Differences from Path of Exile 1

This page is dedicated towards summarizing some of the major differences between Path of Exile 1 and Path of Exile 2.

Mechanics

Path of Exile 1	Path of Exile 2
Chaos damage bypasses energy shield.	Chaos damage deals double damage to energy shield. Poison bypasses energy shield, but non-poison chaos damage does not.
Converted damage remembers its origin type. This means that physical damage converted to lightning damage will be increased by sources of "Increased physical damage".	Converted damage does not remember its origin type.
Evasion evades attacks.	Evasion evades hits that don't have an area of effect.
Armour is relatively stronger than PoE 2.	Armour is relatively weaker than PoE 1.
The only type of block is passive block.	There is passive block as well as active block. Active block involves a new mechanic called stagger.
The mechanic of Heavy Stun does not exist.	A new mechanic of Heavy Stun exists. Dealing damage to enemies will build up progress on a bar under the enemy's life bar and when the bar is full the enemy will become Heavy Stunned.
Whether or not an enemy becomes frozen is determined on a per-hit basis.	Cold damage from hits contributes to Freeze Buildup. When enough Freeze Buildup is applied, the enemy will become Frozen.
Whether or not an enemy becomes stunned is determined on a per-hit basis.	Damage from hits contributes to Stun Buildup. When enough Stun Buildup is applied, the enemy will become Stunned.
The magnitude of damaging ailments is based upon the base damage of the hit.	The magnitude of damaging ailments is based upon the final damage dealt by the hit before application of any modifiers on the target that affect how much damage the victim will take from the hit (e.g. shock is ignored to avoid double dipping).
Critical strikes with elemental damage guarantee application of their respective elemental ailment.	Critical strikes with elemental damage do not guarantee application of their respective elemental ailment, but they will increase the chance that the elemental ailment is applied.
There is no limit to how many stacks of poison you can apply to an enemy.	By default, you are limited to 1 stack of poison, but there are ways to increase this limit.

Items

Path of Exile 1	Path of Exile 2
Gems level up from gaining experience.	Gems level up through the uncut gem item system.
Gem sockets are a property of gear and you place gems into gear.	Gem sockets are a property of skill gems and you place gems into skill gems.
Gem sockets are gained through Jeweller's Orbs. Gem socket links are gained through Orbs of Fusing.	Gem sockets are gained through Lesser, Greater, and Perfect Jeweller's Orbs. The concept of gem socket links doesn't exist.
Corrupting gear can result in a corrupted implicit that will replace the existing implicit of the piece of gear.	Corrupting gear can result in a corrupted enchantment that will not replace the implicit of the gear.
Omens will automatically be used if they are in your character's inventory.	Right clicking Omens while they're in your character's inventory toggles them on and off. Omens must be toggled on in order for their effect to trigger.

Miscellaneous

Path of Exile 1	Path of Exile 2
Players receive a -30% penalty to all resistances upon completing act 5 and another -30% penalty to all resistances upon completing act 10.	Players receive a cumulative -10% penalty to elemental resistances, which stacks up to -60% depending on the zone level they're in. There is no penalty to chaos resistance. A new stack of the -10% resistance penalty begins in the first zone level that follows completion of an act.