The Path 2 Exile Podcast

We settle the biggest debate of Early Access the only fair way: a full ascendancy bracket to find out which one actually wins it all.This week's episode starts with Rabbit's birthday and some HCSSF heartbreak, then Miso's concert life and the MMO itch that comes with it. From there we get into when four month league cycles might come back, the ExileCon countdown, and what the flood of new players could mean for the game. We run through the podcast lineup and give ExileCon copium a reality check, then move on to our league mechanic wishlist (Delve, Legion, or Harvest?), our dream Divination Cards, and everything we want to see from crafting. We close with the main event: The Great Ascendancy Bracket, where we work our way through every matchup to crown the best ascendancy of Early Access.

Jazzarus joins the podcast this week as we get into the big question everyone's asking: what does PoE 2 actually need before it launches?We open with whether you can even properly prep for 1.0, get to know Jazzarus as "the wolf guy," and speculate on what the starting meta might look like once launch hits. From there we run through our favorite ascendancies and debate whether GGG should integrate more third-party tools directly into the base game. We get into why crafting still needs real work, take a hard look at the current state of the campaign, and close out with a hot take on what PoE 2 genuinely needs to launch successfully. We also go through viewer comments of the week and this week's Build of the Week.

Jazzarus joins the podcast this week as we get into the big question everyone's asking: what does PoE 2 actually need before it launches?We open with whether you can even properly prep for 1.0, get to know Jazzarus as "the wolf guy," and speculate on what the starting meta might look like once launch hits. From there we run through our favorite ascendancies and debate whether GGG should integrate more third-party tools directly into the base game. We get into why crafting still needs real work, take a hard look at the current state of the campaign, and close out with a hot take on what PoE 2 genuinely needs to launch successfully. We also go through viewer comments of the week and this week's Build of the Week.

Scorpius joins the podcast this week and makes the case that Martial Artist, not Gemling, might actually be the real S-tier ascendancy.We kick things off with the news that Timmy's Hardcore League is coming back, then get into a big-picture discussion on Endless Atlas progression and the tension between bloat and specialization in build design. From there we cover the current Sword hype (and the accompanying Dagger copium), combo gameplay, and a genuinely heated debate over Bone Shatter, Whirling Slash, and speed-tech. We talk through whether boots should just give move speed outright, our complicated feelings on Sprint, and why GGG needs to get a handle on the Cast-on-X meta. The back half is all ascendancies: ranking the ones nobody talks about, making the real case for Martial Artist over Gemling, roasting the mogged ascendancies, and closing out with a hot take on whether "perfected" builds are ruining the game.

Scorpius joins the podcast this week and makes the case that Martial Artist, not Gemling, might actually be the real S-tier ascendancy.We kick things off with the news that Timmy's Hardcore League is coming back, then get into a big-picture discussion on Endless Atlas progression and the tension between bloat and specialization in build design. From there we cover the current Sword hype (and the accompanying Dagger copium), combo gameplay, and a genuinely heated debate over Bone Shatter, Whirling Slash, and speed-tech. We talk through whether boots should just give move speed outright, our complicated feelings on Sprint, and why GGG needs to get a handle on the Cast-on-X meta. The back half is all ascendancies: ranking the ones nobody talks about, making the real case for Martial Artist over Gemling, roasting the mogged ascendancies, and closing out with a hot take on whether "perfected" builds are ruining the game.