Despite the Path of Exile 2 delay, 2024’s most-anticipated ARPG is almost here. Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred is behind us and the PoE 2 launch is right around the corner, following a brief pushback as developer Grinding Gear Games looks to ensure that its microtransactions work seamlessly across both the new game and its ongoing predecessor. After holding back the early access release to make certain the process operates correctly, GGG is adjusting the way accounts work.
“In order to support Path of Exile 1 and 2 sharing microtransactions as well as cross play between all supported platforms in Path of Exile 2, we have had to make some changes to our account system,” the developer announces. Rather than calling time on one of the best RPGs ever when the Path of Exile 2 release date arrives, GGG will continue to support both games simultaneously, running new, separate leagues for each of them on a staggered schedule.
With this new change, accounts will now have a number after them to separate them out. This is used in many other systems, such as Battlenet accounts for Diablo 4 players, and will enable multiple players to use the same name. “With so many accounts, new players often had to try ten or more times to get a name that wasn’t taken,” GGG explains.
“Since we are merging all platforms’ accounts into a single account system, we knew that we had to deal with name conflicts anyway, so we have decided to add a ‘discriminator’ number to the end of each account name.” Not being able to get the name you want first time is enough of a bother – when you have to try multiple times to find something that works, you’re likely to end up stuck with a frustrating compromise, so this is a welcome adjustment.
On top of this, you can now have multiple sub-accounts within a single profile. This is primarily to allow players who have both PC and console accounts to merge them together. When doing this, both will still exist and will have all their characters available separately, with a selection box on the login screen to switch between them. If you accidentally made separate accounts across Steam and the GGG launcher, you can also merge these together.
Because of this, microtransactions purchased on one account will be specifically associated with the sub-account in question. If, however, you want to move all of your purchases to a single sub-account, you can request the PoE support team to do so, although you may only do this once and they’ll no longer be accessible on the sub-account you’ve transferred them from.
There is one more caveat. “Unfortunately, any purchases made on PlayStation platforms cannot be used on other platforms, and purchases made on other platforms cannot be used on PlayStation platforms,” GGG warns. “Note that these purchases can still be on the same sub-account, but the microtransactions will be marked as unavailable when viewing them in your stash.”
Grinding Gear Games also reminds players that, while Path of Exile 2 cross-save will allow you to use your characters across all platforms, this won’t be possible with characters in the first game as it does not support the feature.
While we wait for PoE 2 to arrive, you can try another of the best games like Diablo on PC, or you could check out some great free Steam games to pass the time.
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