Path of Exile 2's Newest Class is the Witch, Features Changes From the First Game

Path of Exile 2 is an action RPG that comes as a sequel to the highly popular classic and is expected to come to early access in 2024 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Game director Jonathan Rogers also said that Path of Exiles 2 should be a "lot easier to get into" compared to the original game. However, he stressed that this did not result in the removal of potential depth for players' characters after they get used to things in the sequel.

Path of Exile 2's New Class

Path of Exile 2's Newest Class is the Witch, Featuring Changes From the First Game — Path of Exile 2 is bringing back the Witch class but with a major change that would make feel a lot different compared to the first game.
(Photo : Grinding Gear Games / Screenshot taken from Steam)

He says that the key is that actions such as equipping new abilities have been streamlined in Path of Exile 2. He added that the opening areas were designed so that players would run into key tutorial aspects no matter what they choose to do first.

During the game's early playtests, Rogers said that a lot of people, unfortunately, did not get good RNG for the item drops or they picked the wrong skill. This resulted in them not having a good time during their run, according to Eurogamer.

But in the more recent builds of the game, things were nudged so that players should learn what they need to and get their characters at least powerful enough to survive. He noted that this required a lot of very subtle massaging of things to get it right.

One of the previews for Path of Exile 2 included the newest class, the Witch, which is capable of firing a variety of elemental attacks while dual-wielding wands. The class is also able to summon minions to let them directly engage with enemies.

With a new dodge roll and the Witch's minions, the game seems to be shifting towards a slower approach to the action RPG experience. Rogers echoed this slower approach, saying that it was not necessarily intentional but simply a "part of the process of making the combat feel good."

Changes From the Original Game

The return of the Witch includes a variety of changes from what was available in the original Path of Exile game. The core change to the class is shifting its focus from elemental attacks to summoning minions, said GamesRadar.

Rogers said that they completely changed how summoning minions works from the first game to the sequel. In Path of Exile, players had to summon all minions manually, which could be somewhat of a hassle in a variety of situations.

But in the new game, once none of your minions have died for a short period of time, then all of your minions will regenerate at the same time. He said that they found that it was better to have all of your minions revive at once instead of coming back one at a time.

A key feature of Path of Exile 2 is allowing for couch co-op and cross-play with friends, which is probably something that is exciting for a variety of players. The game's combat has been described as honed and responsive and is set in a world that is interesting and full of surprises to discover, according to RPGFan.