You’ll notice pretty fast that Patch 0.4.0 shakes up the whole feel of Path of Exile 2, and it hits you right from the first few minutes of testing builds. The reworked Ascendancy talents stand out the most, especially when you realise you can stack curses without worrying about old limits anymore, which pairs surprisingly well with flexible gearing and even smoother access to PoE 2 Currency as you iterate on setups. It all makes curse‑heavy playstyles feel less like odd experiments and more like something you’d actually want to run through tough content.

Ascendancy Changes That Matter

The updated nodes don’t just give you larger numbers; they change how you think about fights. Skills that once felt clunky now fire off with shorter downtime, so you’re not stuck waiting for cooldown wheels to turn. A bunch of mana taxes have been eased or removed, which makes skill‑weaving less of a chore. AoE bumps also help, and they’re noticeable the moment you dive into dense packs. You don’t have to plan every movement like a chess match anymore; you can just follow the rhythm of the combat and keep pushing forward.

Druid’s New Flow

The Druid is easily the biggest surprise in the update. If you played it before, you probably remember how switching between forms and casting spells felt a bit off. Now everything connects in a way that makes the class feel alive. You shift, you cast, your minions jump in, and the whole rotation builds on itself. The change to Fated Torment pushes you to mix forms and spell types instead of sticking to one lane. Players who usually avoid hybrid setups are suddenly finding themselves clearing harder content with builds that look nothing like the old “safe” choices.

Smoother Progression and Clearer Paths

The passive trees used to demand a lot of planning for surprisingly little payout, but things are cleaner now. You can see where your build wants to go without zooming in and out ten times or second‑guessing every point. Ascendancy progression also feels more predictable, which helps both new players and longtime grinders who are sick of relying on good luck just to unlock their next power spike. The adjustments to gear make the whole patch feel more coherent, like the devs were smoothing out the bumps that slowed everyone down.

A Patch That Invites Experimenting

What stands out after spending real time with the update is how it encourages you to rebuild from scratch instead of clinging to the same old templates, and that feeling grows the more you play and the more you trade for things like cheap poe 2 currency while fine‑tuning your setup. It’s easier to experiment, easier to adjust, and easier to chase ideas that used to be unrealistic because of old limits. The whole game just moves better now.