Summary
- Path of Exile 2's Dawn of the Hunt update added a new class, Ascendancies, 100+ items, and Support Gems.
- Runes are crucial for customization in PoE2, and the Greater Rune of Alacrity can significantly boost certain builds.
- The Skill Speed increase from the Greater Rune of Alacrity can improve gameplay, but players may overlook it for damage.
It has been a long time coming for Dawn of the Hunt after Path of Exile 2's initial early access release all the way back in December 2024, and while the update was disappointing in many regards, it was still a massive one for the game that built more foundations for the future. It added a new class, Ascendancies, over 100 Unique Items and Support Gems, made changes to the endgame, and more. The nerfs are a big part of the issues with the game currently, like the fact that endgame loot in Path of Exile 2 is very poor. Yet, patch 0.2.0 added some interesting mechanics to the Rune system, including a new Rune that can make some builds incredibly better-performing.
One of the main alluring points of Path of Exile 2 for fans of its predecessor will likely be buildcrafting and customization, something that takes a rather different approach from PoE 1, but can still be immensely satisfying to pull off. For this reason, Runes are now more important than ever, thanks to the changes where players get versions of them scaled to certain levels, from Lesser at level 15 to Greater at 45. There are also four entirely new Greater Runes, and one of them can dramatically change the performance of certain builds.
Path of Exile 2 Can't Have its Cake and Eat it Too Without One Feature
Path of Exile 2 has hit a rough patch with Dawn of the Hunt, and one feature could help ensure GGG's vision aligns with players' needs.
Path of Exile 2's Greater Rune of Alacrity Explained
This is the new Greater Rune of Alacrity, which has different effects based on where it's socketed. On Martial Weapons, the Greater Rune of Alacrity will grant 8% increased Skill Speed, which is effectively an improved version of Attack Speed, as it also speeds up the animation of certain attacks and skills. For example, Path of Exile 2's new Smith of Kitava Ascendancy is great for mace builds, and one of the best mace skills for single-target damage is Perfect Strike - but there's a catch.
Perfect Strike can be extremely slow with maces that don't have a high Attack Speed affix, but the Greater Rune of Alacrity fixes that. Likewise, crossbows can be painful to reload, but additional Skill Speed not only makes attacks faster, but it also applies to reload speed and its animation. The main problem with this new Path of Exile 2 Rune is that it increases Skill Speed when used in a weapon, which is where most builds will want to put a Greater Iron Rune or a different type of damage Rune, overlooking the Greater Rune of Alacrity.
Why Using a Greater Rune of Alacrity in PoE 2 is Worth It
Yet, there is a strong case to be made about using this Skill Speed Rune, as it leads to more damage anyway, just not in a more "concrete" or visible way. In fact, most weapons that players go about buying from other gamers are listed on the official trading website for Path of Exile 2 by their DPS, among other stats. Since Skill Speed is not a direct increase to DPS on the weapon and can only be accounted for in a full build, it's easy to overlook it and go for damage Runes instead - the same with crafted weapons.
With the Perfect Strike example, Skill Speed not only makes the skill feel much better overall, but it can also make the difference between actually hitting a monster or boss and missing. This is because speeding up the animation leads to a quicker, fully-charged attack, reducing the risk of the enemy moving around or even knocking the player back. Path of Exile 2's bosses often have dodgeable strong attacks, so speeding up attacks also means one can more safely read the room to avoid incoming damage. A weapon's DPS may be lower with the Greater Rune of Alacrity, but the overall DPS of a build may not, and even then, there are other benefits to consider.
Path of Exile II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- December 6, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
- Developer(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
