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.
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.
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.
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).
Chance to apply ailments is based off a fixed percentage and you can additively increase this chance through various means.	Chance to apply ailments is based off the size of the hit and you can multiplicatively increase this chance through various means.
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.
Whether or not a Culling Strike happens is determined after the damage of a hit is applied.	Whether or not a Culling Strike happens is determined before the damage of a hit is applied.
Dual wielding grants a passive bonus of +20% chance to block attack damage and 10% more attack speed.	Dual wielding grants no passive bonus, but many skill gems deal additional damage while dual wielding.
By default, a player's critical strike multiplier is 150%.	By default, a player's critical damage bonus is 100%.
A player's base mana regeneration is 1.8% of maximum mana.	A player's base mana regeneration is 4% of maximum mana.
Auras reserve mana.	Auras reserve spirit.

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.
Gem sockets are colored blue, red, green, or white. The color indicates the type of gem you can socket. Gem socket colors can be changed using Chromatic Orbs	The concept of gem socket colors 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.	Player receive an elemental resistance penalty based on area level. Act 1 area levels have 0% penalty, Act 2 area levels have -10% penalty, Act 3 area levels have -20% penalty, and so on. The penalty for zones in the endgame will be -60% and this is the highest the penalty will be. Chaos resistance is unaffected.
Players can change to one of the other ascendancies available to their class.	Players cannot change ascendancy.