Path of Exile is still a 5/5 game in my book, but this expansion by itself isn't that great. I'm not a huge fan of precise trap-dodging in action RPGs, especially in ones where lag spikes are quite frequent on my end. Luckily, dodging stuff isn't the only new mechanic added in PoE:A, with subclasses to unlock, more gear to find and more ways to find it, this adds another layer on top of an already pretty great game while bringing a few more bits of new content.
A new thing brought forth by this expansion are Perandus Coins that you find from special chests. These chests are guarded by a few reviving waves of enemies and while it's fun to have new challenge pop here and there, the mechanics don't seem to be quite there yet, I've had multiple instances where the chest wouldn't open, instead reviving only one monster at a time before I had killed enough, making me wait while doing basically nothing. These coins can be used to buy random items from a randomly spawning NPC, giving you more options to get legendary gear and other rarities. More ways to get the items you need to make your build work. There are more skills and more passive abilities, so build variety is going up as well.
The new dungeons and their features, however, are not great. I'm not a fan of precise controls in ARPGs, like I don't like jumping puzzles in MMOs. Some of them aren't that hard to survive - timed spikes, floors that burn up periodically, etc, but the precision required to place yourself at the exact spot where no poisoned darts will hit you might be difficult, especially if you don't have the smoothest framerate around. There is a new boss that you have to defeat in order to complete that new labyrinth dungeon, and I had framerate issues on him as well, I think I should upgrade my computer before trying the higher difficulties.
The reward for completing that aptly-named labyrinth however, are two points in a Ascendancy Class, giving you even more customization over your build and the opportunity to focus down quite well on what you want your character to be. I wish that the path to get there was simpler - after all, if you die at all for any reason, you have to restart the whole thing. But still, PoE:A made me replay the game and I'm probably going to be playing it for a bunch more now, and that's good!
