. Not only does Path of Exile 2 have three Ascendancy classes for each character class, but it sports a whopping total of twelve base classes to choose from against the five of Diablo 4.
This is a clear advantage Path of Exile 2 has over Diablo 4 because of the sheer diversity each class will have and the incredible replay value of the title, with Ascendancy classes further shaking up what a given character can do, branching in three different paths. This virtually means that Path of Exile 2 has 48 classes total, although only 12 of them will actually have different skills to unlock. Players can still expect the same passive skill tree concept from the original, however, with it being shared across all classes unlike Diablo 4.
It's not all gloom and doom for Blizzard's new ARPG, however, as Diablo 4's expansions might be around the corner - and with them, it's very likely a new class or two will show up. Path of Exile 2 is still a ways off, but it's showing right off the bat that there's a lot it is willing to offer ARPG veterans, especially those coming from Diablo 4's experience, and classes are the best way to show this. As it stands, Path of Exile 2 will have virtually all of Diablo 4's archetypes when it comes to classes, and then some.
Path of Exile 2 is in development.