Summary
Path of Exile 2has been received rather well, despite only being in early access, praised for its refined ARPG gameplay, compelling narrative and atmosphere, immersive visuals, and technical performance. At the same time, it hasn’t been able to avoid some light criticism in certain areas — namely the loot system and unbalancedendgame forPath of Exile 2. While these areas certainly need to be addressed, there is yet another rather irritating mechanic found withinPath of Exile 2’s gameplay that was also present in Blizzard’sDiablo 2— one thatDiablo 4chose to remove for the better.
Path of Exile 2is likeDiablo 2in a lot of ways, not only sharing its dark, grim fantasy setting and isometric perspective, but, more notably, many of its gameplay mechanics as well. However, whileDiablo 2is one of the most celebrated entries in the series, some of its systems are heavily antiquated at this point. Now,Path of Exile 2has incorporated a gameplay system that was present inDiablo 2, and it ultimately shows thatDiablo 4was wise to remove the feature from its gameplay entirely.
Path of Exile 2’s Item Identification Mechanics Are Antiquated
Like Diablo 2, Path of Exile 2 Makes Players Identify Some Items Before They Can Be Used
LikeDiablo 2,Path of Exile 2requires players to identify some items before they can be used. Sometimes, when players collect dropped loot, that item will be marked “Unidentified” until players identify it, using either a Scroll of Wisdom or a special NPC that they recruit duringPath of Exile 2’s campaign. Until that item is identified, players cannot see its stats and therefore cannot always know how or if it will benefit their character in any way. Unfortunately, despite not being a difficult system to manage by any means, it usually feels like more of a chore than a meaningful gameplay mechanic.
Not all items inPath of Exile 2require identification, as normal items, currency, and some others skip the identification process.
What’s most interesting aboutPath of Exile 2’s identification mechanicsis that players gain access to an NPC called “The Hooded One” very early on in the game’s campaign. From then on, The Hooded One remains at camp, where players can speak to him and have him identify items for free. SincePath of Exile 2’s camp portal function has no cooldown and is entirely free, this means players can simply port back to camp at any time if they need to identify items, and they won’t ever have to use a single Scroll of Wisdom, unless they simply prefer to identify items on the fly in order to keep their gameplay a little less uninterrupted.
On top ofThe Hooded One’s presence in the game, Scrolls of Wisdom are very easy to come by inPath of Exile 2. Given the extreme ease of identifying items inPath of Exile 2, the whole system almost feels like more of an annoyance than it should be. The mechanic might be justified if it tied into other systems, like crafting or resource management, but it’s little more than a time-consuming step with no challenge or strategic depth to it. Fortunately, however,Path of Exile 2is only in early access, so perhaps the whole system will be done away with before the game reaches its 1.0 release state.
Diablo 4 Lets Players Use Items Without Identifying Them
This is ultimately whereDiablo 4shines, despite arguably falling short in many other areas thatPath of Exile 2excels in.Diablo 4ultimately did away with the series' identification mechanics in order to address criticisms of the system and to offer a more modern and streamlined gameplay experience. As modern gamers generally desire to play their games uninhibited by unnecessary gameplay steps,Diablo 4’s removal of the identification mechanics like those present in earlierDiablogamesnot only simplifies the game for newcomers, but it also shifts the gameplay focus away from meaningless chores like managing inventory and more onto elements that add strategic depth to the game.
