Path of Exile 2 Monster Damage System

In Path of Exile 2 (PoE2), monster damage categorization has undergone a fundamental redesign, removing the distinction between “spells” and “attacks” that was present in Path of Exile 1 (PoE1). This change is intended to simplify the interaction between monsters and player defenses, making encounters easier to understand and preparing the groundwork for more consistent balancing.

In PoE2, the traditional “attack” and “spell” labels used to categorize monster damage in PoE1 have been removed. Previously, players had to manage defenses against attacks and spells separately, using different mechanics:

Spell Suppression reduced spell damage, introduced in PoE1 to offer evasion-based builds an option against spells.

In PoE2, these distinctions are removed, meaning that players will no longer need to worry about whether incoming damage from monsters is classified as an “attack” or a “spell.” Instead, monster abilities will still retain various “tags” such as area of effect (AoE), projectile, or strike, which determine how they interact with player defenses.

Due to this re-categorization, several key defensive mechanics have been reworked:

Evasion: Evasion will now apply to any monster damage that qualifies as a projectile or strike, regardless of whether the ability was previously categorized as a spell or attack. This makes evasion a more versatile defense, as players won't need a separate mechanic to handle spells.

Block: Similarly, blocking will interact with projectile and strike abilities, functioning similarly to evasion. However, large monster abilities with AoE tags, especially in boss fights, are designed to be unblockable, and will generally be visually telegraphed so that players know to avoid them.

Spell Suppression and Deflection: In PoE1, spell suppression reduced damage from spells, and PoE2 initially experimented with adding a new defensive stat called Deflection that reduced damage from attacks. However, with the removal of attack and spell distinctions, both spell suppression and deflection have been removed. It's expected that new defensive mechanics may be introduced to help players handle AoE abilities specifically, but these have not been detailed yet.

This new approach is meant to simplify defensive mechanics, making it more intuitive for players to understand how to counter monster damage. Here's how it affects various gameplay elements:

Predictability in Combat: Players now have clearer visual cues for which abilities can be dodged, blocked, or evaded. For example:

Projectiles and Strikes: Can be blocked or evaded, offering some level of mitigation for physical hits.

AoE Abilities: These are often unblockable and unavoidable by regular defenses, so players will need to avoid them through positioning. These AoE abilities, especially in boss fights, will generally be telegraphed, making it clear when to evade them.

Balancing Damage: The removal of the spell-attack distinction provides developers with a clean slate for balancing monster damage across all encounters, creating consistency without the sharp spikes in difficulty that could occur in PoE1. This change aims to create a smoother progression of monster difficulty across the game, where a player's success is less dependent on specialized defenses and more on general defensive investments.

Potential for New Defensive Mechanics: While spell suppression and deflection are removed, PoE2's simplified damage categories open up space for GGG to explore new types of defensive mechanics. Players can still expect complex defensive options through resistances (chaos, elemental, physical), and tags like melee, ranged, ground effect, and various ailments will still apply. This allows GGG to design unique defensive gear or skills based on these remaining factors.

Easier Defensive Choices: In PoE2, players will have fewer specific defenses to balance between, reducing the need for highly specialized defenses like spell suppression.

Greater Clarity and Responsiveness: By making evasion and block effective against a broader range of damage, GGG is aiming for a system where players can more reliably anticipate which abilities will affect them. The removal of attack-spell complexity means players can focus on reacting to visual cues in combat without worrying about the underlying classification of the damage.

Increased Emphasis on Positioning: With powerful unblockable AoE abilities, positioning will become even more critical in PoE2. This encourages more strategic movement, especially during boss fights, where AoE telegraphs guide players on when to move and defend.

PoE2's revised monster damage system removes the spell-attack distinction, making combat mechanics more intuitive and defensives easier to manage. Players will focus on general defenses like evasion and block for projectile and strike attacks, and rely on movement and positioning to avoid unblockable AoE attacks. This change simplifies the decision-making around defenses, provides opportunities for new mechanics, and aligns with GGG's intention to create a more accessible and strategically deep game.

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