Path of Exile 2 is the deeper, slower, more demanding game — Diablo 4 respects your time more, PoE2 rewards your time more.
I’ve played both as a four-hours-a-week person, and the useful comparison is which failure mode you prefer. Diablo 4 almost never confuses you and almost never surprises you. PoE2 does both, weekly.
Combat: PoE2’s is slower and more deliberate — dodging matters, positioning matters, and dying usually feels like your fault. Builds: there’s no comparison; PoE2’s depth is the entire point of the game, and the reason this site exists. Time respect: D4 lets you log in, do a thing, and log out feeling done. PoE2 sessions have a way of ending mid-project.
Verdict by player type: if you want an arcade evening, D4. If you want a hobby that happens to be a game — and you’re okay reading a glossary occasionally — PoE2, and bring this site with you.
Updated for patch 0.5 — June 12, 2026