After all these years of waiting for Path of Exile 2 to actually land, it is starting to sink in that the 1.0 launch might not be the neat, everything-in-one-place package many players hoped for, even if you are already planning your builds and thinking about PoE 2 Items along the way. Director Jonathan Rogers has been pretty honest about it in recent chats: the team is still targeting a 2026 release window, but getting every planned system and class ready for that date is turning into a serious slog. So the focus is shifting. Rather than ship a bloated version where half the content feels half-baked, they want a tight, stable campaign with solid balance, even if that means a few classes sit on the bench at launch.
Classes And What Might Be Missing
Rogers has not laid out a full list of what is in or out, which leaves people guessing about their favourite archetypes. The main reassurance so far is his comment that he cannot imagine releasing the game without swords. That sounds small, but for anyone eyeing a duelist, knight, or anything vaguely melee and flashy, it matters a lot. You do not want to wait a decade for a sequel and end up stuck playing something that feels like a temporary stand-in. The mood in the community is a mix of “fine, just ship the game already” and “do not touch my class,” and you can see why. Players remember how long some features took to arrive in the original game, so there is a real fear that whatever is missing at 1.0 could take years to show up.
Parrying, Sprinting And Moment-To-Moment Combat
While all that long-term stuff hangs over 2026, the 0.4.0 update is trying to nudge people toward a different way of playing right now. Parrying has never really clicked with most players; a lot of folks just block, dodge, or step away instead. GGG clearly wants to change that. In this patch, a successful parry now hits every enemy in front of you, not just a single target, and the main enemy you parried takes the hit even if they are not right up in your face. On top of that, there are fresh passives aimed at propping the mechanic up, so it is not just a weird side option you never spec into. Whether people actually rebuild around it is another question, but the direction is clear: they want parry gameplay to feel like a proper style, not a gimmick you forget exists.
Stuns, Mobility And Staying Alive
There is also a big quality-of-life tweak that might quietly become one of those changes you cannot live without. Running now stops the “strong stun” effect from fading as quickly, which in practice means you do not just crumple the second you try to sprint away from a bad pull. You dash out, you keep moving, and you are not punished as hard for taking the hint and backing off. Anyone who has died while hammering their movement key and watching their character stand still will get why this is such a relief. It is not a flashy new system, but it makes the game feel more responsive and a little less cruel during those messy packs where you misjudge one hit and everything falls apart.
Build Deaths, Nerfs And Crafting Friction
Of course, no patch lands without something being taken to pieces. In 0.4.0 the big casualty is the Lich crossbow setup that leaned hard on the unique “The Last Lament.” Players had stitched together a wild synergy there, and it had become one of those builds you kept hearing about because it shredded content in a way that did not look healthy. GGG has gone in hard on that combo, and the build is basically off life support now. Ambrosia has been cut down as well, so it is no longer the easy answer for a whole chunk of the game. Crafting fans are feeling a different kind of pain, with two Omens removed and the high-end process getting just that bit clunkier. Not everything is doom and gloom, quarterstaffs have picked up some buffs, but bow users are definitely feeling like they drew the short straw this round. All of that leaves PoE 2 in an odd spot: we are inching toward launch with some beloved builds dying off and others waiting in the wings, and a lot of players are quietly weighing up how they will gear, level, and grab their favourite PoE 2 Items buy once the real race finally begins.
