Path of Exile 2 Beta Delayed Over Need To Rework Game's Combat Around New Control Scheme

Path of Exile 2's release date for its beta has been delayed and the playtest will most likely launch "towards the end of the year" after a need to rework its combat around a new control scheme.

The beta was originally set to be available on June 7, 2024, but Grinding Gear Games just announced that Path of Exile 2's playtest will be delayed. The video game developer said that the content of the game's beta itself was already prepared but noted that the gameplay needed some polishing before it could be released to the public.

Path of Exile 2 Beta Delayed

The announcement said that they underestimated the time that it would take for them to get the gameplay of the beta polished to a standard that they are satisfied with. Path of Exile 2 is the much-anticipated sequel to the highly popular free-to-play action RPG that was first released in 2013.

The sequel was originally announced in 2019 and a beta was tentatively set for very late 2020. And while that particular timeline did not happen, it was expectedly caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic, according to GamesRadar.

The developer's efforts to develop Path of Exile 2 have been an adventure as there have been several major reworks and redesigns that happened since its announcement. The latest change to the sequel started out as a gimmick for a single class. It has become what seems to be the primary way to play every single class that is available. This is an action-oriented control system.

With this, players will be able to control a top-down shooter using the WASD keys and their mouse or they can use a gamepad if they so wish. This method was technically unveiled last year and is the result of Grinding Gear Games' attempt to make the game's new mercenary class feel like it was taken from a separate action game.

Director Jonathan Rogers said that the process took a lot of time and effort, including reworks to a large number of skill and spell animations. This would let them play out independently of where the player's character's legs were moving.

A New Control Scheme

The result of this is a game that feels very different from its predecessor and is more mobile, aggressive, and evasive. This is particularly true for ranged classes as well as spellcasters that take the battle farther than their melee counterparts, said PCGamer.

Despite this, close-ranged fighters were not left in the dust as most of their attacks lock them into fixed animations where they remain steady. Shields have also been reworked and let players assign a block button which gives their character complete immunity to any damage from the direction that they are facing.

The announcement of the delay for the game's beta comes after the reveal of Path of Exile 2's Ranger class. Grinding Gear Games said that this would become the title's most agile class that has the ability to move while shooting.

The class has been given a lot of customization options and it also has a variety of quick movement skills and allows the character to bounce around the battlefield and avoid getting too close to enemies, according to WCCFTech.