Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.2.0g: Massive Loot Overhaul Aims to Fix Drop Frustration

Please refer here for the Patch Notes by GGG

In recent weeks, the Path of Exile 2 community has grown increasingly vocal about a core gameplay issue: the disconnect between difficulty and rewards. Patch 0.2.0f introduced a slower, more methodical combat pace, but for many players, the loot system failed to match the effort required. Long fights, rare monster encounters, and campaign bosses often yielded gear that felt underwhelming or outright irrelevant.

This mismatch sparked widespread feedback about the game feeling “stingy”—and developer Grinding Gear Games has responded with a major rework in Patch 0.2.0g.

This update, slated for redeployment on May 1st, introduces a deep revision to how item drops are calculated—focusing especially on Monster Item Rarity, loot tiering, and guaranteed boss rewards. While previous systems leaned heavily on Item Quantity, this new approach prioritizes the quality of drops through refined rarity scaling.

Rarity Over Quantity

GGG is pivoting Path of Exile 2’s itemization logic to make drops feel more meaningful and impactful—particularly from rare monsters, chests, and boss encounters. Here’s what’s changing:

• Item Rarity now plays a significantly stronger role. Monster Item Quantity (more drops) is being de-emphasized in favor of Monster Item Rarity (better drops).

  
  

• In cases like Azmerian Wisps, where monsters were supposed to drop significantly better loot, players often felt let down. Wisps granted +2 drops and +300% Item Rarity—but the actual gear didn’t reflect it. That changes in 0.2.0g.

  
  

• Normal items have been culled from Unique Boss drops (except early game), ensuring higher-tier content feels rewarding.

  
  

• Gold drops from Rare rolls are being halved in favor of actual rare equipment or currency. You’ll still get the same amount of gold—but in fewer, more meaningful piles.

  
  

These changes signal a decisive effort to reduce loot clutter and elevate the impact of each reward drop. The overall effect? You’ll now notice when something is rare.

Maybe this guy can get a little popular in 0.2.0g Hopefully

Better Loot from Better Fights

Some of the most impactful systemic upgrades include:

• 20–30% increase in Rare Currency (Exalts, Regals, Alchs) thanks to a rebalance of item types that drop from high-rarity monsters.

  
  

• Tier 2 Rares now drop 4x more often, while Tiers 3 to 5 see a 30% increase. These also come with trimmed mod pools, making them stronger on average.

  
  

• Tiered Magic items now drop 5x more often, and come with significantly pruned mod pools. Tier 5 Magics, in particular, will now only roll the highest mods possible, making them a viable crafting base for the first time.

  
  

These changes reinforce one major theme of the patch: challenging content now scales appropriately with loot value. From campaign rares to late-game minibosses, you should consistently see stronger gear across the board.

No More Empty Boss Kills

Patch 0.2.0g also introduces guaranteed Rare drops from Unique Bosses, at least once per campaign playthrough—and every time in maps. This is a much-needed solution to the frustration of defeating an Act boss only to be rewarded with a couple of Normal or Magic items. Drop protection was already in place for some edge cases, but GGG now acknowledges it didn’t go far enough.

By making Rare drops a baseline expectation for most bosses, the campaign flow becomes less punishing and more rewarding for players who aren’t deep into the endgame yet.

Azmerian Wisps: Finally Worth the Trouble

The much-hyped Azmerian Wisps mechanic is also seeing a revival. These were meant to be rewarding risk-reward moments, but in Patch 0.2.0f, they often amounted to nothing. Now, Rare monsters possessed by Wisps will always drop a Rare item, and a longstanding bug in The Grelwood (Act IV) has been fixed—meaning your first Wisp encounter will finally feel meaningful.

Rare Chests, Strongboxes, and Loot Containers Finally Feel Rewarding

One of the most common complaints during patch 0.2.0f was the sheer number of underwhelming chest openings—especially Magic and Rare chests that felt like empty promises. Patch 0.2.0g addresses this directly.

• Magic chests now guarantee at least a Magic item and have drastically increased Rarity and Quantity, effectively matching how Rare chests used to perform.

  
  

• Rare chests have also been boosted, guaranteeing Rare items and scaling up even more in Cruel (+50%) and Endgame (+100%) difficulties.

  
  

• Map modifiers that used to increase chest spawn chance now instead guarantee fixed numbers of Magic or Rare chests, trading quantity for quality.

