Right now everyone’s talking about shapeshifting Druids and flashy trailers, but if you read the patch notes for Path of Exile 2’s 0.4.0 update carefully, you can see the real shift is under the hood, and it matters a lot more once you’ve got the poe2 currency buy situation sorted so you can actually test stuff properly. The whole endgame feels like it is being rewired, and veteran players are going to notice it the moment they reach maps. It is not just a stat pass, the game is nudging you into more active, pattern‑based gameplay instead of standing still behind a wall of numbers.

Ascendancies Getting A New Identity

The first thing that jumps out is the way Ascendancies are being pushed into clearer roles. The Titan is the best example. It used to be that you could slam one button on repeat and let raw armour and life do the talking. With the new Mountain Splitter node, that vibe is gone. You now have to pace your slams, line them up, then ride the aftershocks for big payoffs. The stun focus from Crushing Impacts makes the class feel less like a statue and more like a crowd‑control bully. You are setting up windows where enemies barely move, then cashing in with heavy hits, and if you miss that timing you actually feel it.

Skill Flow For Tactician And Sorceress

The Tactician (Mercenary) also finally feels like it has some proper rhythm. The tweak to Supporting Fire plus the big cooldown cut on Death From Above stops the playstyle turning into a “wait for big button” simulator. You are moving, marking, firing, and you always have something meaningful to press instead of standing around. On the caster side, Sorceress mains have quietly got one of the nicest quality‑of‑life changes in ages. Refracted Infusion losing its RNG feels small on paper, but once you start mapping you notice how smooth the rotation becomes. No more bricking a pull because a key buff did not roll at the right time, which is a huge deal when you are playing a high‑APM setup.

Summoner Power Creep And Resource Changes

Summoner players might be the happiest of the lot. Minions scaling up to about 50% more damage by skill level 8 is a big number, and it kicks in faster than people expect. Add the flat 25% buff to Spectres and Tamed Beasts and suddenly classic Necromancer‑style builds look scary again. You do not feel like you are dragging a slow army through every map, they actually delete packs when they connect. On top of that, the mana and Spirit cost tuning means you are not gasping for resources every time you resummon or spam your support skills. It opens up space for a few greedier links or a defensive button without the whole build falling apart.

Economy Shock And What Players Will Chase

All of this balance work is going to spill into the economy pretty fast. With Deadeyes leaning harder into glass‑cannon territory after the Bullseye changes, people are going to chase crit gear from day one, and that usually pushes prices up. At the same time, the buffs to minions scream demand for good summoner bases, plus jewels and wands that scale them properly. If you are the type who hates crawling through the first week broke and stuck on scuffed rares, it is not crazy to line up a bit of trading power early or even consider a place where you can poe2 buy gold so you have room to experiment with the new Vaal Temple mapping, weird Titan rotations, or full‑commit Necro setups without feeling like every craft is a huge risk.