Astral Weapons: Restoring Build Freedom Without Breaking Weapon Identity

One major limitation I’ve noticed in POE2 is how skill gems are locked to specific weapon types. While this may help enforce thematic identity, it severely restricts build diversity and hybrid creativity. That kind of freedom is something many of us love about ARPGs and the POE franchise in particular.

As a hybrid-style player, I've already run into builds that simply don't work because the skills they rely on are locked behind incompatible weapons. Even worse, the weapons that do unlock those skills often don’t roll the stat spreads needed to make the builds viable. You're forced into a narrow box instead of being able to build freely.

So here's my solution: Astral Weapons.

What Are Astral Weapons?
Astral Weapons would let you use any skill gem, even if your currently equipped weapon isn’t normally compatible. When you activate such a skill, a glowing "astral" version of the correct weapon type manifests temporarily during the animation. It’s a magical visual placeholder.

Why This Works:
You still scale only from your actual equipped weapon. There are no stat boosts or extra damage. The astral weapon is visual-only.

Weapon identity is preserved. You're still encouraged to choose weapons strategically for their stats and scaling. This simply removes unnecessary restrictions on what skills you can access.

No major development workload. POE2 already has animations for all weapon types. Astral Weapons would reuse those animations temporarily when needed.

Freedom for everyone. If someone prefers the current restrictions, they can continue playing that way. But players who value creative or hybrid builds would finally have the flexibility to play the way they want.

Why This Matters:
Path of Exile has always thrived on choice, creativity, and build depth. The current system cuts away at those core strengths. Astral Weapons would restore flexibility without sacrificing balance or identity. It’s a win for everyone.

I’m sharing this idea now in hopes that it can gain traction before the official launch. Many players feel the same way, but posts like these often get buried or removed. If this resonates with you, let’s make sure our voices are heard.