  
  

While the number of high-rarity chests has been reduced in the Endgame, the overall quality of loot per chest has skyrocketed, creating more focused, exciting loot moments.

Strongboxes: Rebalanced for Consistency

Strongboxes have been brought in line with the new Rare chest balance. This means every Strongbox guarantees a Rare item, with bonus loot scaling based on difficulty level.

Additional highlights:

• Researcher’s Strongboxes now more reliably drop Rare currency instead of Magic.

  
  

• Drop variance has been smoothed out: fewer “empty” boxes, more consistent loot.

  
  

• Item Rarity modifiers on Strongboxes were rebalanced for fairness, aligning them with recent adjustments to maps.

  
  

Trial of the Sekhemas: Now Worth the Effort

The Sekhema Trials were often criticized for being too demanding for the poor loot they offered. GGG heard that feedback loud and clear:

• Bronze chests now match the baseline of Rare chests, complete with guaranteed Rare items.

  
  

• Silver and Gold chests offer significantly better loot scaling.

  
  

• Currency (Arcanist’s) and Jewel (Royal) chests are more common.

  
  

• The odds of earning better keys (Silver and Gold) have been increased, rewarding better pathing and exploration.

  
  

This rework makes Sekhema Trials far more rewarding, especially for players who engage with every room and puzzle.

Trial of Chaos and Corrupted Loot Cleanup

The Trial of Chaos rewards previously leaned too hard on corrupted rares—an item class that quickly loses relevance in the endgame. In 0.2.0g:

• Corrupted rares are phased out as Trial levels increase.

  
  

• Rare Currency stacks now phase in, offering higher-value targets.

  
  

• Items from monsters in the Trial no longer roll corruption, ensuring a cleaner and more useful loot pool.

  
  

These changes bring Chaos Trials more in line with endgame efficiency and value.

Expedition and Delirium: Late-Game Improvements

Both Expedition and Delirium mechanics have been significantly improved to reflect their place in the loot economy:

Expedition Changes:

• Magic and Rare Expedition chests now use the same powerful balance as other endgame loot chests.

  
  

• Bug fixes for Expedition Remnants mean their Item Rarity scaling is now more impactful.

  
  

• Rewards from Remnant mods have been buffed.

  
  

• Artifact drops are doubled, and Exotic Coinage is now 50% more abundant.

  
  

These changes elevate Expedition into a proper farming strategy for both currency and target farming.

Delirium Changes:

• Item Rarity per depth has been dramatically increased—up to 2.5x what it was before.

  
  

• This finally makes diving deeper into fog a meaningful reward mechanic, which was missing in 0.2.0f despite the effort involved.

  
  

Easier Access to Pinnacle Content

Loot is only as good as the opportunities you have to earn it, and GGG is addressing that too:

• Breach splinters drop 50% more frequently.

  
  

• Delirium splinters drop 80% more frequently.

  
  

• Ritual Audiences with the King are 50% easier to encounter.

  
  

These changes speed up access to pinnacle fights and currency accumulation, reducing the grind wall and giving players a more streamlined endgame experience.

Corrupted Nexus: Smoothed Atlas Progression

Lastly, changes to Corrupted Nexus zones aim to improve Atlas progression:

• Each Corrupted Nexus now grants 5 skill points, reducing the grind required to unlock your full passive tree.

  
  

• These Nexus areas are now easier to spot, improving map flow and clarity.

  
  

Conclusion

Patch 0.2.0g introduces sweeping changes to loot distribution across nearly every major system in Path of Exile 2, from chest and strongbox reworks to the long-overdue cleanup of rewards from Trials, Delirium, Expedition, and pinnacle encounters. These updates directly respond to community frustration during patch 0.2.0f, where players endured slow-paced, punishing gameplay with little to show for their effort.

While the outlined changes appear well-structured and comprehensive on paper, they haven’t been released yet. That means it’s still unclear how they’ll feel in practice—especially in the long tail of the game’s progression and endgame farming loops. GGG’s track record suggests good intentions, but implementation details matter. 

To understand the issues this patch hopes to resolve, you can watch our gameplay video recorded during patch 0.2.0f. It features a casual Amazon Huntress playthrough through the early of Act I Cruel Difficulty —an early showcase of the Azmerian Wisps mechanic, also showcasing some of the boss drops.

📺 Watch the full video below:

Stay tuned—we’ll revisit these changes after 0.2.0g goes live and evaluate if the fixes finally deliver the rewarding gameplay Path of Exile 2 has promised.