The launch of POE 2 Divine Orbs has finally arrived, and like many exiles, I threw myself headfirst into the chaos. After staying awake for nearly 28 hours straight, grinding through Acts, testing skills, and wrestling with technical issues, I wanted to share a full recap of how day one went. From buggy builds to incredible highs, from crushing streamer problems to unexpected hardcore deaths, my first steps into PoE2 have been a rollercoaster.

First Impressions: Testing Out the Arsenal

I began day one determined to experiment with builds. Originally, I didn’t plan to play Mortars, because every other totem skill I tried felt terrible. I tested Artillery Ballista (now renamed Sageie Ballista) and came away unimpressed. They barely seemed to scale off weapons at all, and when you place down a skill only to see an enemy’s health bar trickle down at snail pace, you know it’s not going to cut it. Some builds pop right away, even on a single link; these did not.

So instead, I pivoted to Mortars, and that decision carried me through much of the campaign. My setup was fairly straightforward: I planted mortar cannons firing explosive grenades with Urgent Totem for responsiveness and Multi-Shot to scale output. Then, I personally detonated chaos with Explosive Shot, Double Barrel, and Elemental Armament. The result? Bosses melted. I was consistently clearing Act Four encounters a level under the curve.

The combo that tied it together was Flash Grenade with a magnified area multiplier. My usual sequence went like this: place totems, throw a Flash Grenade to debuff enemies, drop a banner, then unload shots at lightning speed. With high attack speed and overlapping explosions, I was tearing through enemies in ways I hadn’t expected.

Weapons, Scaling, and the Abyss System

One surprise on day one was how long I stuck with a single crossbow. I wielded a level 20 base all the way into the mid-40s, and it performed admirably. That’s one thing I love about PoE2: even under-leveled gear can feel strong when rolled well and synergized with your setup.

Eventually, I upgraded into a handcrafted bow that rolled so cleanly it felt like a level 45 base. Even though it wasn’t, the stats made it shine. If I had landed those exact rolls on a higher-level weapon, it would easily carry me all the way into maps.

A major factor here was the new Abyss system, which I absolutely adore. The unveil mechanics, particularly elemental damage with attacks, synergized perfectly with my playstyle. The Abyss is overtuned in difficulty—the beam alone will pin you to the ground—but the rewards are worth the risks. Compared to Hunt league, which I disliked and abandoned early, Abyss feels dynamic, tense, and rewarding.

Bugs, Clunkiness, and Hardcore Deaths

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Mortars themselves are bugged. Reloading often fails when the ammo counter hits zero, forcing me to press reload manually—or worse, to waste grenades before the game would acknowledge the command. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, and occasionally nothing would fire at all. I wasn’t alone here; chat reported similar issues where seals or skills just refused to activate.

Add in a devastating Ultimatum death on my first character and frustration mounted. For hardcore players, dying right after dumping currency and gold into gear is brutal. It’s one thing to lose progress early; it’s another to reset after heavily investing. My attempt to ascend ended prematurely, leaving me tilted and exhausted. Lesson learned: in hardcore, the worst time to die is always right after you’ve upgraded.

Technical Nightmare: Streaming Woes

On top of in-game struggles, I had one of the most stressful launches as a streamer. Right before league start, Nvidia dropped a driver update that wiped out the NVENC encoder in OBS. My streaming software simply wouldn’t recognize it. In a scramble, I updated OBS and drivers, but the reset erased all my settings. Worse, I accidentally enabled Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting, which is currently plagued with bugs. My stream kept crashing, tanking my viewership from 13,000 down to zero. In this line of work, that kind of collapse is devastating.

If that weren’t enough, the game’s download bugged out and refused to complete. I had to reinstall the entire client via Steam, burning an hour of precious launch time. By the time I finally got in, I was stuck in long queues—and even ended up on the wrong account at first. Talk about bad luck. As much as I try to laugh it off now, it was crushing in the moment. Streaming Path of Exile is my livelihood, and having such a chaotic start felt like a punch in the gut.

Campaign Roadblocks: The Hard Filters

Once I settled in, the campaign itself revealed new challenges. Around level 47 to 54, several bosses act as hard filters. Blind progression wasn’t viable; we saw prominent streamers and hardcore players wiped repeatedly. Encounters like Exile Alaiser turned into brutal one-shot machines. On softcore, maybe you can push through with brute force, but in hardcore, caution is the only way forward. After nearly 28 hours awake, I wisely decided to log out rather than risk another avoidable death.

Still, what I experienced of Act Four blew me away. The environments are gorgeous, the pacing feels sharp, and the boss mechanics push you to adapt. For all its bugs and rough edges, PoE2’s campaign already shows more polish and intensity than early Path of Exile campaigns ever did.

The Good, the Bad, and the Fun

So how would I rate the experience so far? Honestly, I’d give this launch a 9/10 if not for the bugs. Crossbow reload issues, clunky skill activations, and rare monsters overtuned to the point of absurdity all drag the score down. But beneath those problems lies a game bursting with potential. Mortars, grenades, and the new Abyss system created some of the most satisfying gameplay loops I’ve had in an ARPG in years.

Compared to Hunt league, which bored me into quitting early, Abyss feels alive. The danger, the depth, and the loot all click. Even the flaws—like rippy beams and overtuned rares—at least push you to think carefully instead of steamrolling blindly.

Looking Ahead: Plans and Goals

Despite the rocky start, I’m excited to keep pushing forward. My immediate plan is to finish the campaign without more hardcore disasters, then farm low-tier maps and focus on Abyss for currency. I also want to test Cluster Grenades, which could push my build into even higher tiers of clear speed.

Streaming-wise, I’ll continue keeping my maxual planner updated, share progress with the community, and hopefully avoid another launch-day nightmare. No subathon plans this time—those require babysitters and massive prep—but I’ll be running giveaways and supporter events as the season progresses.

Sprinting Controversy: Skill Issue?

Before wrapping up, I want to address one hot topic: sprinting. I’ve seen many players complain about the sprint mechanic, calling it clunky or unnecessary. Personally, I think it’s a non-issue. Playing hardcore, sprint has saved me countless times, and I’ve had zero trouble using it effectively. The only time it got me killed was when I foolishly looked away at another screen mid-sprint—100% user error. For anyone struggling, I’d chalk it up less to design and more to learning curve.

Final Thoughts

Day one of Path of Exile 2 was messy, exhausting, and frustrating in ways only an ARPG launch can be. Between bugs, deaths, and technical chaos, I could have easily ended the night bitter, cheap POE 2 Chaos Orbs. But instead, I walked away energized, already thinking about my next steps and excited to dive back in. For all its rough edges, PoE2 is a game with enormous promise, and even in this early state, it delivers exhilarating highs.

To other players braving the new league: may your downloads be smooth, your reloads bug-free, and your hardcore characters die less often than mine. This season is shaping up to be a wild ride—and I can’t wait to see where it goes.