This is a guide for Diablo 4 players who are transitioning to Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2). Read on to learn more about guides for each game mechanic and their comparisons here!

Diablo 4 to Path of Exile 2 Progression Guide

Progression for Diablo 4 Players
Character Creation Leagues and Difficulties Campaign and Sidequests Exploring the Map Enemies and Bosses Building Your Character Progressing Through Mid-game Endgame Content

Character Creation

Creating your character in Path of Exile 2 is different from usual as all of your characters are gender-locked but have more selections of classes compared to Diablo 4. Keep in mind that you will be using the character you created for the rest of your playthrough so choose wisely.

Character Creation Guide

12 Playable Classes

In Path of Exile 2, you are given 12 playable classes to choose from with each having 2 ascendancies in early access and more will be added on release. Compared to Diablo 4 which only has 6 classes with one of them being DLC exclusive.

List of Classes and Ascendancies

Leagues and Difficulties

After picking a character, you will be asked to choose a League which are difficulties you can pick for your character between Standard, the recommended difficulty, or Hardcore, which includes a permadeath mechanic similar to what Diablo 4 has. Additionally, there are also the Solo Self-Found and Hardcore Self-Found difficulties which disables any player interaction, forcing you to play solo.

Since Path of Exile 2 is still in early access, they do not have any seasonal content available within the game.

League Guide and List of All Leagues

Campaign and Sidequests

The campaign for Path of Exile 2 is closely tied to your leveling experience as you are required to progress the Main Quest in order to unlock higher level maps, unlike Diablo 4 where you can traverse to other areas without following the storyline.

Some sidequests in PoE 2 can give certain Permanent Buffs and Skill Points which are vital towards your progress to endgame so make sure to take every quest you find to help build your character.

Full Campaign Walkthrough and List of All Acts

Quest Are For Leveling

Diablo 4 quests are mostly for progressing the storyline and unlocking certain mechanics unlike the main quests in Path of Exile 2 which are part of your leveling progress, and completing them is required to access endgame content.

List of Quests and Quest Rewards

Exploring the Map

Path of Exile 2 features instance-based areas that are immensly large which makes it a much slower pace compared to Diablo 4 where they feature open-world areas. Each area may contain multiple bosses that can easily be missed out so try to explore the entire map as much as you can before progressing further.

Enemies and Bosses

In our experience Path of Exile 2 has more generous telegraphs and spacing between attacks for you to dodge them. The reason behind this could also boil down to the pacing of each game, with Diablo 4 being a fast-paced game, focusing more on damage output rather than survivability.

Each Boss in Path of Exile 2 has unique mechanics that require you to pay attention to your surroundings so be prepared to die multiple times and patiently learn the boss mechanics as much as you can.

List of Bosses

Building Your Character

Building your character is way harder in Path of Exile 2, as there is no way to reroll a specific modifer other than Chaos Orbs and Divine Orbs. In Diablo 4 however, there are multiple ways to customize your items to optimize them for your build.

For their similarities, both Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 pushes you to reach the elemental resistance cap to survive in their endgame contents.

Path of Exile 2 Best Builds

Class-Wide Passive Skill Tree

In Path of Exile 2, your class determines where you start in the passive skill tree so building your character can be daunting due to the large amount of nodes you can spec into, compared to Diablo 4 where your skill tree determines which skills you will be using throughout the game.

Keep in mind that the Passive Skill Tree is the same for every class so it is possible to spec into a wide variety of builds.

Passive Skill Tree Guide and List of Passives

Progressing Through Mid-Game

Mid-game for Path of Exile 2 features a repeated Cruel difficulty of Acts 1-3, which is a harder version of the main questline. Completing this will give you access to endgame content, allowing you to start farming for maps and maxing out your gear.

Unlike Diablo 4, mid-game starts around Level 50 on Expert and Penitent difficulties and requires you to push for high difficulties in order to reach endgame.

Endgame Content

Although both games have a similar content flow for endgame, we personally like how Path of Exile 2's endgame works as it pushes you to reoptimize your build again to deal enough damage and survive in higher tiers. For Diablo 4, there is little to reoptimize due to the limited build varieties.

Atlas of Worlds Endgame Explained

Path of Exile 2 Vs Diablo 4 Comparison

List of System Comparisons

All in all, Path of Exile 2 features lots of build variety and large dungeon areas, while Diablo 4 focuses more on loot quantity and an easier crafting system. Although they both have differences and similarities, each game has its own playstyle that can cater to various audiences of the ARPG genre.

Path of Exile 2 Related Guides

Path of Exile 2 Guides

Path of Exile 2 Wiki Contents
Builds	Classes
Tips and Tricks	Bosses
Walkthrough	Quests
Gems	Items
Weapons	Armors
Accessories	Passives
Skills	Ascension Trials
Glossary	Atlas of Worlds
Leagues	Characters
Cosmetics	Microtransactions
News and Updates	-

List of Recommended Guides

Best Class Tier List	Best Stash Tabs to Buy
Which Class Should You Play?	List of Unique Equipment
Best Minions to Summon	How to Use Loot Filters
Diablo 4 Player's Guide to PoE 2	-