Path of Exile 2's Annoying Diablo 2 Relic: Why the Item ID System Feels Like a Rusty Gear in a Swiss Watch

As a seasoned veteran of the ARPG trenches, I've been diving deep into Path of Exile 2's early access, and let me tell you, it's a glorious, gritty masterpiece in the making. The atmosphere is thicker than a troll's skull, the combat is as satisfying as landing a perfect critical hit, and the skill system is a playground for mad theorycrafters like myself. Yet, amidst all this polished brilliance, there's one little mechanic that grates on my nerves like a goblin with a rusty file. It's a relic, a ghost from the past—specifically, from the hallowed halls of Diablo 2—that has somehow crawled into this modern titan: the dreaded item identification system.

Now, I get it. Grinding Gear Games wanted to pay homage. Path of Exile 2 wears its Diablo 2 influences on its sleeve, from its grimdark world to its isometric bloodbaths. But borrowing this particular feature is like installing a hand-crank starter on a 2026 hypercar. It's a system that Diablo 4, for all its other missteps, wisely tossed into the forgotten realm of outdated ideas. Here's how it works: you'll be slaying beasts and looting chests, and sometimes you'll pick up an item labeled "Unidentified." You can't see its stats. You can't equip it. It's just a mysterious paperweight until you perform the sacred ritual of identification.

The 'Convenient' Workaround That Highlights the Problem

Here's the kicker, the part that makes this whole exercise feel as pointless as a shield in a pacifist's build. Very early in the campaign, you recruit an NPC called The Hooded One. This enigmatic fellow sets up shop in your camp and offers a crucial service: he'll identify your items for free. Forever. Combine this with the camp portal—which has no cooldown and costs nothing—and you have a perfect, frictionless loop:

1. Find Unidentified Item.

2. Open portal to camp.

3. Talk to The Hooded One.

4. Get your item identified.

5. Portal back to where you were.

So, why does the system even exist? It creates a bizarre dichotomy. On one hand, you have Scrolls of Wisdom, the consumable item used for identification. They drop as often as rain in a swamp zone, so they're never scarce. You could use them on the fly to avoid the portal trip. But this presents a non-choice: either you interrupt your gameplay flow for a few seconds to portal, or you pause to use a scroll from your abundant supply. Neither option adds strategy, tension, or fun. It's a time-tax, a mandatory pause button on the action that serves no greater purpose. It's like having to unscrew and taste every single berry in a bucket before you know which ones are sweet—even though you have a berry-tasting robot sitting right next to you.

Why Diablo 4's Axe Was the Right Call

Let's talk about the elephant, or should I say, the Lesser Evil in the room. Diablo 4 removed item identification entirely. When loot drops, you see its stats. Simple. Clean. Modern. This was a conscious design decision to streamline the experience and remove what most players now consider inventory busywork. In 2026, our gaming time is precious. We want to spend it on meaningful decisions: optimizing builds, tackling challenging endgame content, and engaging with deep crafting systems—not on administrative tasks. Diablo 4 shifted the focus away from management and toward moment-to-moment action and build strategy. While Path of Exile 2 outshines it in complexity and depth in many areas, this is one spot where Diablo 4's simplicity feels like a quality-of-life superpower.

The Core Issue: A Mechanic Unmoored

The real sin of the identification system in Path of Exile 2 isn't its inconvenience—it's its pointlessness. A good mechanic should tie into other systems, creating interesting choices or resource tensions. For example:

• What if Scrolls of Wisdom were rare and used for a high-stakes, endgame crafting gamble?

• What if identifying a powerful item in the field attracted a dangerous "curse" or enemy ambush?

• What if unidentified items could be traded at a premium, adding a risk vs. reward layer to the economy?

Instead, it's an island. It doesn't connect to crafting, it doesn't meaningfully drain resources (thanks to The Hooded One), and it doesn't create exciting moments. It just... is. It feels like a vestigial tail on a otherwise perfectly evolved creature—a reminder of an ancestor that doesn't fit the current ecosystem. In a game whose entire endgame is built on the exhilarating chase for better loot, forcing a meaningless step before you can even see the loot is like wrapping your birthday present in a bank vault door.

A Hopeful Glimpse into the Future

The saving grace here is that Path of Exile 2 is still in early access. Grinding Gear Games has a legendary reputation for listening to its community and iterating relentlessly. This identification system feels like a prime candidate for re-evaluation before the full 1.0 launch. Will they remove it entirely? Maybe not, given their love for classic ARPG feel. But they could integrate it meaningfully, making it more than just a speed bump on the highway to power.

As it stands, every time I port back to camp to see The Hooded One, I don't feel immersed. I don't feel like a weary adventurer seeking arcane knowledge. I feel like I'm running a mundane errand, my epic quest momentarily put on hold so I can ask a mysterious sage to read the label on a magical can of beans. Here's hoping that by the time the game fully launches, this particular relic is either given a true purpose or laid to rest for good.