Path of Exile

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2202 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,641 out of 2202
  2. Mixed: 258 out of 2202
  3. Negative: 303 out of 2202

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Serial
    Oct 29, 2014
    0
    There are too many things that ruin the game:

    1.Trading: No trading system, items are offered via trade chat (about 100 per minute). Impossible to compare offers for a single item you are looking for. Furthermore, about 95% of these items are pure junk and overpriced. 2. Leveling: Leveling up a character becomes boring if you have to repeat the same areas 3 times before you    There are too many things that ruin the game:

    1.Trading:

    No trading system, items are offered via trade chat (about 100 per minute). Impossible to compare offers for a single item you are looking for. Furthermore, about 95% of these items are pure junk and overpriced.

    2. Leveling:

    Leveling up a character becomes boring if you have to repeat the same areas 3 times before you attempt what they call "end-game content".

    3. End game and rewards:

    That is running maps (with map levels from 66 up to 79) with a Bossmonster at the end of the map.That looks fine because we all know that Bossmonsters hold special rewards like cool Uniques or currency or even more maps. In fact, they drop crap. I ran lvl 77-78 maps with a guildmate who had an 400% increased chance to get rarer items for almost a week and got nothing valuable.

    4. Partying:

    see performance and technical issues

    5. Performance and technical issues:

    There are too many things ruining gameplay and have not been adressed as of now, one of the worst is desync. Loosing hours of playtime you have spend because your character dies and suffers a 10% XP penalty becaus the servers loose the exact position of your character and sends you back to a place where you had been a few seconds before isn't really fun. The official game forum is full of players complaining exactly this. And now, something funny: GGG declares this as a feature to prevent cheating.

    Partying sounds like fun, if you like dia-shows.Too many skills and character builds cause even high-end computers to drop down to a few frames when playing in a group.
    The last mini expansion "The Forsaken Masters" made it even worse.With this expansion players can have their own personal hideout, a place to rest or sort things in your stash, nothing special because this hideout is only a small tileset with a few objects like bricks or a wall or a few trees. Guess what happens to your framerate when entering your or other players hideout? But hey........you can
    decorate your personal hideout with hundreds of objects (of course you can buy them from GGG, but there are also free ones)....guess again what happens to your framerate and loading time ?
    I forgot weather effects. Yes, weather effects have been implemented to more and more areas over the last months although many players complain about framedrops in these areas.Instead of adding a chance to turn weather effects off via the options menue, they add even more.
    Opening the box....surprise, surprise......whats in the box? While running around you may find kind of a chest box, called strongbox.Introduced in the "Ambush league" a few months ago, you'll get ambushed by monsters when opening these boxes.Sounds funny, but.............many computers freeze for 1-2 secs while the game is loading the monsters. Click the Resurrect button and take the 10% XP penalty.

    All in all this game is an ambitious project, but GGG failed in too many aspects.    … Expand
  2. dwupac
    Oct 5, 2013
    10
    POE is the deepest aRPG slasher ever made. It uses some tested ideas while introducing highly innovative systems and end-game mechanics. To put it straight
    Path of Exile is AAA+ game FREE of charge. No pay to win. Grind to win!
    The game is quite polished already future announcements make you connected to Wreaclast even more. Devs give their best, the rapport is great and from what i've    POE is the deepest aRPG slasher ever made. It uses some tested ideas while introducing highly innovative systems and end-game mechanics. To put it straight
    Path of Exile is AAA+ game FREE of charge. No pay to win. Grind to win!

    The game is quite polished already future announcements make you connected to Wreaclast even more. Devs give their best, the rapport is great and from what i've seen in the past year the were 25+ patches, constant tweaking with the mechanics, skill tree* and skills.
    Dedication is the way Grinding Gear works. They way they introduce changes clearly shows how they care.
    *The sheer size of the skill tree is a guarantee jaw drop if seen for the first time    … Expand
  3. Airek
    Oct 28, 2013
    4
    Bland graphics, bad animations, lack of variety in mobs, laughable tryhardy currency system, and the over reliance on spamming a single ability.

    The skill system, while at first glance seems interesting, ends up being a mess with a bunch of support gems making a single skill more powerful, which allows (promotes) you to spam a single ability even more than the average ARPG.
  4. MrZero
    Nov 1, 2013
    4
    To begin with, props to the developers. They've created a free game that truly tries to keep it grounded so players have to actually play the game to progress, instead of just buy their way through, a la gear from an auction house, RL player, ect.. This product appears to be a true labor of love, and the title screen even touts "After 7 years of development, we are proud to present toTo begin with, props to the developers. They've created a free game that truly tries to keep it grounded so players have to actually play the game to progress, instead of just buy their way through, a la gear from an auction house, RL player, ect.. This product appears to be a true labor of love, and the title screen even touts "After 7 years of development, we are proud to present to you POE!!"

    And that might be where the problem lies: The game feels extremely dated, extremely short, and fails extremely bad in most areas.

    The graphics are very meh, the story is forgettable music is just-okay, and with the way the party system is setup, you can literally win this game within ohhhhh, 4-10 hours? True story.

    The game has different difficulty levels, but who cares? It boils down to monsters hitting harder, not tactics. All you do in this game is mash buttons. There's so many animations and crap flying across the screen, you spend the entire game looking at your health/spirit level waiting to pop a potion, all while just holding down the auto-attack. I literally held "Q" and pressed numbers 1-5 for my potions.

    As far is loot is concerned, this game should be renamed Path of the Ninja Looter, because it becomes a crazy game of Hungry, Hungry Hippo when a rare item (and by god, they are rare) finally drops. You'll then sell that POS item to a NPC vendor who will give you scraps for it (literally) and then you put about 1000 of those scraps together to make some orbs, and then you spam-trade those orbs for other orbs (amassing about 1000 of those, too) and then spam-trade those orbs for other orbs, spam-trade more for another type of orb and when all is said and done you'll come out of it with LITERALLY 1 orb.

    You'll then take that orb and find a spam-trader, whom you will then trade you a sword that he found for you're 1 orb. Congrats after all of that running back and forth to NPC and real-life spam traders, you now have a sword that does 3% more damage, with a chance to evade. If this sounds overly-complicated and un-rewarding to you, let me assure you, it is.

    Now, I won the game at level 38; however, I see people leveling to 70+, grinding away to get the best gear, for a game, they've already beaten ....

    That's is. Let me repeat. Beat the game in level 30's but grind away and spam-trade for gear up to level 70+. Oh, and you cant even inspect another players gear, so it is truly self-gratification unless you wanna be that jackass spam-linking his gear.    … Expand
  5. Scoobydooby
    Jan 7, 2014
    4
    For starters, I don't understand how so many of these reviews are 10.. 10 means a perfect or epic beyond epic game.. either you people work for GGG or you are willfully ignorant to the many flaws this game has.. why is a mystery to me, but this game is nowhere near a 10. To say this game is the deepest or best RPG ever made is laughable.
    Clearly these people have not actually played this    For starters, I don't understand how so many of these reviews are 10.. 10 means a perfect or epic beyond epic game.. either you people work for GGG or you are willfully ignorant to the many flaws this game has.. why is a mystery to me, but this game is nowhere near a 10. To say this game is the deepest or best RPG ever made is laughable.
    Clearly these people have not actually played this game for any substantial amount of time, otherwise they would not be giving it a 10 or even an 8.
    Tough to take this site seriously at all with such ridiculous ratings..

    Now to the game.

    I started playing POE in Open Beta and have leveled a dozen or more characters in that time, several hardcore, several in Onslaught/Domination. All my characters have leveled to between 40-70
    In that time I have learned A LOT about this game and all of its systems and nuances, as well as the gear, trading rates, orb rates, etc.

    What people need to understand is that this game is decent, but certainly not great. On the surface, its easy to start playing and be enamored with POE. It isn't until you delve more deeply into the game that you see the huge fissures which unfortunately show the game's true colors. In fact for almost every good thing in the game, it has a flipside that is equally, if not more so, negative. There is nothing in the game that is outright amazing, so again, to give it a ten is a silly joke.

    I will break down my post into sections.

    The Skill System: Overall the vast variety of skills provides a user with options of how to build their character. Support gems further alter the usability of these skills and provide a good amount of variety and customization. What sucks however about these skill gems is that many of these are either underpowered or downright useless. Some are not strong enough on their own until paired with support gems to buff them, and some are just pointless entirely.

    Loot: When you find something in this game, there is a feeling of excitement, like any RPG. The problem is that stuff DOES NOT DROP. Take it from me who's put in around 1k+ hours. If I could sum up the game in one word, especially when considering loot, it would be "UNREWARDING". You will feel like you play for lifetimes only to find trash that is worthless and will net you a couple alts at the vendor. Good luck finding any gear that is a direct upgrade for the character you are leveling. By all accounts, unless you get insanely lucky, that AINT gonna happen. You will need to trade for anything you really need in this game, whether it be gems, orbs, or gear.. which leads me to..

    Trading: To get anywhere in this game, you need to trade. That is all there is to it. If you prefer to play self-found, run away from this game now.. I've just saved you a lot of time and heartache. Trading is a pain because not only do people overvalue every item they wish to sell, many people do not even set a fixed price on items and instead ask for "offers". If you offer less than what they wish to sell for, its not uncommon for them to set you on "ignore" or reply with vile speak. It takes forever to sell anything and the trade chat is nothing but a wall of spam on every channel.

    Crafting: There really isn't any crafting in this game, which to me is a humongous let down. You have all these different base items, with all these different rolls and affixes, and yet to try to craft you need an absurd amount of orbs to do so with any effect. Orb drop rates are pathetic (after leveling now 6 characters in Domination, I have a total of 7 found Chaos Orbs, 1 divine, 3 Gemcutter Prism, and around 10 Chisels) so once again, you need to trade to get orbs. Orbs are more used for currency than for crafting in almost every aspect of the game. The worst part though, is that there is no progression.. you can use orbs on an item, and there is a small chance it will improve, but a better chance it will regress in quality.

    Content: The maps are pretty boring after a while. Nobody give a toss about the story, because its unmemorable, and generally its a slow grind with numerous gear checks instead of any real innovative monster skills or mechanics. Its just Up the damage and resistances and implement bosses with single shot capabilities. Graphically, the game is good but nothing amazing.

    What makes me laugh the most though are all these reviews saying that this game isn't pay to win. Are you all unaware of the rampant botting and selling of Orbs and other items for real money? There are a slew of RMT sites where you can buy gear for this game and even some high end players have been known to partake. Anyone who thinks it isn't pay to win is kidding themselves or just ignorant.

    Also, does a game being free mean its automatically a 10? Apparently that is this game's best quality.. that its free to play. Well, that's not saying much then is it?

    Overall, if you have no life and are masochistic, this is the game for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere for an RPG    … Expand
  6. JayLazad
    Jan 28, 2014
    0
    Just starting playing this hyped game called Path of Exile. I noticed that you cannot trade until level 25. When I got to level 25, I started to trade some stuff in one of the chat rooms. What happened there was a shame. I got people reporting me and I got some staff harassing me about trading. I just started and was having the greatest fun of my life! Unfortunately, the community and theJust starting playing this hyped game called Path of Exile. I noticed that you cannot trade until level 25. When I got to level 25, I started to trade some stuff in one of the chat rooms. What happened there was a shame. I got people reporting me and I got some staff harassing me about trading. I just started and was having the greatest fun of my life! Unfortunately, the community and the staff are the worst of all. Because of this, I give this game a rating of 0 out of 10. Of all the games I played that were free to play, this is the first time my account got muted for something that the game actually allows you to do. Why would you enable a feature that you want players not to do? The worst company and worst staff. If you want a good game, just go buy the Diablo expansion coming out in March and spam and trade all you want in the chat rooms. This company and the staff is a shame. Also, the game is somewhat outdated in relations to recent games. If the company and their staff are going to continue to be as*holes, I am going to refer my friends out of this game and tell other people not to play this game.… Expand
  7. jlowe48
    Dec 29, 2013
    1
    POE goes sour, most players quit out of frustration.

    Eventually desync bugs or fruitless grinding will be what drive most players to quit this game. Great games you look back at with fondness after you are done with them. POE you look at with fondness when you start playing, and 10-100 play hours later you are frustrated and wish hadn't given them any money. New players, look over    POE goes sour, most players quit out of frustration.

    Eventually desync bugs or fruitless grinding will be what drive most players to quit this game. Great games you look back at with fondness after you are done with them. POE you look at with fondness when you start playing, and 10-100 play hours later you are frustrated and wish hadn't given them any money.

    New players, look over the official game forums to see what you are getting into. Be sure to look in the feedback forum where the moderators move anything negative. In particular look at the desync and drop rate related threads. Item drops and trading are balanced towords no-real-life players, and the dev team refuses to acknowledge that the desync issues need to (or can be) be fixed.    … Expand
  8. Goatsecks
    Dec 21, 2013
    2
    This game doesn't deserve the 8.8 user score and here's why.

    The Good: -The game is free and although there are micro-transactions, they are just for cosmetics. -You are able to customize skills and your own passive skill tree which ever way you want. -Trading system revolves around dropable orbs which you can use to improve gear instead of a single base currency. -Lack of bots.    This game doesn't deserve the 8.8 user score and here's why.

    The Good:

    -The game is free and although there are micro-transactions, they are just for cosmetics.
    -You are able to customize skills and your own passive skill tree which ever way you want.
    -Trading system revolves around dropable orbs which you can use to improve gear instead of a single base currency.
    -Lack of bots.
    -Party system is simple and anyone can join any group at any time.
    -Regular updates.

    The Bad:

    -Massive lag and desync issues.
    -It's a terrible wannabe Diablo 2 clone where there is no auction house, and massive trade spam that lags you even more. The developers are obviously stuck in the past, and if most people wanted to play Diablo 2 they would do that instead because it's a much better game. It's like a bunch of old guys that say 60s cars are much better than cars today (they're not).
    -By level 50, it's just a GRINDFEST like any typical mmo.
    -The passive skill tree is big, but the +10 to whatever doesn't do much for your character. Furthermore, if you lead yourself into a bad tree, you can't reset your passives and undo skills unless you (grind) orb of regrets. This becomes a problem when you reach merciless, and realize your build is awful and really gear dependent. Then you have to spend another 20 hours finding another build that works.
    -By completing Normal difficulty in 5-10 hours, you've already won the game. Past that it's just collecting items with different colored names to pvp with people that will always have better gear than you.
    -Hold the Q button and win. No tactics required.    … Expand
  9. Yeoman
    May 19, 2014
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't fall for this game's tricks! When you first start playing, it seems awesome because you're fighting skeletons on a scary beach. The monsters are something you can relate to, and the environment is well-themed. Lightning, dark caves, skeletons, and ghosts await you at every turn. But by Act 3 that experience dissipates into a mockery of what the game built its roots on.

    You end up fighting fire beetles. Yes, tons and tons of beetles, and the Act 2 end boss amounts to a giant can-opener or something ridiculous. Then instead of cool, classic monsters, you'll be fighting ribbons. Yes, I said ribbons. And these weird, ridiculous monsters that don't use their claws on you, but try to leg-sweep you for reasons unknown, like some sort of mentally challenged ninja.

    Also, the maps in Act 3 become horrifically boring and way over-sized, so you'll have to spend hours upon hours just finding way-points unless you don't want to save your progress. I played with a friend of mine and we raved about how great the game was at first, but Act 3 destroyed the entire experience and we quit playing it. It was a depressing letdown and I felt like crying.    … Expand
  10. MarcusJoz
    Jan 16, 2014
    0
    Everyone, my name is Marcus. I played this game called Path of Exiles one day and it seems really fun with complex mechanics. The downside is that it does not seem to be a high-end game. The other downside is that the players seem to complain about not being able to freely trade in chat rooms. I agree completely with this. I blame the support team of moderators at the company calledEveryone, my name is Marcus. I played this game called Path of Exiles one day and it seems really fun with complex mechanics. The downside is that it does not seem to be a high-end game. The other downside is that the players seem to complain about not being able to freely trade in chat rooms. I agree completely with this. I blame the support team of moderators at the company called Grinding Gear Games. I think their supervisor is this guy called Michael. His group are the worst of the worst when it comes to account disables. I know many people who were muted and even locked out of their account for simple chat issues. This sort of a lack of freedom and abusive behavior at the company is what caused me to rate this game at the lowest. I know other companies do not really care about what you do as long as you buy their game. But for Path of Exile, its different. They offer a free to play method and also a pay to play method. I know many players who have been victims of these moderators and are waiting for the Diablo expansion for 2014. I recommend you not support them if their support staff continues to be anal about chat room posts and what not. They also try to cover up the negative truth. That is why I recommend the upcoming Diablo expansion which comes out this year and not Path of Exiles. Fair gaming experience, but bad company and bad support team.… Expand
  11. relaxingtomato
    Oct 25, 2013
    3
    Path of Exile is a great complex game...on the surface.

    Sure theres thousands of skill gem, support gem and passive node combinations, but comparing to its obvious competitor Diablo 3, you realise it actually offers less true character customisation. All Path of Exile offers is tons of ways to SCREW UP your character. I'm a gold closed beta supporter, and I can tell you there are    Path of Exile is a great complex game...on the surface.

    Sure theres thousands of skill gem, support gem and passive node combinations, but comparing to its obvious competitor Diablo 3, you realise it actually offers less true character customisation.

    All Path of Exile offers is tons of ways to SCREW UP your character.

    I'm a gold closed beta supporter, and I can tell you there are less viable endgame builds in PoE than Diablo 3. The devs haven taken steps like increasing aura costs to increase build diversity, but judging from the highly negative community response, its unlikely PoE will ever live up to its promises

    I'll be back in a few years. Until then, enjoy 1 or 2 builds dominating the ladder, before GGG nerfs them and another 1 or 2 take their place.    … Expand
  12. BLADELING
    Feb 10, 2014
    0
    Take a game good for casual gamers, add desync problems and one of the most immature community... Congratulations! You got Path of Exile!

    The only good thing - to imitate - is the micro-transactions system. No P2W here.
  13. SuniaPoz
    Feb 1, 2014
    1
    A 1 out of 10 for me! Ok. I do not like the support moderators in the game. I do not like the players who constantly report you for doing nothing. I do not like the lack of freedom. I do not like how there is not sort of formal trade system because chat trading gets tiresome.

    I do like this game being pretty different from some of the games being released today. Seems I have more    A 1 out of 10 for me! Ok. I do not like the support moderators in the game. I do not like the players who constantly report you for doing nothing. I do not like the lack of freedom. I do not like how there is not sort of formal trade system because chat trading gets tiresome.

    I do like this game being pretty different from some of the games being released today. Seems I have more negative thoughts than positives. That's it, so bye!    … Expand
  14. Jingo
    Nov 19, 2013
    2
    Got to admit, I only played it for an hour so don't mistake this for a deep review. Took about an hour of gameplay for me to delete it off the hard drive. It's basically an online version of the tired old genre that started with games like Titan Quest. Click, click click on far too many identical enemies and watch their health bars go down. Then loot and repeat.
    If that's fun for you,    Got to admit, I only played it for an hour so don't mistake this for a deep review. Took about an hour of gameplay for me to delete it off the hard drive. It's basically an online version of the tired old genre that started with games like Titan Quest. Click, click click on far too many identical enemies and watch their health bars go down. Then loot and repeat.
    If that's fun for you, then be happy. The game is free.    … Expand
  15. AeonForm
    Apr 22, 2014
    2
    This is a diablo-like, but this is not definitely not Diablo, the combat are so slowww, i feel like hitting a piece of butter with a plastic fork. the graphics are ugly...some people will say "it's dark, not like diablo", well it's not dark for me, it's ugly, everything is static, nothing lives in this game.
  16. FuzzyPuppy
    Aug 25, 2014
    1
    I tried to like it, I really did. But; the game play is clumsy, the graphics are painful, I do not enjoy spamming 1 spell over and over, most of the skill tree is useless, the lag/desync is outrageous... I am all about liking the concept, but this was poorly done.

    I realize that there is a fan base that holds this game as the true sequel to Diablo 2. I whole heartedly disagree. I think    I tried to like it, I really did. But; the game play is clumsy, the graphics are painful, I do not enjoy spamming 1 spell over and over, most of the skill tree is useless, the lag/desync is outrageous... I am all about liking the concept, but this was poorly done.

    I realize that there is a fan base that holds this game as the true sequel to Diablo 2. I whole heartedly disagree. I think Diablo 2 is vastly superior in every way except graphics.

    I wish I could actually find another Diablo 2. Diablo 3, while fun- falls short of the mark. It's more of an action game. And PoE was just a painful experience. Maybe call it PoS?    … Expand
  17. METAKRITIK
    Feb 3, 2014
    0
    Left this game long ago when I got muted for selling in global chat. I do not know what the big deal is. Everyone there is like a report lover. I understand that they are trying to crack down on botters, but seriously. The community is like a bunch of immature pool turds that do not want to mind their own fu**ing business. I blame all the moderators who are there for this to happen. I knowLeft this game long ago when I got muted for selling in global chat. I do not know what the big deal is. Everyone there is like a report lover. I understand that they are trying to crack down on botters, but seriously. The community is like a bunch of immature pool turds that do not want to mind their own fu**ing business. I blame all the moderators who are there for this to happen. I know many people who feel the same way. I give 0 to this game because they have lousy moderators. My reason is that if I cannot play, then I cannot enjoy the game. I would say the game has potential for a higher score from me only if they allow me to trade freely, fix the chat system, or add a trade platform for easier trades. The game moderators should go to hell.… Expand
  18. wemelchor1
    Feb 11, 2014
    0
    this game is overhyped garbage by far. It does alot right, but it does alot oh so wrong. The first complaint I have is the fact that this game forces the character to be a certain sex or character for each class they want to play. the game is a repetitive grindfest from the minute you end up on shore. I fealt like after a few "reskinned" areas, painstakingly messing around with my pretendthis game is overhyped garbage by far. It does alot right, but it does alot oh so wrong. The first complaint I have is the fact that this game forces the character to be a certain sex or character for each class they want to play. the game is a repetitive grindfest from the minute you end up on shore. I fealt like after a few "reskinned" areas, painstakingly messing around with my pretend "unique" character, I fealt like I had already seen the game. the skill tree at face value looks like a innovative potential but a few ten levels and you notice no matter where you build you are going to end up with the same build regardless. there is no freedom in the skill tree. the trade system is piss poor, gold currency was made for a reason. the team finding system is piss poor. nobody answers chat, it is such a hassle to find the correct team. in a game that relies on heavy teamwork this game fails at creating teams. I spent alot of time being bored out of my mind than advancing in the game. what the game does right is blighted out but I will list it anyways. this game does materia and it does it well. even though the combat system is stale and borderline BORING MASH FEST, I find some of the magic fresh towards this stale series. the fact that it is free tells how bad it is, if I had to pay for this game I would be pissed.… Expand
  19. foxchicken
    Apr 18, 2014
    3
    Game is fun for a couple of weeks, but like a lot of these games suffers from bad loot, incoherent nerfs, meaningless stats, bad scaling, useless dodge/defense mechanics and extremely limited game-play. There is no trading system. Pretty clear the developer is lost with this one.
  20. krammerlock
    Jan 31, 2014
    1
    This game is the very definition of such. First it is a rip off of Diablo and has all of the faults of that game plus the faults of being an on-line game. The worst feature is that the atmosphere is mono-chromatic, depressing and just plain boring. Frankly after killing undead for hours I found myself identifying with them. The next worst feature is that you play through an area, but haveThis game is the very definition of such. First it is a rip off of Diablo and has all of the faults of that game plus the faults of being an on-line game. The worst feature is that the atmosphere is mono-chromatic, depressing and just plain boring. Frankly after killing undead for hours I found myself identifying with them. The next worst feature is that you play through an area, but have to leave and when you come back you are at home base. You have to do the same old boring stuff all over again. Yes it has a huge amount of upgrades and customization but you have to be willing to pay the price of being bored to tears to get to a point where others say the game becomes interesting. Frankly there are games out there that are loads more fun from the beginning.… Expand
  21. zerebruin
    Dec 28, 2013
    2
    A really bad Diablo II clone =

    Here's the good news: interface and short cuts are almost exactly the same as Diablo II. Sadly, they've been redesigned very badly. Take the overlay-map as an example: it's next to useless because there no landmarks are visible for the player to orient himself. The game's graphics are worse than those of the 13 year old Diablo II. Of course the     A really bad Diablo II clone =

    Here's the good news: interface and short cuts are almost exactly the same as Diablo II.
    Sadly, they've been redesigned very badly. Take the overlay-map as an example: it's next to useless because there no landmarks are visible for the player to orient himself.

    The game's graphics are worse than those of the 13 year old Diablo II. Of course the resolution is a lot better, but PoE lacks details and most of all lighting. The character selection menu is so bad, I almost closed the game again instantly. The characters are hidden, and yes, that IS bad design, even if they're supposed to be 'in the shadows' (there are no shadows, everything is grey). Showing off the characters is the point of a character selection, so why not use some contrast and light?

    Character and monster design seems equally uninspired, although that may change in higher levels (I only played two characters to level 8 and 10 respectively).

    The gameplay is boring to say the least. A very simple hack'n'slay but even that isn't really fun. Diablo 3 isn't much more than a hack and slay after playing the story through but at least it feels perfect and looks stunning.

    I've not seen any story to speak of, the characters are almost as bleak as the levels are boring. The latter are also not very well designed, making them more of a maze. They're also not dynamically created (probably because that would be difficult for an MMO).

    The skill system looks amazing at first glance with an incredibly complex skill tree dazzling the player. Mostly that is because all character classes are shown at once, though, making the whole thing quite confusing at the beginning. This super complex skill system stands in stark contrast to the lack of character customization. There are no stat points for strength, dexterity or intelligence that would make a truly complex character system.

    At least there's one interesting thing to note: Gems can be levelled and changed from weapons and armour without any cost. This allows for a lot of experimentation in character creation. Then again, most players will probably just not think about their characters as much if they know they can change weapons and armor at any time without penalty.

    Overall the game is quite well characterised by the Grinding Gear Games logo: ugly, rusted cogs that do not work smoothly, if they work at all.
    The only reason this game gets any good reviews must be that a lot of young players never played Diablo II.    … Expand
  22. Curtis50cent
    Feb 10, 2014
    1
    Pros : Diablo Like

    Cons: Heavy Grinding without real reward. Trading is necessary All the time Desync problems and the devs dont give a **** about it. Not newbie friendly Skills are copy paste nothing new. Worst currency system ive seen so far. 6 ppl party almost unplayable coz of many laggy builds. Feels like a single player game but u will lagg / desync Poor game optimization    Pros : Diablo Like

    Cons: Heavy Grinding without real reward.
    Trading is necessary
    All the time Desync problems and the devs dont give a **** about it.
    Not newbie friendly
    Skills are copy paste nothing new.
    Worst currency system ive seen so far.
    6 ppl party almost unplayable coz of many laggy builds.
    Feels like a single player game but u will lagg / desync
    Poor game optimization
    Devs dont really pay attention to the suggestions / feedbacks (only if its positive)
    After lvl 80 it takes ages for a small upgrade in gear.
    Many build are unplayable on Hardcore coz of desync.
    Events are for NOLIFERS

    I guess thats all , it worth a try but after few days / weeks it gets booring as Torchlight2.    … Expand
  23. rAMZA
    Sep 29, 2014
    0
    looks realy old, and should have offline mode, skilltree is little to big, they could have moved str int dex somevhere else, i would recomend titan quest, dablo 3, grim dawn and torchlight
  24. SethEvandor
    Jul 30, 2015
    0
    This game still favours melee chars. Spell crit is op, especially when the spells are invisible... Sorry but after connection problems, getting great drops for a char 20 lvls below me, I'm tired of this **** Pulled about 20 maps, rek most and the game is pretty much now about whether you get instagibbed rather than be able to kill stuff, not fun at all.
  25. GGG_LOSERS
    Feb 2, 2014
    2
    One of the company's moderators are **** I was trying to trade my rares in the chat rooms and was muted. I think the moderators need to go out and get a life. Maybe that moderator is a wannabe police geek. It makes me laugh that games are nowhere near competitive sports, and you get penalized from gamer nerds. These moderator nerds and geeks need to get out from behind their screens soOne of the company's moderators are **** I was trying to trade my rares in the chat rooms and was muted. I think the moderators need to go out and get a life. Maybe that moderator is a wannabe police geek. It makes me laugh that games are nowhere near competitive sports, and you get penalized from gamer nerds. These moderator nerds and geeks need to get out from behind their screens so that real men can confront them. Probably they would get pounced out and hide like cowards. If the moderators are reading this, they should really back off of players who are trying to just play and chat game related stuff. These moderators are losers for sure. I give this game 2 points only because I play this free game called Dota 2. I can talk smack all I want and I do not even get penalized. Haha.… Expand
  26. alientude
    Nov 18, 2013
    3
    The game is fun and, for the most part, well designed. But for a game that was in a closed beta for years and open beta for half a year, it's a very poorly optimized game. Creatures teleport around due to lag, as does the main character.

    The worst, however, is the constant BSODs that occur for just about anybody using a Creative sound card. This has been going on for years, and the only    The game is fun and, for the most part, well designed. But for a game that was in a closed beta for years and open beta for half a year, it's a very poorly optimized game. Creatures teleport around due to lag, as does the main character.

    The worst, however, is the constant BSODs that occur for just about anybody using a Creative sound card. This has been going on for years, and the only solution given is a command line switch to bypass using hardware audio at all. The good news? The "solution" kind of works. The bad news? Yeah, it doesn't really work while the BSODs are lessened, they still happen. As far as I can tell, the official response to this is to use a command line switch to disable sound entirely. That's just poor programming and poor customer service. Yeah, it's free, but that doesn't excuse shoddy code.    … Expand
  27. Vitaly
    Oct 24, 2013
    3
    One or two runs through this game can be fun, but not more than that. End game (maps system) is based on pure and very unfair gambling and design to keep you as long as possible within the game.

    Maps have levels from 66 78. Anything worth farming and crafting (crafting is based on gamble too) starting from lvl 71 maps which will be unreachable to most of players since maps drop rate    One or two runs through this game can be fun, but not more than that. End game (maps system) is based on pure and very unfair gambling and design to keep you as long as possible within the game.

    Maps have levels from 66 78. Anything worth farming and crafting (crafting is based on gamble too) starting from lvl 71 maps which will be unreachable to most of players since maps drop rate will decrease dramatically (drop rates lowered in background without any note to player) with each subsequent level of maps and will form a very high wall at level 71 maps. To counter that you will need insane amount of currency which can be acquired only through farming or trading. Since most items worth selling or using hidden behind lvl71 maps you will find yourself in process of very unrewarding farming.

    Stash space is limited. If you will run this game more than once or will want to reach end game you will need more. This is where free to play model comes in. Set of tabs for your stash will worth you 15$ (6 simple tabs) or 20$ (6 premiums). And you will buy them, because early game is so fun... But when you will reach end game, this will change into frustration of how it was designed (to keep you as long as it possible in game in hope you will buy some cosmetics effects or will run out of stash space again).

    After release they introduced Guilds which can help solve main problem of this game it was designed for party not for solo players. Solo players will die a lot and in most cases you won't be able to find out why by yourself (game is based on many things most of which is not self explanatory). But, again, to get from guilds most you will have to pay with real money again.

    The currency system is a pure gambling. Instead of gold this game have usable orbs which can change properties of items and maps in many ways. But they based on chance so heavily that you can trash all of your hard-earned currency in minutes and will not get anything in return. Go back to farming to repeat this process later.

    Dsync is another huge problem. You will die a lot because of dsync. Period.

    Game has "old school" (read outdated) leveling system. You will need to repeat process of leveling for every build you want to make. And since you will fail your fist build for sure, you will have to repeat this process over and over again while you learn this game. Follow the tip: go to the forum, find yourself a build and just follow. This will help to avoid much of frustration when things will not work as you was expecting.

    And some more if you got hacked, company will not restore your stolen items or deleted characters.    … Expand
  28. ratapwnz
    Mar 9, 2014
    4
    This game is boring. No, i mean REALLY BORING. The only reason people play it, is to say "im not diablo3 fanboy, look i play better game". Ah and its free, schoolboys like to grind not work to buy game.
    But meanwhile there is no game at all. Only excel skill planing. Gameplay is boring rightclick like 1000 times before.
    The plot sometimes interesting, but can you write down any NPC name    This game is boring. No, i mean REALLY BORING. The only reason people play it, is to say "im not diablo3 fanboy, look i play better game". Ah and its free, schoolboys like to grind not work to buy game.
    But meanwhile there is no game at all. Only excel skill planing. Gameplay is boring rightclick like 1000 times before.
    The plot sometimes interesting, but can you write down any NPC name after you finish it? Nope.

    How fanboy see it: thousand builds
    In real world: 3.5 actual builds, other is weak and unplayable / playable only with gear grinded 500 hours.

    How fanboy see it: SOOOO MUCH PASIVESS!!!!
    In real world: 99% of nodes are same as "put 5 points in str/agi/int after lvlup".

    How fanboy see it: free game, no pay to win, no money auction
    In real world: bots in every league, black market = same money auction but some people dont know / dont wanna use it

    etc. etc. etc.

    Overrated game. 4.    … Expand
  29. FrankLiu
    Jan 19, 2014
    1
    I want to tell everyone how disappointed I am with the moderators of this game. The moderators are scum because they mute you for trading global chat. I played so many free to play games and bought so many pc games that I never been muted for something so absurd like what the moderators do in this game. That is the downside to this company. They cannot even provide a fix to this and whatI want to tell everyone how disappointed I am with the moderators of this game. The moderators are scum because they mute you for trading global chat. I played so many free to play games and bought so many pc games that I never been muted for something so absurd like what the moderators do in this game. That is the downside to this company. They cannot even provide a fix to this and what they do is they mute player accounts. It is not even funny because when you are muted, you basically cannot enjoy the multiplayer experience. Its like playing offline mode, but they make the game an online game. This game is far from being the best and with such a scum moderator team, I am giving this a 1 out of 10. The one point is for a fun run through with the game. Other than that, bad moderators, and that means bad company. Go play Grim Dawn everyone! Its much better.… Expand
  30. Synol
    Nov 18, 2013
    1
    If this game was offline, or had decent servers/code it would be a great game.

    However it has none of those things. De-sync is out of control, a quick google search will show you this has been a problem since forever and the devs have no idea how to fix it or just do not care. Their solution thus far was to put in a command /oos to sync you back to where the server thinks you are. One    If this game was offline, or had decent servers/code it would be a great game.

    However it has none of those things. De-sync is out of control, a quick google search will show you this has been a problem since forever and the devs have no idea how to fix it or just do not care. Their solution thus far was to put in a command /oos to sync you back to where the server thinks you are. One has to wonder why they don't simply bind this functionality into skills if they already have it. So that when you use a skill it checks to make sure you are where the server thinks you are.

    Apart from the apparent lack of skill on the devs behalf the in-game staff are much worse. If you disagree with their sexual preferences (gay btw) and you state that in any capacity you will be muted for Hate Speech. Want to say that being straight is normal (even though it is and this is simply a fact) Muted. The irony being that imposing their own views on others and muting anyone that disagrees is actually Hate Speech against straight people. Want to point out that if humans were all gay we would have gone extinct a long time ago? Hate Speech. Muted.

    There are many other things wrong with the game, like the map being horrendously drawn and looks like absolute garbage, but it would take far too long to list them all here. Go to their forums and read some of the threads there before the mods lock and delete them for being honest.

    If you want to play a good ARPG just go play Diablo 2 or wait for the Diablo 3 expansion. This game is filled with bigots and their staffs entire job is to hide negative feedback and not actually improve the game. Everything that is fun in this game is a direct copy of Diablo 2 anyway but with less depth. 7 years to make an average game that most people didn't even play past the first week? What an absolute disgrace.    … Expand
  31. PAHTOFEXILESUCK
    Jan 31, 2014
    0
    Hi support! I am writing this review because of you guys. One of the main support guys is named Michael. He is a fu*king shi*! Oh...and also...the other moderators are also fu*king shi*s. I was banned for constantly posting what I wanted to say and all they do is ban people for disruption? Well, my money is going to this new game called Grim Dawn. The support staff at the company areHi support! I am writing this review because of you guys. One of the main support guys is named Michael. He is a fu*king shi*! Oh...and also...the other moderators are also fu*king shi*s. I was banned for constantly posting what I wanted to say and all they do is ban people for disruption? Well, my money is going to this new game called Grim Dawn. The support staff at the company are cowards and they know this. They cannot even take hate posts on the forum, so they have to make up a new rule to prevent hate posts. They also try to ban your IP if they do not like you. Talk about abuse there. Well, it seems as though this game is losing players fast and I am happy to hear that. A dead game means a dead community and that means the company is bad. Wait, the support team is bad and one of the worst customer service groups I have ever met in my whole gaming career. Shame on them coward losers!

    George L.    … Expand
  32. Benjamin99
    Oct 4, 2013
    10
    Greatest ARPG ever created and its finally being released the 23 of October. If you like playing an ARPG with endless character customization. Endless build diversity endless skill diversity and a passive skill tree that makes me have a nerdgasme then this is for you. This is truly a game made by gamers for gamers
  33. Carpetmuncha69
    Dec 16, 2013
    0
    I played POE in early launch. I call it launch, but it was technically the first day of open beta. In my opinion, when a game has a functioning cash shop and is making money, and opens up to everyone. It should be called launch. I'm thinking of all the games that had the testicular fortitude to call their game "launch" and got bad reviews. Then got better with updates, but somehow don'tI played POE in early launch. I call it launch, but it was technically the first day of open beta. In my opinion, when a game has a functioning cash shop and is making money, and opens up to everyone. It should be called launch. I'm thinking of all the games that had the testicular fortitude to call their game "launch" and got bad reviews. Then got better with updates, but somehow don't get a second chance or a re review down the road. This is what happened. PoE would've gotten terrible scores if it called it release. There's no denying that. It was unfinished, and is completely un fair to any game.

    If I were a dev, i'd learn from this. Release in open beta, so no one can review you, continue to make money, develop the game and call it release when you know for sure you'll get a good score.

    Shame on reviewrs, shame on you sheep for following this.    … Expand
  34. NecroMnemic
    Oct 24, 2013
    6
    At first glance PoE does seem like an innovative and fresh game, and although it holds true in some areas there are many many problems still in the game. Just to elaborate on a few:

    1) Solo vs. Multiplayer. GGG doesn't care about solo players. Not. At. All. I've been in beta for over 2 years, that means longer than most the more "known" forumites, and when I joined in 2011 people were    At first glance PoE does seem like an innovative and fresh game, and although it holds true in some areas there are many many problems still in the game. Just to elaborate on a few:

    1) Solo vs. Multiplayer. GGG doesn't care about solo players. Not. At. All. I've been in beta for over 2 years, that means longer than most the more "known" forumites, and when I joined in 2011 people were complaining that the game is a facerole in party and a drag as soloplayer. Well guess what, this hasn't changed at any given time over the last years. The game is still just a facerole as party and a rather frustrating experience as solo player. Show some good design and give monsters new (aoe) skills depending on how many players are in a party. Don't just increase health and damage. This would also battle the problem of multiboxers.

    2) Selffound vs. Trading. This game relies heavily on trading and playing selffound or offering a selffound mode seems unthinkable as GGG's lead designer say things like:

    "finding a unique item makes you excited because it has value to other players"

    How can someone who likes ARPG say something so utterly wrong. There are a ton of players who just want to play selffound and mostly or with friends and PoE does everything it can to alienate those people.

    3) Magic Find. Mindlessly copied from D2 although it should be known that it is a completly design as an item stat. No innovation whatsoever.

    4) Difficulty. Again no innovation whatsoever. Just a gear-check. Difficulty is only increased by increasing enemy health and damage. How about something more fun and something that actually rewards skill? Give monster different skills that require you to dodge, or make you take care not getting swarmed... oh wait..

    5)... I forgot, you can't actually make this game more fast-paced because it will desync all the time if you use something like flicker strike or high movement speed/attack speed.

    6) Skills. Although the trigger gems and support gem thing is very nice there are still missing a ton of actually fun spells. A fire witch has fireball and firestorm. Incredible.
    I know that this will get better over time but nevertheless I feel like pointing it out. ;)

    7) Item design is overall really good but the unique items often end up being a disappointment. The design goal here is to make unique items a build enabler, but especially in lower levels this makes finding one of the very rare unique items frustrating. Identifying a unique shield at level 30 and seeing that ALL it offers is the keystone passive "pain attunement" will result in you rolling eyes instead of thinking "wow what a great item".

    8) Item progression is... well. Not that great to be honest. The skill system is something new, but at the end of the day it's just inferior to a skill point based system design like TQ. Also the required links/sockets and the rather rare drops of orbs of fusing will add to making self-found an unenjoyable experience.

    Well I could go on and on, but let's just end with this:

    Path Of Exile is a decent game and I still see lots of potential, although speaking from 2 years of experience I will say that I doubt that they will now suddenly start to fix, what they ignored for so long.    … Expand
  35. Rowsol
    Dec 21, 2013
    0
    List of things I don't like about the game:

    Trading is a terrible experience due to chat spamming and no interface for buying/selling items. General game balance, in particular the scaling of skills. For instance, raise zombie is useless until the very late game and it's been like this forever. The lack of cooldowns for skills means you only have to use one, the best one. Desync.    List of things I don't like about the game:

    Trading is a terrible experience due to chat spamming and no interface for buying/selling items.

    General game balance, in particular the scaling of skills. For instance, raise zombie is useless until the very late game and it's been like this forever. The lack of cooldowns for skills means you only have to use one, the best one.

    Desync. Their refusal to modify their game to combat this menace means there is no solution in sight and either you can accept it or you can't.

    The passive tree is a great concept but it's just as unbalanced as the skills. Many nodes will never be used because of how bad they are.

    Leveling takes way too long at higher levels (40+). A playthrough of normal difficulty is fun because you can run through each area once and complete the game. When you get to Cruel you have to start grinding the same areas over and over so you can keep up with the level of the monsters. Testing new builds is the most fun part of this game but the slow leveling combined with no option to respec your character makes this a chore.

    Grouping with other players is made easy by the notification board in the game but there's a serious flaw. It shows people from all over the world instead of just people in your realm. There's no way of telling where they are at so when you join a group and enter their instance it's pure luck whether your ping will stay the same or skyrocket to 200-300 because they live in australia and you live in US.

    The races that they do periodically are a good idea but the problem with them is that you always start at lvl 1 and often times they are only 1-2 hours long. Why not have some races start you in cruel difficulty at lvl 35 with some starting gear and skills?

    You can just press esc and close the game if you are about to die. Very hardcore if you ask me.

    I'm giving a 0 because I feel 8.9 is too high of a score for all these flaws. A more fair score would be a 6.    … Expand
  36. Luciela
    Jul 19, 2023
    10
    It's a fragmentary but beautiful story. Full of rich content. Fluent gameplay. An excellent crafting system. You can feel yourself getting stronger and making progress. Although it is not included in the in-game system, there is a trade system. Regardless of the system, there is an excellent internal trade structure. Almost every item in the game can be traded. It has a wide variety ofIt's a fragmentary but beautiful story. Full of rich content. Fluent gameplay. An excellent crafting system. You can feel yourself getting stronger and making progress. Although it is not included in the in-game system, there is a trade system. Regardless of the system, there is an excellent internal trade structure. Almost every item in the game can be traded. It has a wide variety of builds. Yes, there are meta builds in this game, but there are also builds that you can be strong independent of meta builds. The game gives you that opportunity. You don't have to play all of the content. The game has given you an atlas tree, and thanks to it, you can eliminate the content you don't like and increase the rewarding of the ones you like. The game becomes much more enjoyable. Endgame is very good. The missing part of the game is that the game engine is old and the graphics are insufficient today. But a big expansion is coming soon. It's called Path of Exile 2, but it's actually a big expansion. The game engine was recoded and the graphics were renewed. This expansion will offer us a more fluid and optimized gameplay. With this expansion, the gem skill system will become independent of items. In this way, the variety of items that we can reach in the early game will be enriched. We will also be able to reach more gem skills. In this way, we will be able to navigate the maps fluently with more than one skill. What a game. The ARPG Legend. We can call it the souls game of isometric ARPGs. It's not for everyone.… Expand
  37. Thyrvi
    Oct 13, 2022
    7
    Clearly the best action RPG.
    And that for free. OMG
    Someone who has sunk a lot of his free time in D2 , a really dream.
    I farm me to death nostalgic, the non plus ultra.
  38. Naked_Snakee
    Apr 2, 2023
    9
    Just text (crutch) to save the game to the list. Such things. Maybe I'll do a review later.
  39. skyincow
    Jul 26, 2023
    10
    Best ARPG ever made on earth, and most complete / deep game you can find on the universe. If you have time to lost, Exile yourself in the biggest journey u've ever had
  40. JackFrostyG
    Jul 26, 2023
    9
    Pros

    - The levelling on this game feels impactful. When I gain a skill point I feel like my character is getting stronger. - The main story bosses from Act 1 - 10 are all well designed. - The environments are detailed and fit the theme of the game. - The end game has an insane amount of choice and content. - There is also more content being added and older content being updated. -    Pros

    - The levelling on this game feels impactful. When I gain a skill point I feel like my character is getting stronger.
    - The main story bosses from Act 1 - 10 are all well designed.
    - The environments are detailed and fit the theme of the game.
    - The end game has an insane amount of choice and content.
    - There is also more content being added and older content being updated.
    - The class and skill diversity is wild.
    - Contrary to popular opinion. The game isn't really that hard to get into, the only drawback is the amount of 3rd party sites which may be necessary to follow a build.
    - The work and research you put into a build is rewarded by the outcome of said build.
    - There are millions of different items, and hundreds of different uniques,
    - It is easy to see what is happening on the screen.

    Cons

    - Some rare enemies can be more problematic than unique bosses. This is especially the case in newer leagues as they have not been balanced. Some of the rares can often kill even the tankiest of builds.
    - Some affixes are poorly balanced and over-tuned. For example, corrupting blood has always been a strong affix and even has certain builds' attempt to counter this by making themselves immune to the affix over playing through it.
    - The lighting in the Sirus fight is abysmal and this is not helped by the floor textures used which overlap with his abilities.    … Expand
  41. Kalandra
    Jul 26, 2023
    10
    Its just the best game in its genre. So much content, so interesting to create your own build and path.
  42. Dangles
    Nov 5, 2013
    9
    A much deeper, more balanced ARPG compared to Diablo III and certainly a better spiritual successor to Diablo II. The vibe is dark and griity much like D2 and the skill tree is vast and intertwining across every class. Currency is now dealt in useful items, eliminating player generated markets (such as the SoJ) and no god awful auction houses.

    Best of all, it's F2P and not P2W    A much deeper, more balanced ARPG compared to Diablo III and certainly a better spiritual successor to Diablo II. The vibe is dark and griity much like D2 and the skill tree is vast and intertwining across every class. Currency is now dealt in useful items, eliminating player generated markets (such as the SoJ) and no god awful auction houses.

    Best of all, it's F2P and not P2W (micro-transactions only give you cosmetics and stash tabs). Definitely worth your time if you feel jaded by the disappointment of D3.    … Expand
  43. merendero
    Oct 30, 2013
    9
    This game is amazing. Really. I've been playing since closed beta and it just keeps getting better and better. The devs are very passionate about the game, respects the community and they want to make a hardcore game to the hardcore ARPG fans. If you like a challenging, rewarding, grind-oriented ARPG this is your best bet. And it's free!

    Don't give up just because your first character    This game is amazing. Really. I've been playing since closed beta and it just keeps getting better and better. The devs are very passionate about the game, respects the community and they want to make a hardcore game to the hardcore ARPG fans. If you like a challenging, rewarding, grind-oriented ARPG this is your best bet. And it's free!

    Don't give up just because your first character didn't work, or you keep dying and stuff like that. After a while playing, you'll get the hang of the things and will be able to enjoy the game a lot more. Remember: this isn't a game for everybody! This game is challenging, VERY challenging, but more important, it's rewarding if you don't give up. Just keep playing!

    They have a racing system that gives you item prizes as well as some bragging rights. They even implemented a guild system and we will get PVP tournaments soon, not to mention the 4 month leagues that works like a ladder reset. There will be always tons of stuff to do.

    I'm not giving a 10 because of the unfortunate connection problems the game suffers, mostly because GGG is a small company from NZ and they get their income with the microtransactions (only cosmetic stuff, this is not a Pay-to-win game), but I'm sure this will be corrected in the future.    … Expand
  44. Tophrbski
    Oct 25, 2013
    9
    One if the most entertaining FTP games I have ever played, although intimidating at first once you truly get into the game and how it's mechanics work, it is incredibly fun. Allows for the most customizable characters of any game I have played. And last but not least has a great (albeit dark) story line and areas you travel through.
  45. Kurshu
    Oct 26, 2013
    9
    Throughout the beta this game has been fleshed out to be one of the best F2P games available. With no Pay-2-win items available through the store I hope the financial success of this game will set a new trend in the core gamer market.

    Strong visuals, an excellent soundtrack and an atmosphere that puts its competitors to shame stand along side revolutionary game play to place Path of    Throughout the beta this game has been fleshed out to be one of the best F2P games available. With no Pay-2-win items available through the store I hope the financial success of this game will set a new trend in the core gamer market.

    Strong visuals, an excellent soundtrack and an atmosphere that puts its competitors to shame stand along side revolutionary game play to place Path of Exile as one of the great games of all time.    … Expand
  46. Wooxy117
    Oct 28, 2013
    8
    Made an account just to post a hopefully honest review for people. Tl;dr Fun endgame, many specs to choose from, awful retro graphics, dsyncing deaths like no other, constant bug fixes from devs and patches, overall great game 8/10.

    Path of Exile offers players a very diverse skill system in which I personally have not seen from another game. There are hundreds of ways to make a skill    Made an account just to post a hopefully honest review for people. Tl;dr Fun endgame, many specs to choose from, awful retro graphics, dsyncing deaths like no other, constant bug fixes from devs and patches, overall great game 8/10.

    Path of Exile offers players a very diverse skill system in which I personally have not seen from another game. There are hundreds of ways to make a skill unique. For example, you can get a cleave gem and attach fire damage, frost damage, bigger cleave area and things like that. You can literally play thousands of builds in this game. However, there are only a few handful of really good builds and the rest will fall short when it matters.

    The graphics in this game are fairly bland, don't expect to see anything close to Diablo 3. The good thing about Path of Exile is that is sets you in a world riddled with dark and twisted creatures. You could say in actual visuals it is close to Diablo 2 (only 3D).

    The music in Path of Exile is overall a bit lackluster, don't expect anything fancy other then a repeating background tune that differ in each zone.

    Here is where Path of Exile really tops itself in my eyes as the best ARPG currently available. The gameplay is absolutely fantastic. Each monster pack you encounter can be easier or much more difficult than the last and the boss fights in the game are overall very challenging. Don't expect to play this game and mindlessly advance level to level, you will need to play fairly well verse some of the monsters/bosses.

    Path of Exile offers a very easy way to play with other players. Unlike Diablo 3, Torchlight and others out there, all you need to do is create a group and give it a message "Looking for more players for X" and the group fills very fast. There is also many global chat rooms inside the game such as trade chat, general chat and other things like what you would expect from more of an mmo.

    The combat in this game has some goods and bads. The combat mechanics in this game are very well made. In games such as Diablo 3, hits register milliseconds before the actual attack lands which leaves little room to outplay bad encounters. Whereas Path of Exile has a combat system so the hit registers as the monster actually hits you, this allows you to dodge attacks freely and in a way makes this game much smoother than most in this genre. The bad thing about the combat is you dsync VERY often. This will have you dying left and right and pulling your hair out wondering how you somehow teleported 15 feet back into the pack of monsters you just swiftly ran out of. This is probably the most frustrating part about this game and overall if you plan to play hardcore this can make it or break it for you.

    Overall, if you want to casually play a game and not dump tons of hours (roughly 20+) to start really enjoying what this game has to offer, then this probably is not the game for you as you will be left short in your characters builds or if you have to remake a character due to a bad build. As for the hardcore players, I personally think Path of Exile is the best ARPG game out for our kind.    … Expand
  47. jeidi1984
    Nov 4, 2013
    9
    gioco solido che ti impegna e ti attacca alla sedia. ambientazioni varie e interessanti, sistema di livellamento fantastico!un gioco fatto per stare ore ed ore con gli amici!
  48. Hurlock
    Nov 1, 2013
    8
    As somebody who doesn't have much interest in aRPGs. I can say with 100% certainty that this is one of the best. And since Path of Exile is free to play I feel like I should start off by saying there is no "pay to win" in this game. The only things you can buy related to your account would be: 1. More character slots.(and you start of with 24 of them). And 2. Stash tabs to store more lootAs somebody who doesn't have much interest in aRPGs. I can say with 100% certainty that this is one of the best. And since Path of Exile is free to play I feel like I should start off by saying there is no "pay to win" in this game. The only things you can buy related to your account would be: 1. More character slots.(and you start of with 24 of them). And 2. Stash tabs to store more loot in, and you start with 4 of those.

    I paid to get into the closed beta long ago and I am pleased to say that I haven't felt even a teensy bit of regret, the massive passives tree adds so much to the game, as well as the skill system. It is a blast to try out different combinations of skill gems and support gems.

    Trading in this game however, still leaves a lot to be desired, as most of the trade channels move so fast it makes it difficult to keep track of/find things that may be worth while. And it doesn't help when somebody decides it is a good idea to show off a whole inventory worth the items.

    As mentioned in my first segment, there is no pay to win, there is however, some really high prices for somethings. Stash tabs are pretty useful but are very pricey too, at the current prices, a single tab will cost about $3, or you could buy 6 of them for $15. Most of the legitimately interesting cosmetics are also very pricey. But I suppose this is better than, lets say, making one pay for accessing content, or making certain characters paid only.

    My only other major complaint is desync. and that without knowing you can suddenly end up in a horde of mobs a whole screen over, which means if you want to make a build that trades health/defence, for MAXIMUM POWER, you will need to play very carefully, or just not play the hardcore leagues entirely.

    Well I think that about sums up the major complaints, which when you compare it to the rest of the game, dwarf in comparison to how much fun you can have in this game for the low, low cost of absolutely nothing.

    Seriously, if you liked Diablo 2, go and download Path of Exile right now.    … Expand
  49. Hackusations
    Oct 28, 2013
    10
    The comparisons with the Diablo series is unavoidable and necessary. PoE is to D3 what chess is to checkers. It has a bigger learning curve, but underneath that is a timeless complexity and diversity beyond D2 that essentially can't be outgrown or played out. This is what classics are made of.
  50. mr_cyberpunk
    Nov 9, 2013
    9
    This game is awesome Co-Op fun. I haven't played it singleplayer because its an MMO. But I've really enjoyed my time in Hardcore mode so far. This game hasn't made me rage quit yet, it feels pretty fair and has a lot of polish to it. I give it a 9 because as great as the game is.. That Chat interface is dreadful. They really need to work on that. if it were possible to give this a 9.8 IThis game is awesome Co-Op fun. I haven't played it singleplayer because its an MMO. But I've really enjoyed my time in Hardcore mode so far. This game hasn't made me rage quit yet, it feels pretty fair and has a lot of polish to it. I give it a 9 because as great as the game is.. That Chat interface is dreadful. They really need to work on that. if it were possible to give this a 9.8 I would. Because its pretty damn good but it just has that one annoyance.

    The skill system is a breath of fresh air in RPGs. This game doesn't have classes so much as a massive sprawling skill tree system that is incomparable and unparalleled in its complexity. Its also extremely intuitive as well however I did discover that its possible to build you character wrong or rather at least not as optimal is it should be. The loot is surprisingly complex and I love the gem system which reminds me a lot of Final Fantasy 7's Materia system.

    The games non-linearity and choices are actually pretty meaningful and interesting.. Very refreshing for an MMO.

    The icing on the cake is the price.. The game is free powered by Microtransactions which are purely cosmetic. This is one of the most hardocre ARPGs I've played in a long time and I've enjoyed everything about it. Its also shocking to see a bunch of Indies from New Zealand make a better game than Blizzard and charge nothing for it. I hope to see a long career for these developers and this studio. Our industry is better because of them.

    Thanks for the great game guys. Looking forward to see what comes next.    … Expand
  51. torand
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    "Free to Play" more and more means "Pay to Win" or "Pay to even Compete". This game is genuinely free, with nothing that gives in-game advantages purchasable with micro-transactions.

    The actual game play is a mix of Diablo 2, Final Fantasy, and its own unique twists. A massive passive tree with intricacies that will keep you up at night thinking of your next build idea, a gem based    "Free to Play" more and more means "Pay to Win" or "Pay to even Compete". This game is genuinely free, with nothing that gives in-game advantages purchasable with micro-transactions.

    The actual game play is a mix of Diablo 2, Final Fantasy, and its own unique twists. A massive passive tree with intricacies that will keep you up at night thinking of your next build idea, a gem based skill system that surpasses anything you could do with Materia, and an item system where you can farm, trade, or use the game's 'currency' items to craft the next item you will use to make those who Exiled you regret their decision.    … Expand
  52. Pelerin118
    Oct 26, 2013
    8
    PoE is a fantastic ARPG, if you're a fan of the genre (especially D2/TQ) I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it. It also has the best example of fair F2P, you can only purchase Stash space and Cosmetics. Nice graphics, good music I highly recommend it.
  53. dannycoles
    Oct 30, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile is in my opinion, one of the best games I have ever played. I have been a gamer all my life and played a whole range of games. This one is by far the best. It gets everything so right.;

    - Replay-ability. Once done with the main story on three difficulties, you can venture into 'maps', which you have control over the difficulty and inners of the map. - Customization. There    Path of Exile is in my opinion, one of the best games I have ever played. I have been a gamer all my life and played a whole range of games. This one is by far the best. It gets everything so right.;

    - Replay-ability. Once done with the main story on three difficulties, you can venture into 'maps', which you have control over the difficulty and inners of the map.
    - Customization. There is a massive amount of content that can be altered by the player including cosmetics, gear, gear properties, passive skill tree (a mass of over 1500 different nodes) and skills.
    - Graphics. This game is beautiful. It has a range of different sceneries, atmospheres and colours.
    - Price. FREE. That's right, the game is free. The only charge is for cosmetics, that are completely optional and you are not pushed into buying them.    … Expand
  54. PovilasDebilas
    Oct 30, 2013
    10
    Awesome game. The gameplay ant story line is awesome. There is very big list of items you can get, and visual content of the game is very high quality. The graphics are stunning. The PVP in the game is really really balanced and fun to play. To complete the quest you can invite people to help you. And you can feel that game is alive with people. They game is not Pay for win, everything isAwesome game. The gameplay ant story line is awesome. There is very big list of items you can get, and visual content of the game is very high quality. The graphics are stunning. The PVP in the game is really really balanced and fun to play. To complete the quest you can invite people to help you. And you can feel that game is alive with people. They game is not Pay for win, everything is balanced. They payable items with real money is just visual, they dont affect your character. Really fun to play game. I hope in the future it will succeed.… Expand
  55. bdplaya
    Nov 4, 2013
    10
    At first glance I thought it was another DIABLO 2 clone with no essence. First impression was not that good, plain flat terrain and combat. But once you are in to the game OH BOY. First impression of the skill tree WTF, first impression of the complex and rewarding skill system OMFG. Impressive work of the developer for being a F2P game it deserves a 10/10. To the first starters give theAt first glance I thought it was another DIABLO 2 clone with no essence. First impression was not that good, plain flat terrain and combat. But once you are in to the game OH BOY. First impression of the skill tree WTF, first impression of the complex and rewarding skill system OMFG. Impressive work of the developer for being a F2P game it deserves a 10/10. To the first starters give the game at least 4 fours so you can check out every aspect of the game.
    PD DIABLO 3 Sucks.    … Expand
  56. skritikos
    Nov 6, 2013
    10
    This game deserves to be on the top of all existing Action RPG games.

    The positive signs were there since the beta. The recent final release is so polished and balanced that offers a perfect gameplay experience with unlimited options and tricks available to the player. The creators made some very nice choices to differentiate Path of Exile from the ARPG pack. And they were 101%    This game deserves to be on the top of all existing Action RPG games.

    The positive signs were there since the beta. The recent final release is so polished and balanced that offers a perfect gameplay experience with unlimited options and tricks available to the player. The creators made some very nice choices to differentiate Path of Exile from the ARPG pack. And they were 101% successful on their mission.

    All those nice options combined with perfect dark and moody graphics, excellent music and sound effects and absolutely smooth control and motion.

    Try Path of Exile if you are in this type of games. You will soon forget Diablo III or any other similar game.

    (and all for F R E E How did they manage that?     … Expand
  57. dd31879
    Apr 13, 2016
    9
    I find PoE to be a very fun experience over all.

    1. Trading. Recent events in the game have made trading easy. If you have premium stash tabs, the ones that allow you to change their names and colors, then you can now change a tab to what is now known as a "public" tab. This kind of tab will be indexed by the typical PoE store websites. You even get standard options on the tab like    I find PoE to be a very fun experience over all.

    1. Trading. Recent events in the game have made trading easy. If you have premium stash tabs, the ones that allow you to change their names and colors, then you can now change a tab to what is now known as a "public" tab. This kind of tab will be indexed by the typical PoE store websites. You even get standard options on the tab like listing a whole tab on a single price or listing each item price individually.

    2. Leveling. I find leveling in PoE to be very enjoyable especially when comparing it to something like Diablo 3 where it is stupidly tedious and feels more like you are dragging your feet through mud doing nothing important. In PoE its not like that at all. You get the feeling the whole time you are accomplishing things by leveling gems, leveling your character, allocating points, and such.

    3. Network Connectivity. In the past, back in its beta stages, There were a lot of disconnects and desyncing from even just fighting mobs. It is not the case anymore! Many changes have taken place with their updated netcode and more server locations.

    Now here is a negative.

    5. Labyrinth/Ascension. So with the new content expansion of Ascendancy came new class expansion options. Which is great! The problem is how to get them. You must complete the labyrinth. Why is that an issue? It is really overtuned and sometimes just stupid.

    Now I am not going to sugar coat anything. I play hardcore only, and as such a single death means thats it. Its all over. I have died in the labyrinth a total of 5 times leveling up and being over leveled. It wasn't the boss either that killed me he is ok now that they scaled him back a bit for those leveling up. It was traps in the labyrinth. The damage set too high and being all together in weird configurations that are unpassable even with movement skills.

    I got so frustrated with this single aspect of not being able to ascend my character I quit playing for a while. It is that bad. I feel like Ascendancy points being tied into weird unpredictable content like the labyrinth is wrong.    … Expand
  58. zzz_DeV1L_zzz
    Jun 13, 2020
    8
    The best game in its genre. Every season I upgrade 1-2 characters. But for some reason, after the plot, it becomes boring, although the gameplay after the plot is more interesting. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there is simply no goal and you do not see the point in the game. Sorry 8.
  59. samylarbi
    Jun 17, 2023
    10
    this game is one of the best games i ever played the amount of stuff that you can do is mind blowing
    i well even say its on my top 10 games of all time
    No pay to win
    free game from start to endgame
    Greatest arpg ever created
  60. Balvin
    Jul 19, 2023
    10
    Thank you Chris Wilson for 'The Vision' and making Blizzard look like complete clowns. LOGIN
  61. TankGeorge
    Nov 5, 2013
    9
    No doubt, this is actually the best ARPG in the market and here is why:

    cons: - Connection issues aka de-sync. - Hostile to new players. No tutorials, no guides. pros: + Bones, bodies, gore, blood. No rainbows and voice acting. + Very high difficulty, even if you know the game and have solid character. Yet still, skill and knowledge helps overcome this difficulty. Not luck and    No doubt, this is actually the best ARPG in the market and here is why:

    cons:
    - Connection issues aka de-sync.
    - Hostile to new players. No tutorials, no guides.

    pros:
    + Bones, bodies, gore, blood. No rainbows and voice acting.
    + Very high difficulty, even if you know the game and have solid character. Yet still, skill and knowledge helps overcome this difficulty. Not luck and gear.
    + Complex game mechanics. You have to decide, how to solve mobility, survivability and damage from multiple possibilities. Therefore, you have to decide your way in skill tree, active gems usage, flasks, equip.
    + Endgame.
    + Events, leagues, ladders.

    The "problem" with Path of Exile is, that GGG developers are miraculously awesome. They are fixing and improving things so fast, that's scary to think, where all cons can be in few weeks, or months. They fixed major disconnecting issue during one weekend! I believe, they can fix de-sync over time. They are planning to add content. Improve graphic, sound etc I was blown away, how they improving specifically this during beta! Being witness of the scale and speed of improvements, I'm starting to think, if a new World of Warcraft was born? Since Path of Exile killed Diablo 3 oneshoot crit over 9000.    … Expand
  62. emiliorf
    Nov 5, 2013
    10
    To me a great game. It captures the feel and dark vibe of Diablo2. Really dark setting. The gameplay is great and the character customization is probably the deepest I've seen in a long time. I also love the fact that you are always evolving. It can be through the passive tree, gear or gems leveling up. The lack of gold and the alternate currency they created is also a strike of genius.To me a great game. It captures the feel and dark vibe of Diablo2. Really dark setting. The gameplay is great and the character customization is probably the deepest I've seen in a long time. I also love the fact that you are always evolving. It can be through the passive tree, gear or gems leveling up. The lack of gold and the alternate currency they created is also a strike of genius. For sure this game has enough to please the casual guy, since it's free and fun to play, but with an amount of depth to please any hardcore guy. Other features that I appreciate a lot are
    - Leagues/ladders with features that are exclusive for that season (like the shrines in domination/nemesis league)
    - The amount of possible builds and the otimization which is huge.
    - The secret vendor recipes
    - Patches with new content every 2 weeks, like guild wars 2 but on an ARPG, which is more of my liking.

    Overall a great game!    … Expand
  63. Brainstudio
    Mar 20, 2014
    9
    POE is Epic, Actually Best Action RPG. And it's for 100% TRUE free.
    IF you stay 10-20 minutes thinking about your abilities and equipment before continue you have a game that's not only hack and slash but a REAL RPG.
    Lot of abilities and it's always your decision. (If you haven't done..look "POE skill tree") Supported, big, deeper and with a solid community. Lot of equipment, no    POE is Epic, Actually Best Action RPG. And it's for 100% TRUE free.
    IF you stay 10-20 minutes thinking about your abilities and equipment before continue you have a game that's not only hack and slash but a REAL RPG.

    Lot of abilities and it's always your decision.
    (If you haven't done..look "POE skill tree")
    Supported, big, deeper and with a solid community.
    Lot of equipment, no gold only exchange.
    Big and difficult enough. (Random areas and dungeon)
    Graphic is good, something real style not cartoon.

    If you wanna a RPG game where you have to think, this is the game.

    In a Generation of games made only for profit someone give us a Real Game for gamers.    … Expand
  64. Hyaon13
    Mar 1, 2015
    8
    Fantastic ARPG, the only issue is some parts of the game is very grindy/time consuming in terms of repetition. ie: farming alts/jewels/fusing for 6L chest piece. Trading is very very very painful and I tend to stay self found/trade with friends, it sorely needs an Auction House. But for a free game, you can't be too pissed off with that! A major Act4 expansion will be arriving soon andFantastic ARPG, the only issue is some parts of the game is very grindy/time consuming in terms of repetition. ie: farming alts/jewels/fusing for 6L chest piece. Trading is very very very painful and I tend to stay self found/trade with friends, it sorely needs an Auction House. But for a free game, you can't be too pissed off with that! A major Act4 expansion will be arriving soon and I await this with glee!… Expand
  65. JRPGmaniac
    Nov 8, 2013
    9
    The "TRUE" successor to Diablo 2, this other game Blizztards name Diablo III is a sh1ty game with cartoon graphics & washed out colors it's nothing like the past 2 original Diablo games, D3 was made for WoW fans not Diablo fans, PoE have unparalleled depth when D3 have not even char builds, u can learn all the skills & change them anytime u want, so in D3 they remove attribute points, theyThe "TRUE" successor to Diablo 2, this other game Blizztards name Diablo III is a sh1ty game with cartoon graphics & washed out colors it's nothing like the past 2 original Diablo games, D3 was made for WoW fans not Diablo fans, PoE have unparalleled depth when D3 have not even char builds, u can learn all the skills & change them anytime u want, so in D3 they remove attribute points, they remove skill points, they remove char builds, they change the visuals to WoW-like cartoon graphics & strip the game from Gothic/horror atmosphere, in comparison PoE have the right atmosphere amazing Gothic dungeons, it's full of gore & blood, it have nice gritty/more realistic graphics, there is hundreds of possible char builds & customization that never seen before on any ARPG ever, yep PoE is truly the real successor to Diablo 2.

    This is the game all old school Diablo fans asked for & the most crazy thing? it doesn't cost a penny to start playing right NOW! so what u w8 for if u r an old school Diablo fan or ARPG fan in general that's the best game of this genre ever made by far!    … Expand
  66. On3Tw0
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    The Ultimate and most anticipating aRPG of ALL times...The Best of the Best, the Masterpiece and a TRUE old school HARDCORE aRPG...Totally Destroyed the Diablo series...need i say more
  67. Hrishi29
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    PoE is the true successor of D2. In my opinion, it has probably surpassed even D2 and is the best ARPG around today. It has extremely deep mechanics which can leave you theorycrafting for hours. On top of that, it's free!
  68. Snivonim
    Nov 13, 2013
    9
    Excellent game and the best Diablo Clone out there. Way Better than D3. Outstanding flexible and variable skill development combined with above average graphics and nice game play. If you enjoy hack and slash game play this is a must-have. Oh, and can't beat the price.
    main criticism at the moment is rocky server stability which I am sure is being worked out. However, although I like    Excellent game and the best Diablo Clone out there. Way Better than D3. Outstanding flexible and variable skill development combined with above average graphics and nice game play. If you enjoy hack and slash game play this is a must-have. Oh, and can't beat the price.
    main criticism at the moment is rocky server stability which I am sure is being worked out. However, although I like the random maps (ala D2) I don't think they should be rest on a timer. As long as you are logged in, what you have explored should be remembered; this is one aspect I would change.    … Expand
  69. gedrevn
    Oct 29, 2013
    9
    It's a shame that the indie developers of Path of Exile, Grinding Gear Games, doesn't have the name and brand recognition that got Blizzard a bunch of inflated scores for Diablo 3. The fact that Path of Exile's game mechanics, world creation, and story writing are ages beyond the lackluster Blizzard release are telling of what game developers can accomplish with the right focus ratherIt's a shame that the indie developers of Path of Exile, Grinding Gear Games, doesn't have the name and brand recognition that got Blizzard a bunch of inflated scores for Diablo 3. The fact that Path of Exile's game mechanics, world creation, and story writing are ages beyond the lackluster Blizzard release are telling of what game developers can accomplish with the right focus rather than a huge budget.

    While the lack of currency may throw off some Diablo veterans, the ease at which Grinding Gear brings you into the world and the story make the transition a short learning curve. And the payoff is quite good.

    Path of Exile is a beautifully crafted world with one of the most complex and elegant character building designs seen in recent memory. The monsters, the bosses, the items all are wonderfully reminiscent of Diablo 3, with a little extra flare that makes them both unique and engaging.

    No other free-to-play game gives such a wide range of content and depth with as little interference from their microtransaction store. Definitely worth a try.    … Expand
  70. metacritiq
    Nov 18, 2013
    8
    Fairly fun. If you liked Diablo II, download this free game, you'll probably like it. I don't feel compelled to keep playing, but it's pretty fun in the same respect. There is no gold, the currency is scrolls, which is a little confusing. Also, instances regenerate after 5-7 minutes of you being off a map, so you might leave the "tamoe highlands" to sell stuff in town, and come back,Fairly fun. If you liked Diablo II, download this free game, you'll probably like it. I don't feel compelled to keep playing, but it's pretty fun in the same respect. There is no gold, the currency is scrolls, which is a little confusing. Also, instances regenerate after 5-7 minutes of you being off a map, so you might leave the "tamoe highlands" to sell stuff in town, and come back, and the entire map is unexplored again. I think most games are awful these days, but this one's decent.… Expand
  71. Turturdu
    Mar 30, 2014
    10
    Best ARPG there is at the moment, only negative points would be the story if you are into this ( i dont care at all in an ARPG) and there are some desync issues, but you can work around them most of the time if you know what you are doing
  72. SquishyEye
    Feb 13, 2014
    9
    This game is what Diablo 3 should have been like. I played Diablo 1 when it first came out and for the next several years if anyone asked me what my favourite game was - I would have answered without hesitation - "Diablo". And then the sequels came out, neither one of which could compare to the original. Path of Exile takes what was great about the original Diablo and actually uses it,This game is what Diablo 3 should have been like. I played Diablo 1 when it first came out and for the next several years if anyone asked me what my favourite game was - I would have answered without hesitation - "Diablo". And then the sequels came out, neither one of which could compare to the original. Path of Exile takes what was great about the original Diablo and actually uses it, unlike its sequels, while at the same time adding cool new features.
    It's a pretty short game, experienced players can go from start to finish on the first difficulty level in 2-4 hours. That is a bonus in these types of games because it contributes to replayability - you can easily try out different character builds while not wasting 10 hours going through the game. Some other games try to solve this by letting you completely re-spec your character, and well - those games I will not be replaying, since there is no motivation to do so. And remember - in this type of game the gameplay IS mostly character customization, since there isn't exactly an amazing story or skill and precision-required combat like in action-adventure or fps games. It's all about the combination of abilities you pick and your inventory.
    The best aspect of this game is, of course, the skills and abilities. This is where Diablo 3 failed, and Path Of Exile very much succeeded. Giant passive abilities tree, every class has access to every other class' skills. Some people complain that the freedom is illusionary and you're still stuck within your class boundaries if you want to make a playable character - and that's not true. If you're playing casually and are not trying to make a hardcore character to last all 3 difficulty levels - you can make viable builds of all kinds and still have fun. Combining skills with other skills is an amazing feature too, and is something I really wish I saw more of in other games. I'm still finding new fun combinations using skills I've overlooked in the past, (spell totem + spark + multiple projectiles + fork = you got your own mini boss from one of the areas!).
    At a first glance this game appears to have the same "trash" problem as Diablo - useless (non magic) items all over the ground that you'll never bother picking up. Except this issue has actually been addressed in Path of Exile. There are skills that let you use up non-magical weapon and armor items lying on the ground to create a companion, who actually inherits the properties of those items (for example, if one of those items had energy shield - the companion will have it too). And these items can also be converted to magical if one so desires, for example in case of an optimal socket configuration (which sometimes is impossible to find).
    Music and art assets are good too. I read in someone's review that "music was crap" and honestly have no idea what they are talking about. (they probably don't either).
    Unlike any other game of this genre, Path of Exile also has end-game content: once you reach a certain level you start finding "maps" that give you access to stand-alone high-level areas.
    The one thing I would not praise is the story, but then again this is not the right genre to expect a great story from, (that's what Bioware RPG's are for).
    Although of course, if you're one of those people who will hate on this game just because it's a Diablo clone and/or doesn't have a Blizzard stamp on it - then don't bother playing it, because no matter how good the quality of the game is you'll blindly hate it anyway.    … Expand
  73. quintincford
    Jul 23, 2023
    10
    The best game that has ever been created, Chris Wilson made a literal masterpiece and he will be remembered as the god of arpg genre. 10/10
  74. melchaios
    Nov 5, 2013
    8
    In terms of getting the best value for money, this is probably as good as it gets, since path of exile offers a game compelling enough to rival triple A titles of the same genre, and completely free. Upgrades obtained through donations and microtransactions are purely aesthetical and have no advantage over regular gear, so..... that means it's really "free". Tackling the gameplay aspect,In terms of getting the best value for money, this is probably as good as it gets, since path of exile offers a game compelling enough to rival triple A titles of the same genre, and completely free. Upgrades obtained through donations and microtransactions are purely aesthetical and have no advantage over regular gear, so..... that means it's really "free". Tackling the gameplay aspect, it plays really well, it offers deep character development via the huuuuge passive skill tree (a la Final Fantasy X) and a wide array of active skill gems, wich level up as you pass by wrecking havoc. This is one of the defining features of how skills are handleled to you in this game, in other games "skill gems" offer passive bonuses, while active skills are gained through character leveling via skill tree; Path of exile goes the other way around, giving the skill tree purely passive bonuses, while active skills must be earned through gems obtained quests or random drops, and socketed into specific gear in order for it to be active. It's a bold strategy, and one that may not convince a lot of players, but it's functional overall, and even more importand: it's addictive and engaging (the only quality action RPGs need to succeed).
    Character classes are interesting, they have a particular charisma, being gritty and enchanting at the same time, with fancy names like Maraunder (instead of the generic title of barbarian), Shadow, etc. 6 initial clases that are aligned to 1 or 2 of the main stats: Strenght, Dexterity and Intelligence. All classes have access to all passive skills in the skill tree, with the only difference being the point at which they start. That means that role playing is not completely restricted, with options for melee characters to have magic and viceversa. It's up to you to decide if this feature is a strong point because of the freedom it provides, or a weak spot in how it turns things a little bit generic.
    Graphically, the game is the bomb. It hits all the aesthetic and enviromental points that made Diablo II the dark gothic RPG it was, and in that sense, Path of Exile looks more Diablo than Diablo III will ever look like. Enemy design is good, although they tend to recicle previous models, and levels are really big and intrincate.
    The only gripe I have with the game is the lag....... it's really bad at some points. I didn't take into account this factor into the score, since I'm not sure if the problem is their server or my connection, but you can be certain I'm not alone in this one. The game has a bad tendency to "ultra" lag, making an unexpected pause for a few minutes, after which you find yourself killed by a miriad of enemies that weren't there before. But the most annoying tendency is the fact that the game just disconects every once in a while; log in again and you'll find yourself in the last town you visited, with your current progress in a dungeon ranging from partially to completely lost. In the best case scenario, the map will stay the same (enemies killed, chests looted, map discovered) and you'll just have to walk to where you left off; in the worst case scenario, the map will be randomized and EVERYTHING...... map discovery, enemy position and loot will be respawned like if you'd never set foot on the place, which is complete BS. If it happens to you in a multilevel dungeon prepare to ragequit, you've been warned!!
    This last aspect might deduct points for some of you, but in my view this game is a work of love, an art piece made for the sake of art, not gain. It deserves to be celebrated even in it's excentricities and faults, and in that regard it's one of the rarest gems, even if it's not the most polished one.    … Expand
  75. Rikardo
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    This game is the true diablo 3. GGG really have put a big gaming company such as blizzard to shame. Everything about it is amazing... From the core mechanics to the boss fights, endgame etc... GGG have taken a massive on diablo 3.
  76. lymenlee
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    ARPG done right. It gets things right on a lot of fronts. Game depth, mechanics, character building, environment, mobs variety, even the F2P model helps not breaks. Recommend to any ARPG lovers!
  77. Min64
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile is a game made by Grinding Gear Games. A developer of old hardcore Diablo 2 players. These guys (and gals) decided enough was enough and went out to make a game they wanted to play. The End result is a Hardcore Action RPG with unlimited depth with its Skill grid, socketable skills gems, flasks, crafting, insane amount of currencies that double as resources... i could go onPath of Exile is a game made by Grinding Gear Games. A developer of old hardcore Diablo 2 players. These guys (and gals) decided enough was enough and went out to make a game they wanted to play. The End result is a Hardcore Action RPG with unlimited depth with its Skill grid, socketable skills gems, flasks, crafting, insane amount of currencies that double as resources... i could go on and on.

    At the start of the game you have the choice of selecting seven classes. The Marauder, Templar, Witch, Duelist, Shadow, Ranger and Scion (complete game on normal to unlock). Once you select your class you are tossed into a harsh world that consists over three acts across over thirty sprawling zones, hundreds of monster types and Dozens of bosses.

    To keep things fresh GGG offer the player a choice of game modes and challenge leagues. You have your standard league (softcore) and Hardcore league then two others Domination and Nemesis the last two are four month duration leagues with slightly different core rules. PoE also offers PVP arena, Capture the flag and a variety of racing seasons over the course of the games life.

    The player has enough here to keep them busy for a long while. GGG has created something special with POE and its easily my favorite ARPG since Diablo 2... well done folks, well done.    … Expand
  78. JoshuaDunaway
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    What every hacknslash MMO should aspire to be. Sets the standard for all others.The skill tree, reminiscent of Final Fantasy 10, and the Spell system, whispering of the Materia system in FF7, mixes for an absolutely astonishing finale.

    10/10
  79. Dordickalous
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    So much better then Diablo 3. Like this if you know when a certain narwhal bacons ;)

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam id massa metus.
  80. Sok
    Mar 23, 2014
    10
    Very solid ARPG with a complicated skill tree that has no limits. Want a Ranger with a 2 handed sword? Want a Marauder with a bow? Go ahead! This game is free & not pay to win. I think that alone is a win win.
  81. wisefool
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile is one of the best ARPG ever made because of the new mechanics and It's not like diablo 3 that you need to pay to win. This game is like diablo 2 but enhanced imho. I played 50 hours in steam and I still want to play more :D
  82. HotFlow
    Feb 26, 2014
    9
    What d3 should have been.. and it's free.

    Exile is but a beautifully crafted story that is compelling and immersive embellished with intriguing and well crafted dialogue. Appreciatively on my part, you'll find no irrelevant "go fetch 20 carrots" or "fritter away 5 minutes of your life by running between locations to collect bottles of goo" for no apparent reason quests we've become    What d3 should have been.. and it's free.

    Exile is but a beautifully crafted story that is compelling and immersive embellished with intriguing and well crafted dialogue. Appreciatively on my part, you'll find no irrelevant "go fetch 20 carrots" or "fritter away 5 minutes of your life by running between locations to collect bottles of goo" for no apparent reason quests we've become accustomed to from our RPG dosage. Instead, each mission is both thoughtful and purposeful, and drives along the story at a gratifyingly pace.

    The gameplay mechanics are somewhat innovative especially in terms of character development and offer a grand scope of possibilities. The music compliments to it's eerie atmosphere.

    My only qualm with Path of Exile is the fleetness of its existence, that leaves you pining for just a little bit more. Perhaps though this is the best legacy for what is a good solid and memorable RPG.    … Expand
  83. TheVividLight
    Nov 2, 2013
    10
    Path of exile is a breath of fresh air for the ARPG genre as a whole. The shear depth to the passive skill tree (over 1300 different nodes) and the insane amount of item and skill customization truly means that no two characters will be the same! Currency in the game comes in the form of orbs which are a sink at every level of the game, and can drop at any level in the game an amazingPath of exile is a breath of fresh air for the ARPG genre as a whole. The shear depth to the passive skill tree (over 1300 different nodes) and the insane amount of item and skill customization truly means that no two characters will be the same! Currency in the game comes in the form of orbs which are a sink at every level of the game, and can drop at any level in the game an amazing concept that removes rampant inflation that usually occurs in online ARPG games, eventually rendering the currency worthless after several months of the game going live. I am excited about this game. My friends are excited about this game. And I am not on the hype train anymore this game is the real deal. Great job on releasing a complete game Grinding Gear Games! Its a rare feat that even some of the largest AAA developers have failed to wrap their minds around.… Expand
  84. dbzfrek
    Oct 28, 2013
    10
    Path of exile is so much fun. I am sick of tired of playing boring diablo 3 and the oh so bright torchlight 2 this game is free and the best of its genre. Not too dark not too bright this game is cool and addicting
  85. Enaio
    Nov 8, 2013
    10
    Great story, great game-play mechanics, and even more. More than likely one of the top 5 games of the year for me and it's a free to play game. You can't beat that. I know it has been out in open beta for awhile but wasn't notified of this until AFTER the release. Would have loved to play it during the beta.
  86. popalazarou
    Nov 20, 2013
    10
    after just tinkering with the beta and thinking it might be just ok, i have come to see how amazing this game is in every way. There is nothing you can moan about, graphics are good, sound is good, gameplay is great. I think this game is uderrated when you consider its ftp. There is a ton of gaming to be had. And all for free. I cant believe there are so many negative comments aboutafter just tinkering with the beta and thinking it might be just ok, i have come to see how amazing this game is in every way. There is nothing you can moan about, graphics are good, sound is good, gameplay is great. I think this game is uderrated when you consider its ftp. There is a ton of gaming to be had. And all for free. I cant believe there are so many negative comments about this game. These developers should be praised for showing how it can be done… Expand
  87. Aphexmtx
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    POE was easy to set up, easy to get into and very much easy to enjoy. It's been a long time since I've been this excited for an MMORPG. Everything seems well balanced, yet challenging enough to continue replay.
  88. Themanwithnonam
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    I spent years trying to fill the void D2 left open when I got tired of it. This game has far exceeded that void, and managed to make every game is the genre seem like Not only is the game play great, but so is the community. I started back in closed Beta, and it has come so far. The designers and crew at GGG are fantastic, responsive, and truly care about this game. 10/10 would bang.
  89. waryn
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile is an amazing ARPG that does everything right. The depth of the combat, gear and skills is phenomenal and the game makes D3 look like a childrens game
  90. twistedexile
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    If you're reading this then you already know that PoE is an arpg that everyone is talking about. Well im here to tell you that it is hands down the best arpg to come out no question about it. PoE is the game that will be talked about for years to come do you really want to be that 1 person in 10yrs that didn't play it? Do yourself a favor and just download it you won't be sorry I promise.
  91. bobrock1982
    Oct 25, 2013
    10
    This game blew my mind when I first joined it in closed beta 2 years ago. Since then it was getting better and better only to become the masterpiece it is now. If you like hack'n slash "diablostyle" games there's no excuse for you if you don't try this. Deep and complex without being too complicated. Unique currency system takes a while to get used to but after some time you'll startThis game blew my mind when I first joined it in closed beta 2 years ago. Since then it was getting better and better only to become the masterpiece it is now. If you like hack'n slash "diablostyle" games there's no excuse for you if you don't try this. Deep and complex without being too complicated. Unique currency system takes a while to get used to but after some time you'll start wrapping your head around it and see how great it is. Character customization is unlike anything you've ever seen in this genre. The leveling system is very much like Final Fantasy X you traverse massive (and I mean MASSIVE!!!) skill tree and unlock one node every level. Abilities work like in Final Fantasy VII you have gems with abilities and support gem which by themselves do nothing but like in FFVII if you find equipment with linked slots you can link them with active skills to change (sometimes drastically) how they work. Story is great very gritty and dark. Crafting is complex and useful you can craft some of the best items in the game by yourself. One thing you should know though it's hard as nails. And that's a good thing:D Developers at Grinding Gear Games implemented awesome Free-To-Play model (pay-to win bullcrap) so it costs you knothing to try it out. You may be in for the ride of your life:)… Expand
  92. ZiocxOmega
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    A great hack and slash game, with a great player base. Not only is the player base growing, but it also quite friendly. Another great thing about this game, is that it not pay to win. Getting gear can be done by spending a decent amount time farming(the act to keep killing monster to find items). Some unique features that make this hack and slash different from others, is it skillA great hack and slash game, with a great player base. Not only is the player base growing, but it also quite friendly. Another great thing about this game, is that it not pay to win. Getting gear can be done by spending a decent amount time farming(the act to keep killing monster to find items). Some unique features that make this hack and slash different from others, is it skill system(it kind of like the one from Final Fantasy VII(7)), it currency system(Items base), and it passive tree(it kind of like the one from Final Fantasy X(Ten)). In all, Path of Exile is a great hack and slash game, but unless you are going to put a good amount of time, learning it rules and ways, I feel some players will be confuse or lost to what to do. Have a nice day.… Expand
  93. Itsapaul
    Mar 16, 2020
    8
    Great game and extremely alt friendly, though no in game auction house means trading is a huge pain in the ass. If you're into the economy side of things like me, that means its iron man mode only or just expect to never do the highest level content as no one actually trades what they list on trading sites.
  94. Evarin
    Oct 28, 2013
    10
    Though the game has its flaws and shortcomings, it gets a 10 from me for one distinct reason: IT IS 100% FREE! There is no pay-to-win, no content is gated behind a paywall. You cannot make your character stronger by paying money. How amazing is that in a FTP game?

    As to the game itself, if you're a fan of Diablo and the like, this game is right in your wheelhouse. PoE has its own spin    Though the game has its flaws and shortcomings, it gets a 10 from me for one distinct reason: IT IS 100% FREE! There is no pay-to-win, no content is gated behind a paywall. You cannot make your character stronger by paying money. How amazing is that in a FTP game?

    As to the game itself, if you're a fan of Diablo and the like, this game is right in your wheelhouse. PoE has its own spin on powers and abilities, but in the end they feel quite similar once you become familiar with the mechanics. Character management is closer to D2 than D3, as there is less hand holding and more thought that must go into making your character. Mistakes CAN be corrected, but you cannot simply recreate your character on the fly. That is a PLUS in my book, mind you.

    As to the rest, Graphically, it is between D2 and D3, though the art style is far darker and grittier than D3's cartoon coloring. The music is slightly above average. I haven't heard anything that annoyed me, but nothing stands out as amazing beyond the first mini-boss theme. Controls feel fine, just like any other game of its sort.

    My parting thoughts? Look at most of the negative reviews. They say after playing dozens and dozens of hours they think the game is bad....does that make sense to you?    … Expand
  95. Diksta
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile is probably the best game I have ever played. After the disappointment of Diablo 3 I went back to PoE and was immediately hooked by the league races, the seasons and the balance. I want to play a game where my choices matter and I have to make decisions that have little effects but add up over time.

    In a nutshell what I like most about playing Path of Exile is that every    Path of Exile is probably the best game I have ever played. After the disappointment of Diablo 3 I went back to PoE and was immediately hooked by the league races, the seasons and the balance. I want to play a game where my choices matter and I have to make decisions that have little effects but add up over time.

    In a nutshell what I like most about playing Path of Exile is that every node I click on the passive tree is semi-permanent and is a balancing act where I am fighting to keep my stats up, get the keystones I need and not forgetting my defence and my health. This is what I found missing from Diablo 3.    … Expand
  96. GameWalkers
    Nov 6, 2013
    10
    The graphics took quite a while to get used to after playing D3 for a couple hundred hours. I'm glad I stuck with it, it's a masterpiece. I've been playing for over a year now and I still learn new things every week. It's one of the most complicated(in a good way) and fun games I've played in quite a while.
  97. Tassels
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    Been playing this game in beta for a couple years now, and it's finally officially released. Seriously the best game in the genre, and free to play to boot. If you like ARPGs, play this game. There's still a desync problem so it's kinda while playing on hardcore, but it'll get sorted out in further patches. Really a great game.
  98. Zenthazar
    Oct 25, 2013
    9
    For those who spent hours and hours of untold fun on Diablo 2 getting that next unique, getting that next level. For those who love depth of gameplay with vast amount of choices. This game is for you. It takes the materia system from Final Fantasy 7, and the sphere grid system from Final Fantasy 10 and mashes them together. By far the best ARPG to come out in a decade. It's even free toFor those who spent hours and hours of untold fun on Diablo 2 getting that next unique, getting that next level. For those who love depth of gameplay with vast amount of choices. This game is for you. It takes the materia system from Final Fantasy 7, and the sphere grid system from Final Fantasy 10 and mashes them together. By far the best ARPG to come out in a decade. It's even free to play, while still being ethical about what they offer as payed services.… Expand
  99. Zotta
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    I consider this far and away the best game ever made, I will try give some insight into how this has come to be an opinion I would defend to the death.

    I consider hardcore to be the only real way to play the game and cannot recommend strongly enough playing in the current 4 month leagues. The standard and hardcore leagues are essentially dumping grounds for old characters and gear, a    I consider this far and away the best game ever made, I will try give some insight into how this has come to be an opinion I would defend to the death.

    I consider hardcore to be the only real way to play the game and cannot recommend strongly enough playing in the current 4 month leagues. The standard and hardcore leagues are essentially dumping grounds for old characters and gear, a showcase for old legacy items but not a good reflection the current state of the game. If you only play the standard league you are missing out on all the best features. This is to start from scratch, beg barter and steal your way to power, and do so without a single death or a stash full of currency earned over the months, start from scratch leave the competitors in the dust.

    Firstly, it is a game made FOR hardcore PC gamers looking for an ultra deep, ultra challenging game made BY hardcore PC gamers looking for an ultra deep, ultra challenging game. The game here is the game that the developers dream of playing, it is not made to shift units, pump micro transactions or attract a crowd of COD kiddys following their favourite youtube personality. It is made to fill a void that has existed for a very long time, if not forever, in the serious PC gaming market.

    Their are no compromises in the games difficulty at any point, the developers have vowed never to make the game easier, only harder.

    The beauty and entertainment this game offers is not on a platter, your first character will suck, your second character will suck, you will be a failure at races, you won't understand how leagues work, you will not be able to get any hard to attain items or craft anything worthwhile, for months. But the tools to doing well at the above are not earnt through grinding, they are skills you as a player develop by acquiring knowledge about the games systems.

    The time you invest as a new player driven by intrigue and determination rewards you thousandfold not through items, skills or currency but by developing your own skills as a gamer and honing your understanding of how to progress, acquire wealth and create characters.

    When a new four month league starts every player who makes a character in it has no access to any items they have acquired previously, non of the characters, or skills (ala D2's ladders). Everyone has a fresh start at the same time, and only your knowledge of how to level quickly, acquire loot and stay alive that keep you in the running.

    The game is patched on a bi-weekly basis, the server downtime is usually a matter of seconds, less than 30 seconds. The bi-weekly patches tend to have a couple of new unique items, a new skill, some new vendor recipes and end game maps. Every 4 months a "mini expansion" is released, this coincides with the start of new 4 month leagues, new areas, challenges (very difficult league specific achievements) items and modifiers to the game are introduced and essentially tested here.

    I cannot explain how great this game is in 5000 characters, I could talk about it for hours, and hours and hours, but my lunch break is over and I better get back to work. If you have dabbled in this game and did not enjoy it due to "dysync" "sluggishness" "bad/dark graphics" it is truly your loss, the more time and effort you put into this game the more it will give you back, but it is simply too vast and too complicated to be instantly rewarding, yes your characters skills may initially be feeble and sluggish, but this is a world apart from fully developed endgame characters which are capable of destroying 100s of enemy's in a minute in ways that you upon the first beach cannot even begin to imagine.    … Expand
  100. JerryMcGooBerry
    Oct 26, 2013
    10
    Path of Exile is an incredible game, probably the most satisfying dungeon crawler RPG I've played in a long time. The best and most crazy part? It's free! There is also no pay-to-win elements, everything you can buy is cosmetic. Playing with friends is a blast and the game is really maintains the same challenge even with more players. Leveling in the game is satisfying and Path of Exile'sPath of Exile is an incredible game, probably the most satisfying dungeon crawler RPG I've played in a long time. The best and most crazy part? It's free! There is also no pay-to-win elements, everything you can buy is cosmetic. Playing with friends is a blast and the game is really maintains the same challenge even with more players. Leveling in the game is satisfying and Path of Exile's skill tree in INSANE, it's absolutely huge. Gameplay is great, combat is like any other dungeon crawler, pointing and clicking; but there are many powers that you can use strategically. The only game issue that I have experienced is an occasional lag spike, they are completely random and are not due to hardware or low FPS (It's quite easy to max out the game while we're on the subject). This issue is very rare, but annoying. All in all, this is a fantastic game, there is no reason not to download it.… Expand
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best PC Game of 2013
18
#18 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
14
#14 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. RPGamer
    May 9, 2014
    100
    Grinding Gear Games has created something special here, and given it gratis to the world.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 11, 2014
    88
    Hack & slash games are addictive because they follow a simple formula: kill, kill and kill some more. Path of Exile is no different in this regard. During your quest in the perilous continent of Wraeclast you need to slay thousands and thousands of monsters but it never gets boring because there are a plenty of fresh ideas like the very vast skill system and barter-based economy that differentiate it from other similar games. But it's not a perfect game. The story is weak and the difficulty level is too low in the beginning. [Dec 2013]
  3. PC Gamer
    Jan 13, 2014
    84
    An exceptionally generous free-to-play action-rPG. What it lacks in punch it makes up for in depth and value for money.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »