Path of Exile 2 raises the bar for all other action RPGs, and it's not even finished yet

Promotional art for Path of Exile 2's Return of the Ancients expansion. A winged person holding a halberd stands atop fortress walls with the glare of the sun at their back.

Path of Exile is one of the most complex action RPGs around. Look up a screenshot of its gigantic skill tree and you'll understand its maximalist approach to character build customization. It isn't a game about leveling up and collecting loot so much as it is about using programmer logic to design the most effective monster-slaying machine possible.

Over a decade of updates has made it inscrutable for anyone who doesn't have time to study YouTube videos on how any of it works. While I can theoretically understand the appeal of a game that is effectively a box of Lego pieces, I lost interest as soon as I found myself digging through old forum threads for things the in-game tooltips refuse to explain.