Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict is a winner, and the first patch notes prove it

Now that we're a few days in, I'm happy calling new Path of Exile 2 update The Third Edict a success. It's not perfect, and there are plenty of pain points for developer Grinding Gear Games to continue to work at, but we're still very much in the early access phase and, as a whole, the new patch is a winner. Act four of the campaign is fantastic, one of the best singular ARPG chapters I've experienced in a long time. The interlude acts are a solid step up from having to replay chapters, and the Rise of the Abyss league is an upgrade from its PoE 1 inspiration. But GGG is still hard at work on changes.

"With the launch of Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict over the weekend, we've been keeping a close eye on feedback and issues that have been arising (along with the Abyssal)," GGG writes in a new blog post. Since the launch of the new season, it's delivered a total of 13 hotfixes, though there are no issues so dramatically in need of attention as in the last league. The current focus is the PoE 2 0.3.0b patch, which it says "will fix a lot of [the RPG's] outstanding issues," including the totem ascendancy notable for the Warbringer.

GGG has now opened up Abyssal monsters to being bound as specters, giving a fresh set of potential targets to minion builds. When you're up against them, Abyssal monsters will no longer have their full skill set from the start of the game, but instead will introduce it gradually across the acts to make them a little less dangerous early on. The disorienting motion blur effect when closing an Abyssal Pit has also been removed.

Using the new sprint feature, which gives you far more speed but at the risk of being tripped and demolished if you catch a stray blow, will now will now remove any enemy lock-on. This means you shouldn't unintentionally turn back around when running away from a foe and then using a skill that tries to target them. Bosses such as Vessel of Kulemak, Shepherd of the Pit, and Torvian, Hand of the Savior have been rebalanced to make them feel fairer.

There are still plenty of decisions to be made. Sprint has certainly proved divisive, quickly establishing a true 'love it or hate it' reputation among the community. Personally, I mostly like the risk/reward element it introduces, and it feels fitting to PoE 2's grander design ethos. I would take a slightly more generous startup window before you're opened up to the knockdown, however, as it's easy to hold the dodge key for slightly too long and get immediately punished, even if you weren't trying to run.

Nevertheless, GGG will certainly be feeling a lot more at ease than in the wake of the disastrous Dawn of the Hunt launch. Asynchronous trade seems to be working about as smoothly as could be hoped for and stands alongside the first game's abolishment of Archnemesis as the biggest improvement to the series in a decade. Crafting is already a lot more compelling; it's got a way to go to reach PoE 1 levels, but it's certainly greatly improved from what we've had in the sequel so far. Now I'm just waiting to hear when we'll finally get our hands on the long-awaited Druid class.

You can read through the full Path of Exile 2 patch notes courtesy of Grinding Gear Games for a complete rundown of all changes made since The Third Edict's launch.

Starting a new character? We've rundown the best Path of Exile 2 classes to help you on your adventure through one of the best games like Diablo on PC today.

Let us know what build you're running this league in the PCGamesN community Discord server, where you'll find plenty of PoE enthusiasts among our many readers.