50.9 more hours have passed since my last entry, and the addiction has only grown stronger. The coffee machine at my checkpoint has been upgraded to an espresso bar, and I've named all the recurring monsters in Waystone Tier 6.
Remember when I thought 30 hours was a lot? How naive. Now I'm deep in the endgame, wrestling with Waystone Tier 6 content, and my third Ascension is looking at me like I'm not worthy - which is fair, considering my dodge rolls still occasionally send me straight into boss mechanics.
The combat has evolved from "this feels good" to "this is viscerally satisfying." Every retargeted ability, every mid-animation cancel, every perfectly timed dodge roll feels like a dance. A deadly dance where I'm still occasionally stepping on my partner's toes, but a dance nonetheless.
📊 Current State at 80.9 Hours:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
➤ Gear: Finally looking respectable
➤ Ascension Progress: Still stuck on third, but we're getting there
➤ Dodge Roll Mastery: From "accidental cliff diving" to "occasional survival tool"
➤ Addiction Level: Terminal
➤ Spreadsheet Complexity: Now requires multiple monitors
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I thought I could handle it. "Just one more quest," I said. "Just one more skill gem," I muttered. Now here I am, at 3 AM, spreadsheets open, still stuck in Act 3 after 30 hours because I keep getting distracted by shiny new skill combinations that definitely won't work but I'll try them anyway.
The worst part? I'm actually enjoying dying. Each death feels like a twisted lesson in humility, especially when those early-game monsters keep turning me into their personal piñata. But do I stop? No. I just dive back in, convinced that my twentieth build revision will be "the one."
🌀 The Addiction Spiral
Phase 1: Denial
Started innocently enough. "I'll just try this new ARPG," I said. The combat felt so good, each hit sending ripples of energy through the earth. Little did I know this was just the gateway drug to my spreadsheet addiction. Five hours to reach the first waypoint? Totally normal, right?
Phase 2: Obsession
Soon I was theory-crafting in my sleep. I've started seeing skill combinations everywhere. My toaster is basically a fire skill gem with a "burn your breakfast" support gem attached. Who needs progress when you can spend 10 hours reading skill descriptions?
Phase 3: Full Immersion
Now I'm cackling maniacally as I experiment with builds that would make even the game developers question my sanity. My main attack deals negative damage, but somehow I've convinced myself it's "part of the strategy." The zombies aren't even trying to kill me anymore - they just stand there, shaking their heads in disappointment.
💥 The Breaking Point
I've died so many times in Act 3, the resurrection checkpoint has installed a coffee machine just for me. The monsters have started sending me sympathy cards, and I swear one zombie offered me combat lessons.
I've replaced my bathroom mirror with the passive skill tree. My family staged an intervention, but I just kept muttering about "optimal DPS rotations" and "synergy potential." They left when I started explaining my theory about using my coffee maker as a lightning conduit.
⚖️ The Verdict
Would I recommend Path of Exile 2? Absolutely. Will it ruin your life? Definitely. It's like a dark fantasy version of Excel had a baby with a slot machine, and somehow they're both very disappointed in my life choices.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to try this new build idea involving three shields and no weapons. I'm sure it will work this time. It has to. The monsters are starting to feel sorry for me.
P.S. - If anyone needs me, I'll be in the corner, using my grocery list to plan new skill gem combinations. I've convinced myself that "Milk" is actually a powerful support gem.
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