With Path of Exile 2’s patch 0.3 set to release in less than a month, the stakes for Grinding Gear Games (GGG) have never been higher. Early Access has seen only two major updates so far — 0.1 and 0.2 — and the player community’s sentiment has been on a noticeable decline.

When 0.1 launched, excitement was high. The game felt fresh, and players were optimistic about its future. But after 0.2, frustration grew, with concerns about pacing, endgame systems, and overall direction taking center stage.

Patch 0.3 now stands as a pivotal moment. If it delivers meaningful improvements, it could restore confidence and prove that 0.2 was a temporary stumble. But if it fails, many players may disengage until the full 1.0 release — a risk no live-service game wants to face.

Here’s a breakdown of what POE2 Currency needs in patch 0.3 to turn things around.

1. Campaign Overhaul – Speed, Flow, and Acts

The campaign is the first major hurdle for players, and its pacing has been one of the most debated topics in Early Access.

Speed and Feel

Jonathan Rogers of GGG has acknowledged that the campaign feels slower than intended, both in terms of actual completion time and player movement speed. Patch 0.2.1 introduced some improvements to map layouts, making navigation slightly smoother. However, certain areas — especially Acts 2 and 3 — remain confusing and overly sprawling.

What needs to happen:

Better map breadcrumbing so players naturally follow the correct path without frustrating detours.

Smaller, more streamlined layouts that keep gameplay momentum.

Optional movement speed boosts during the campaign. While base speed buffs might not align with GGG’s philosophy, the reintroduction of acceleration shrines — seen in PoE1’s campaign — could provide temporary bursts of speed and excitement.

Acceleration shrines could serve as both a quality-of-life improvement and a “dopamine hit” for players, without permanently altering the baseline movement speed.

Acts 4–6

Currently, the campaign only features Acts 1–3, repeated in a “cruel” difficulty format. Many players are growing tired of rerunning these same zones on every new character.

Rumors suggest Act 4 is nearly complete, but adding just one act risks disrupting campaign flow. The ideal scenario would be for patch 0.3 to introduce Acts 4–6 all at once, eliminating cruel difficulty repeats and giving the story a smoother, more engaging progression.

This is feasible. Before launch, Acts 4–6 were reportedly nearly ready but shelved in favor of building the endgame. By now, GGG has had nearly nine months since 0.1’s release — more than the original six-month estimate they once gave for completing the remaining acts.

Bottom line: A campaign refresh could dramatically improve the first 10–15 hours of gameplay and reignite interest for returning players.

2. Endgame Improvements – From Towers to the Atlas

While the campaign sets the stage, Path of Exile’s long-term appeal has always hinged on its endgame. In PoE2, it’s still a work in progress — and it shows.

Tower System Rework

Currently, many players chase “three-tower” or “four-tower” setups to maximize loot efficiency. This forces repetitive, unfun map-searching instead of organic progression.

A healthier system would:

Prevent overlapping tower effects entirely.

Limit maps to one tower setup at a time.

Focus on making each tower impactful without forcing players to hunt for specific multi-tower configurations.

Atlas Traversal

In PoE1, you can freely target the maps you enjoy, skipping the ones you don’t. In PoE2, the Atlas traversal system often forces players through unwanted maps just to reach the content they want.

Possible solutions include:

Allowing each node to be “slotted” with any map, as in PoE1.

Or, providing alternate traversal paths to bypass disliked layouts.

This flexibility would reduce player frustration and make mapping feel more personalized.

3. Crafting – Accessibility and Currency Sinks

Crafting in PoE2 remains heavily RNG-dependent, with deterministic options too rare for most players to access. Omens — particularly the rare purple varieties — remain scarce despite prior drop-rate increases.

To make crafting more engaging for the broader player base, GGG could:

Increase omen availability so mid-tier players can realistically experiment with gear crafting.

Introduce more deterministic crafting methods without overwhelming complexity.

Create meaningful divine orb sinks. Currently, divine orbs function almost exclusively as trade currency, causing severe inflation. Tying divines to crafting — for example, boosting success rates or combining with omens — could stabilize the in-game economy.

4. Endgame Goals, Map Difficulty, and Progression

Right now, endgame progression in PoE2 feels too linear and too short-lived. Pinnacle bosses aren’t especially difficult to reach or defeat, and map tiers progress too quickly.

Key areas for improvement:

More challenging pinnacle encounters that reward mastery and preparation.

Additional endgame goals beyond boss farming — such as special challenges, unique crafting projects, or long-term league-style mechanics.

Tiered difficulty scaling similar to PoE1, where harder maps yield proportionally better loot. This would reward players for pushing their limits rather than farming safe, easy content.

Tier 16 Access

Currently, acquiring tier 16 maps relies too heavily on corrupting lower-tier maps, which can burn through large map stocks for minimal reward. Direct tier 16 drops should be more common to keep high-level play flowing.

5. Why Patch 0.3 Is So Critical

Patch 0.3 isn’t just “another update” — it’s a defining moment for PoE2’s Early Access. If it fails to address core pacing, accessibility, and endgame depth, the player base risks stagnation or decline. But if it delivers:

Campaign pacing could feel smoother and more rewarding.

Endgame systems could become less frustrating and more player-driven.

Crafting could open up to a wider audience, reducing economic imbalance.

High-level play could gain the challenge and diversity it currently lacks.

The potential upside is enormous — enough to turn around the downward satisfaction trend and restore faith in GGG’s vision.

Conclusion

Path of Exile 2’s Early Access is still young, but momentum matters. The first two patches charted a course that has left many players uneasy. Patch 0.3 is the first real chance for GGG to correct that trajectory.

If GGG can refine the campaign flow, make the endgame more engaging, improve crafting accessibility, cheap POE2 Currency, and reintroduce meaningful difficulty scaling, PoE2 could reclaim the optimism of its Early Access launch.

The coming month will tell whether this is the patch that turns things around — or the one that cements the community’s doubts until 1.0.