I've never put much time into Path of Exile, but I have to admit hearing Rogers distinguish it from Diablo like this makes me more tempted than ever. He also emphasised the game's depth and complexity versus Diablo 4, but that's less of a surprise to anyone who-like me-has ever fired up POE 1 and found themselves confronted by a skill tree that looks like some kind of spiralling diagram from Ars Goetia. POE 2's design philosophy doesn't feature 'much in the way of cooldowns,' said Rogers, instead he says it's focused more on action: 'very much more, 'What skill is best to use here in this moment because it's just the right situation.' Things like the way you never lose control of your character … that's kind of our main focus'.
D4 is on an 'MMO path,' said Rogers, noting the game's abundance of cooldowns and its open world design, while POE 2 is 'going more in the kind of like Elden Ring sort of direction,' meaning a 'much more action-focused' game 'with a sort of hardcore bent'. With Diablo 4's fan sentiment where it is, Rogers was understandably keen to highlight just how very un-Diablo 4 Grinding Gear's Path of Exile 2 is going to be.
