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- Grinding Gear Games
- Grinding Gear Games
- Grinding Gear Games
- Grinding Gear Games
Path of Exile: Ascendancy
Released On: Mar 4, 2016
Metascore
Available after 4 critic reviews
7.2
All Platforms
Considering that it’s both free and quite probably the best ARPG that we’ll ever see, I can think of no valid excuse not to give it a whirl. To be honest, every time I get lost for a weekend in refining a new build, only to die and start again, I wonder why I bother playing anything else. There’s always been something for everyone in Path of Exile; now there’s even more.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 User Ratings
7.2
60% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
25% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
15% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 User Ratings
7.2
60% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
25% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
15% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
I've been playing PoE for over 2.5k hours according to my steam account and almost every minute of it has been glorious. Sure, the story lines are linear and uninspired, the design of 'trash mob' enemies derivative (how many more times do I have to kill zombies and skeletons and **** my!) and the spread of base item design a little flat but **** endgame is enthralling, challenging and downright addictive. Comparing it to D3 is like comparing anything to a black-hole, once passed the event horizon there's no return or even opportunity to release data back to the real world. The latest iteration of expansion (essence league/atlas of worlds) adds a significant reworking of the endgame content to engage and challenge both veterans and n00bs alike. The only reason it gets a 9 and not a 10 is the requirement to play through the base game three times and complete the slightly dull labyrinth in order to get to the place you crave for....endgame. D3's dev's have definitely caught on to this, ARPG's are ALL about endgame, having completed both PoE and D3 innumerable times, the next occasion I have to "Get xxxx from yyyy and return to zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" may give me a psychotic episode.
PoE's dx engine's outdated and the graphics/artwork could do with a thorough update but the depth of character generation and freedom of skill customization remains the best in the field to date. Highly recommended for you and upto 5 more wannabe heroes, if you have that many friends with OCD tendencies that can stop washing their hands long enough to crash-out an instance or two.
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PC
Server issues aside (every game has server issues at the start) that have been fixed for the most part this is the most fun i have had in PoE since beta. The labyrinths aren't amazing, its a different style to the game. I can't say its bad they tried something new. Instead of killing all the things there are a few easy puzzles you have to do with a boss that gets harder as you go through 3 trials.
If you dont like it just wait till you out gear/out level it then go back and complete it in 30 minutes tops. (you can also get some movement talents that totally negate most of the traps, whirling blades is amazing now)
The merciless one is meant to be a challenge and you dont totally need to do it (I haven't and my character does 31k dps 4k hp. It would be nice but i dont feel like the final 2 points are required) if you want to and just cant there are plenty of people willing to carry for next to nothing.
The class changes are awesome, the labyrinth reward is worth doing even if you hate it, and i really like the idea of getting coins to buy things at a vendor that randomly spawns in the new challenge leagues.
Ive played more than i have played in the past 2 1/2 years and for sure any other game this past week (even lost a few hours sleep admittedly) Feels like currency drops a lot more now, no more going days without finding 1 chaos or fusing. The gear curve has been smoothed out exponentially without devaluing it to much.
The game is not is not D3 where they shovel heaps of gear in your face devaluing the experience and even the loot itself. You have to work for the gear, they don't throw it in your face but you are less likely to get stuck because of it before even hitting end game now which is a great thing.
All in all despite the labyrinth not being for everyone and thats the only fault of the xpac in my mind. If you haven't played in a while or are looking for a game that you will spend hundreds if not thousands of hours in, i definitely recommend jumping in for this seasons challenge leagues at the very least.
(PS: Complaining about always online is rather silly imo for a game you pay nothing for and docking the xpac points for it considering the game has been out for years and has always been always online is dumb. Now if you paid 60 dollars for it "cough" the division "cough" and it has server issues i would understand. Im happy at least GGG are transparent about it instead of trying to hide issues/game changes like some companies. And the xpac is so good it was worth dealing with some minor issues for a couple of days early on)
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PC
For me this is the best aRPG out there. Extremely deep character customization, great loot and it is constantly updating with meaningful content. Compare this with Diablo 3 where they basically just shove out a few new armour sets and call it a new season. Not to mention this has the best free to play model I've ever seen.
