Path of Exile 2 || DSP Tool Kit Dashboard
The Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Tool Kit contains a DPS calculator that allows players to input weapon stats such as base damage, attack speed, critical strike chance, and other modifiers to calculate the weapon's overall DPS (damage per second). This helps players compare weapons, optimize their builds, and make informed decisions when selecting or crafting gear.
Project Objective:
Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit
The Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit is a comprehensive tool designed to enhance the gaming experience for Path of Exile 2 players. At its core is a DPS calculator that allows players to input weapon stats such as base damage, attack speed, critical strike chance, and other modifiers to calculate a weapon's overall DPS (damage per second). This enables players to compare weapons, optimize builds, and make informed decisions when selecting or crafting gear.
To improve on existing tools, the Dashboard Toolkit incorporates several key features and design requirements:
Dark Mode: Designed specifically for PC users to reduce eye strain.
POE2-Themed Color Coding: Output fields are color-coded to align with Path of Exile 2 categories, enhancing visual clarity.
Input/Output Organization: Ordered from least rare to most rare, making it intuitive for players to prioritize information.
Navigation Features: Includes a DPS calculator and an item value assessor for broader functionality.
Flexible Item Entry Options: Players can either manually input stats or use a copy-and-paste functionality to streamline data entry.
Field Options for Manual Entry:
Required fields: Attacks per second, physical, chaos, cold, fire, and lightning damage.
Clear all fields button to reset the form easily.
Information Display:
For manually entered items: Displays total DPS, physical DPS, elemental DPS (lightning, fire, cold, chaos), but omits the item name.
For copied/pasted entries: Displays the item name alongside total DPS, physical DPS, elemental DPS (lightning, fire, cold, chaos).
The Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit offers a clean, accessible, and efficient solution for players to optimize their gameplay, addressing the common shortcomings of existing tools.
Discovering the Pain Points:
Players of Path of Exile 2 often rely on online tools to calculate weapon DPS and manage in-game strategies, but existing solutions frequently fall short due to inaccurate calculations, clunky and unintuitive user interfaces, and poor accessibility, making them frustrating and inefficient to use. To address these challenges, I created the Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit, a user-friendly and accessible tool that combines accurate DPS calculations with a clean, intuitive design to enhance the gaming experience for all players.
Process Highlights:
Competitor research, User Research via: reviews, online forums, and analytics tools.
Requirement gathering for tool kit features.
Sketches to define structure.
High-Fidelity Designs
Testing
The Solution:
The Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit delivers a streamlined and user-centered solution to address the frustrations players face with existing tools. By incorporating accurate DPS calculations, a visually intuitive interface, and accessibility improvements, the toolkit ensures players can efficiently analyze their gear and optimize their builds. Key features such as dark mode for PC, POE2-themed color coding, and an organized input/output structure improve usability and align with the game's aesthetic. Flexible item entry options (manual or copy/paste), clear navigation, and detailed DPS breakdowns cater to diverse user needs, while ensuring accessibility and ease of use for players of all experience levels.
What I Learned + Next Steps:
What I Learned & Next Steps
Through the design and development of the Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit, I gained valuable insights into creating user-friendly, accessible tools tailored to the specific needs of gamers. I learned that attention to detail, such as accurate calculations, intuitive UI design, and thoughtful organization, plays a crucial role in improving the player experience. Additionally, feedback from players highlighted the demand for centralized, reliable tools that address multiple in-game challenges.
As a next step, I plan to design the second piece of the toolkit: an Item Value Assessor. This feature will help players evaluate the worth of their items, providing a seamless way to make smarter trading and crafting decisions. Over time, the vision for the Path of Exile 2 Dashboard Toolkit is to expand its functionality by integrating a variety of the most popular and essential Path of Exile 2 tools, creating an all-in-one, user-friendly resource for the community.
I was invited to join this project as the UX/UI designer by a fantastic React developer named Raymond, if you're interested in learning more about him or working with him you can do so via Github.
