Path of Exile 2 gets its first hits with the nerf bat to bring mace slams, magnetic arrows, and stinky clouds in line: 'It is better to do this early'

pcgamer.com:

Path of Exile 2 is in that early phase of a new ARPG where things are a little bit like the mathematical equivalent of the wild west. All those millions of early access players are running wild, smashing together every possible combination of combat and passive skills in an environment where the laws that undergird civilization—like «ability balance» and «sensible damage scaling»—haven't yet taken hold. Over the weekend, however, Grinding Gear Games made its first attempts at establishing order, deploying a trio of hotfixes to reign in PoE 2 skills that have been overperforming in the game's early days.

First up on the nerfing block was Supercharged Slam, a strength-based skill gem usable with one-handed and two-handed maces that slams the ground to deal damage in an area, followed by a damaging aftershock. Unlike most combat skills in PoE 2, Supercharged Slam is a charge attack: As you hold the skill button, you charge the skill up through three stages, with each stage granting higher damage and area of effect.

According to a GGG tweet on December 7, Supercharged Slam had—by the studio's estimation—been «dealing far too much damage» given its «short channel window required to hit maximum damage.» The skill's damage was nerfed into acceptable margins within the hour via hotfix, with GGG intending to adjust its charge time at a later date.

We've found another skill in an unacceptable balance state. Following the same ideals as earlier, we're also going to be reducing the damage of Magnetic Salvo in the next hotfix. Note that this isn't the only skill on our radar right now but we're really just trying to address…December 8, 2024

«As much as we are trying to avoid nerfing skills and builds,» GGG said, «it is better to do this early before it feels obligatory to use the skill.»

That nerf early, nerf hard philosophy continued into December 8, during which GGG marked two more skills for rebalancing. First was Magnetic Salvo, which launches a scattershot of energy