Grinding Gear Games announced that their online action RPG, Path of Exile, will enter ‘closed beta’ on August 10th. In case you were unaware of, Path of Exile is a a free online-only action RPG that is influenced by the Diablo series. The company has also unveiled plans for a range of Player vs. Player combat options designed to encourage a competitive online playing field.
With the closed beta, members of the game’s online community at www.PathOfExile.com will be periodically selected at random and granted access to the game’s beta. Players will be added continuously to stress test the game’s servers, as the game is played entirely online to facilitate a secure item-based economy. The beta version of the game includes the first two acts of gameplay and five character classes at first, with more content added frequently.
Path of Exile has also been designed to provide a fair, competitive playing field for Player vs. Player combat, in addition to cooperative play.
Producer Chris Wilson said:
“Your character’s build really matters in Path of Exile. The game’s deep itemization, innovative flask system and emphasis on skill combos will encourage players to plan character builds carefully so they can compete with the realm’s best players. We won’t be selling any form of power in the game, only aesthetic improvements, so if you’re fighting someone you know they earned their place the hard way.”
Taking advantage of Path of Exile’s advanced random level generation, the PvP arenas will be dynamic environments with dangerous threats and hostile opponents of their own. The PvP modes available range from duels to large scale team combat in a variety of scenarios with different level caps. Organized tournaments are planned in future.
Players in the optional “cut-throat” leagues will get to experience a more horrific form of PvP – the ability for players to invade their instances and kill them, taking all their items.
Wilson concluded:
“Of course, only a hyper-competitive player would ever choose to play in this league in the first place.”
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
Contact: Email