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PC
Path of Exile is a very true to series Diablo 2.5 type game. It has complicated skill trees and gem combining system that will initially make your head spin. Once you get the hang of the system it really pulls you in and allows for tons of customization. If you like trying out new build ideas that may or may not flop and then starting anew then this game is great. If you want to level a class that is more versatile and can adjust tactics and gear then Diablo 3 is probably more your game. Even if you just play through the first difficulty POE is a great free to play game.
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PC
The Labyrinth mini-game is a horribly implemented dungeon with traps and features that fit well in platforming games with precise controller accurate movement (like the legend of zelda: A link to the past or even mario and frogger)... running and jumping over pits and hitting switches and avoiding sawblades - most of which ignore 90% of your character's stats and gear. If you happen to disconnect (all too frequently near the end of the nightmare) or you die at any point, you have to start the whole mini-game over again. And yet, the game's class-defining "Ascendancy Points" are locked within only this mini-game to force everyone to play this content. I guess they were afraid people might not play it if they weren't bribed. (I know I would never touch it if not for those points... and I still avoid it WITH those points behind it.)
This one expansion has put an early end to many of my theory-crafted builds. I'd rather not play the game at all, than know that my character is incomplete without those accursed Ascendancy Points. It's not just a matter of ignoring those points. The game is being more and more balanced around players having them as a normal thing. In fact, the devs have to balance the game around these points, or they become "overpowered" by default.
They need to provide a method of attaining Ascendancy Classes without forcing a mini-game on players. It needs to be a similarly difficult ARPG challenge that does not ignore character build choices and gear employing gameplay that is not focused on trap avoidance, but rather, killing monsters.
These seem to have been the design goals:
* They wanted to create a "hardcore" (meaning one-life) challenge for both hardcore and standard players. (Standard players don't want the hardcore experience, or they'd play hardcore leagues. Thanks, but no thanks. It will always be a sour experience in this regard.)
* They wanted to create a challenge that couldn't be circumvented by logging out to save your life and continue to progress, or using town portals to refill flasks and return to boss battles, or in standard, dying to the boss repeatedly and just respawning and slowly zerging him to death like some main campaign bosses. (The frustrations of restarting on disconnects could be alleviated by placing waypoints after each Izaro battle, saving his life at the end of each phase. If one disconnects, they have to navigate the labyrinth back to the phase they left off at, and face him from the start of that encounter each time, with the same starting life each time, no whittling, no refilling flasks, until the phase is complete and that progress is then saved into the following waypoint. Tada! Endless numbers of forum threads resolved!)
* They wanted to create a challenge that couldn't be over-leveled, so it's challenging even at level 100 with perfect gear. They wanted a challenge that you had to plan your way through, instead of just rushing through killing everything... and yet, they also wanted the same content to be the focus of daily races for the fastest completion times, and one of the best means of dealing with the traps is to rush past them before they do much damage to you. (Sorry to break this to ya, but ARPG players who spend their entire time collecting loot and leveling up to create the unique aspects of their powerful builds ... want to use their builds and loot... not see all that progress and planning ignored. This was a poor design foundation. Also the racing thing runs counter-intuitively to the premise.)
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In the end, they wanted to create a challenge by making a mini-game that has its own gameplay and rules that ignore the main game, and yet, is the only source for a reward used in the main game. This was an utter failure of design.
As soon as this content becomes completely optional, just for the profit of items in the treasure room, and you can acquire Ascendancy Classes apart from this mini-game, it will instantly become a fun mini-game on the side that people can choose to build for, according to its rules, and profit from doing that well, while the rest of the players who wish to have nothing to do with the mini-game can happily go along playing the game they loved before the Labyrinth ever existed.
It is highly unlikely that the devs will change this, since they spent so much time and expense creating it, and they don't want to admit its flaws. (probably a pet project of a founder). Until it's changed, I play less and less, and sometimes don't even bother anymore.
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PC
The WORST expansion to ever happen in a video game in the history of gaming. Content gated behind the most annoying Labyrinth ever created that does not match the game at all, or it's always online status. Frustrating and dissapointing for a player with thousands of hours played. You ruined your game GGG...
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PC
Summary Seeking a worthy successor, Emperor Izaro constructed deadly trials throughout Wraeclast to find candidates. Six types of lethal traps have been crafted by Izaro into elaborate puzzle rooms - an entirely new gameplay type for Path of Exile.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Mar 4, 2016
Developer:
- Grinding Gear Games
Publisher: Grinding Gear Games
Genres:
