With the launch of Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4, these two action role-playing games have become the focus of discussion among many players. Both games are dark-style ARPGs, in which players explore deep dungeons, kill monsters and collect loot.

Diablo 4 and POE 2 are both top-down dungeon crawling games, where players have to face waves of enemies, obtain loot and build their best character. Although the gameplay of the two games seems similar, there are also many differences.

At the time of writing, Diablo 4 has launched a full DLC, while Path of Exile 2 is only in the early access stage, but both games still do a lot better than the other. This article will only focus on the early access of Path of Exile 2 and what will be added in the official version. We will also not compare the stories of the two games, because the story in POE 2 is not complete yet, and we cannot determine which game is better. Let's talk about what aspects of these two games are better than each other.

What Path Of Exile 2 Does Well?

Free To Play

To play early access in Path of Exile 2, you have to pay to get a version of the game. Once the game is fully released, though, it will be completely free to play.

More Classes And Flexibility

Another promise of Path of Exile 2 is that there will be up to 12 classes once the game is officially released. Even in early access, the game has a total of six playable classes, as Diablo 4's sixth class was locked behind paid DLC. Each class has a surprising amount of flexibility, as the specific skills you get to use are more based on your weapon of choice, and your class determines where you start in the massive singular passive skill tree.

The singular passive skill tree is so powerful that no matter where you start, you can grow to unlock any passive skill you want, giving you a level of creativity that Diablo 4 didn't have. Path of Exile 2 also offers permanent boosts for completing quests and defeating optional enemies, rewarding players with more than just a level increase.

Ascendancy Classes

In addition to the base classes, each class can be upgraded to multiple Ascendancy Classes after a few hours of play. You can choose not to Ascend, continue to keep the base class, or upgrade to a new class, which can provide more playability even in the same class.

Randomized Maps

In POE 2, except for towns, each location you enter is a randomly generated instance. This ensures that no matter how many characters you use or how much time you spend on a character, you will never run on the same map.

What Diablo 4 Does Better?

Seasonal Content

To play seasonal content, you need to create a seasonal character, which will be deleted at the end of the season. Although it is temporary, each season brings new content and focuses on various aspects of the game, making the already good content better, while also temporarily bringing new free content.

Although seasonal characters are time-limited, you always have access to the base game and can create permanent characters that will not be deleted, but you will not be able to access seasonal content.

Piles Of Loot

Diablo 4 specifically provides players with tons of loot, from which players can sift through to find the best gear for themselves. Compared to the open loot in POE 2, there are more tiers of loot in Diablo 4. While the quality of loot varies, defeating bosses often results in a large number of items and Diablo 4 Gold dropping on the ground, which is part of the fun of character building.

The series' key features return to previous games, such as the emphasis on replayability, procedurally generated dungeons, and loot-focused character building, while also adopting new mechanics to the series, including open worlds and player-versus-player combat.

More Varied Classes And Character Creation

While Diablo 4 has less overall freedom in classes, there are still many ways to build each class. Each class plays very differently, with a variety of specific skills that make them feel very different from each other. Mixing these different classes together as seasonal characters makes each season feel fresh and new, because you can always play a different way in different content.

Diablo 4 also allows you to fully customize the appearance of your character when you first create it. You can then hide the character's helmet, ensuring that you can see the face you created without losing a gear slot.

If you are a player who pursues extremely high freedom, likes complex mechanisms and in-depth research, POE 2 is undoubtedly a better choice. If you prefer intuitive combat, large-scale world exploration, and social interaction, Diablo 4 may be more suitable for you.

The above are the aspects that POE 2 and Diablo 4 do better than each other. Which game do you prefer to play? If you are missing some game products during the game, there is a giveaway channel for the game in IGGM Discord, and we will post product giveaway information from time to time. I hope you have fun!