Path of Exile

The top down RPG has been done over and over again. With launches of juggernauts in the genre like Diablo III and Torchlight II recently, free-2-play entries will have to be something special to be worth a player's time. Path of Exile uses customization to lure people into coming, and staying for quite some time. they also take on some key issues in Action RPG’s with new systems that offer a solution to the same old same old style that has been adopted.

Everything can be customized, and I mean everything! From characters, to items, to weapons everything can be modded heavily. Even the skills are not based around levels or classes. Players can grab different gems that affect what skills your characters have and how they will act. Take a fireball for example. Different mod gems will make a fireball an area of effect attack, or bounce from enemy to enemy. Using gems and attacks level all of these gems separately which leads to a giant trading economy.

Speaking of the economy, Path of Exile does something very different than most games. Instead of opting for the easy money economy there is an economy that is based around items. These items can be used to trade with shop keepers, players or used to modify your own character. This type of system gets rid of huge problems like gold sinks that messed up games in the past.

Another thing the people at Grinding Gear Games are changing from games of the past is PvP. Path of Exile has separated PvP into different leagues for players looking for vastly different experiences. Part of the fun of PvP is racing to the top level and finding the best gear. To embrace this feeling of racing, servers will reset at different increments. Because PvP is handled this way, the replay value and the rush of power leveling becomes an endless cycle.

Path of Exile takes tried and true game mechanics from other Action RPG’s and takes it to the next level. The people at Grinding Gear Games obviously have a passion for what they are doing through the systems to fix major problems in these type of games. With so many different options in character customization and interesting PvP, players will find that this game is something special. Path of Exile is going open beta soon so check out the link above to take you to the signup page.