Path of exile impressions

Nameless one

Wizzard
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
1,436
Location
Sto plains
Anyone else on watch playing it?I recently completed normal with marauder(Mostly fire based damage with Blood magic and Resolute technique key stone passives ) so here are my impressions so far.

Skill tree: On first look it look scary but once you put first point and start looking for build few logical paths appear,one you get some nice skill and support gems few alternative builds became apparent.My impression of skill tree is that is very well designed, complex but not complicated and definitively one of highlights of this game.

Active skills:Whole system sounds strange in theory but works very well.There is good diversity of skills.

Currency:System sounds interesting in theory but in game it's confusing you can't be sure how much item linked in trade chat will cost.One of downsides also is that you will have to leave instance to trade and because of nature of system it's unlikely that pay on delivery or similar system can be implemented.I am sure there are people who love this system but I don't.

Gameplay:Mechanics are not much different from other aRPGs.Attacks,spells and explosions feel satisfying and potion system is better than in any other aRPG.
Loot so far is not that interesting,items to get excited about drop fairly rarely.Instances layout is randomized and personally I don't like how they are designed especially indoors,they are big, labyrinth like with too much trash mobs and not enough of elites and bosses.

What are you thought of game and what class and builds are you using?
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
1,436
Location
Sto plains
Played it a while ago, not sure what changes they have now. I loved the skill tree - it's totally awesome and fun. I absolutely hated the orb system, collecting items to make recipes, the randomness of the socket drops and the restricted inventory. Will have another bash if they fix these up a bit.
 
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
1,501
Location
Somerset/London UK
Played it a while ago, not sure what changes they have now. I loved the skill tree - it's totally awesome and fun. I absolutely hated the orb system, collecting items to make recipes, the randomness of the socket drops and the restricted inventory. Will have another bash if they fix these up a bit.

I have no problem with inventory since from second third of normal I pick only rare items and portal scrolls drop in huge amount and storage space is really big.I do agree on orb system it's definitively best solution one of those things that looks better on paper than in game imo.I think PoE is despite some issues great aRPG and best that came out in years.My favorite still remains Titan quest+soulvizier mod but I haven't spent all that much time with PoE so that might change(altho at this point it doesn't seem likely).
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
1,436
Location
Sto plains
I played for a bit over the weekend. My character is a witch. I like the currency system. Game play over all is nothing new in terms of ARPGs, but still enjoyable. I like the skill system.

This isn't specific to PoE, but I hate the voice acted NPCs and frankly I don't see why this feature is so prevalent in games because imo it adds little to the overall experience. Alas, that is the subject for another post.

A couple of niggling things that will not prevent me from playing: I don't care for how the engine scales the characters on screen based on their distance and elevation from you. It increases their size to the point of distortion if this makes sense. I prefer the graphics of D3, but certainly not the gameplay :)

Also, I wish there was a feature to allow turning cloaks or helmets off. My witch looks absolutely ridiculous running around with this huge plate helmet on. Honestly mage-magelike classes shouldn't be using metal armor anyway, but that too, is for another post. Finally, I am having a hard time getting used to using the middle mouse button to cast spells.

I could see myself playing this game after it is released from beta.
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
491
I played for a bit over the weekend. My character is a witch. I like the currency system. Game play over all is nothing new in terms of ARPGs, but still enjoyable. I like the skill system.

This isn't specific to PoE, but I hate the voice acted NPCs and frankly I don't see why this feature is so prevalent in games because imo it adds little to the overall experience. Alas, that is the subject for another post.

NPC's acting quite varies from good to very poor,player characters pretty good acted at least those that I played(marauder mostly and lot less templar)

Also, I wish there was a feature to allow turning cloaks or helmets off. My witch looks absolutely ridiculous running around with this huge plate helmet on. Honestly mage-magelike classes shouldn't be using metal armor anyway, but that too, is for another post. Finally, I am having a hard time getting used to using the middle mouse button to cast spells.

I could see myself playing this game after it is released from beta.

You can wear all armor only in beginning as you progress late they have quite big basic stat requirements even if you play melee witch you will not be able to wear heavy armor you would have to settle for str/int cross class armor(armor+energy shield)
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
1,436
Location
Sto plains
Since 0.11 biggest patch in open beta I started playing PoE again.
I completed Anarchy league on merciless(overall my third character I completed campaign on merciless) and here are my impressions.

Story:

ARPGs aren't known for good stories and this one is no exception.Voice acting isn't particularly good either but there are some that are done well(mostly playable characters).Form 0.11 patch there are lore stones in lot of ares which is nice but because of not so good writing I didn't bother to read majority of them.

Skill tree, active skills and currencies:

Active skills are put in same colored slots on gear and can be enhanced with support gems if there is slot liked to it and they level up from time to time even if they are not being used.Like rest of gear they can come in quality form 0-20 % that can be incised with gem cutters prism but not above 20%.System is bi strange in beginning but once player gets used to it it works rather well.
Passive skill tree is one of the best skill trees in any game imo.It's complex but to complicated.It allows many different builds for any class.But best part are well designed Keystone passives, skills that have both positive and negative effect(like skill that drains health instead of mana, skill that allows summoning of 2 totems but play can't deal damage himself etc..) and drastically change gameplay of classes.They are usually part of strongest builds but they can cripple character if build isn't well planed.
Currency in game are items that enhance items or skills.It's weird system that looks good on paper but it doesn't really work well in practice.

Gameplay:

Game designers claim this is hardcore RPG, I think this just false.Most skills have no cooldown and they can be spamed there really isn't much tactic about usuing them.Simple spaming skills with occasional repositioning works well even on moded endgame maps, there is little need for actual focus on certain mobs, you don't need skilled players or good tactic for endgame they just need to have solid build and good gear.
Skill effects are pretty and every skills has satisfactory feeling when it hits.

Loot:

Also weak side of game.Uniques, which are only interesting items drop very rarely.Also difference between look for solo player and one who plays in group is huge, solo player gets far less currency items and far less good drops so if player decide to stop soloing in middle of merciless and find group he will be underpowered,and if player who played in group tries to solo he will find it too easy.So it's better either solo or go with group from beginning to end.

Online part:

I don't see any reason why single payer needs constant connection it could be played perfectly without it.One thing also that I find annoying is that there are no guilds or private chat channels so despite always online part this isn't MMO it's single player game with co-op and limited PvP.

Conclusion:

Solid game that is entirely free.it could have been great game it could have been even best aRPG but with few bad design choices devs missed that opportunity imo.

I would give it 7/10
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
1,436
Location
Sto plains
Finally it can be played free? It was very weird how you had to pay the beta of a free game. Anyway I'm trying to play a bit every Diablo like or more or less similar on which I can put my dirty hands on.

I had the feeling they did the same error than Titan Quest, not understanding that where Diablo 2 shined was about the dynamism of its fights, many dodging, many attacks mixing movements and attacks, this create a dynamic gameplay at opposite of stuff like Titan Quest.

But watching some video it seems the worked on that point. When, a day, I 'll switch back to windows for sure I'll try it. I do hope for them that their free approach will work.
 
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
480
Finally it can be played free? It was very weird how you had to pay the beta of a free game. Anyway I'm trying to play a bit every Diablo like or more or less similar on which I can put my dirty hands on.

It's been free since February, game is since then in open beta.But honestly it's beta only in name since micro-transactions are now open and there will be no more character wipes and game is stable with only minor bugs.

I had the feeling they did the same error than Titan Quest, not understanding that where Diablo 2 shined was about the dynamism of its fights, many dodging, many attacks mixing movements and attacks, this create a dynamic gameplay at opposite of stuff like Titan Quest.

I don't agree there, there is lot more dodging in Titan quest and nearly everything could be dodged even melee attacks if you are fast enough(and have proper move and attack speed) and game is overall faster than D2 in late game.Altho I should note that 95% my time with titan quest is with moded version(first underlord than soulvizier).Titan quest with soulvizier mod is best aRPG imo.
But watching some video it seems the worked on that point. When, a day, I 'll switch back to windows for sure I'll try it

If you are using Mac you are out of luck, but game can be played on Linux.There is no native support but people do play PoE on it.For more details you will have to visit their forum since I don't know any details.

I do hope for them that their free approach will work.

I think it's working out for them rather well, they earned around 1m from early access and 2.5m from micro-transactions in open beta so far.IDK how much money was put in development but game doesn't look cheap but I think they did at least break even and game hasn't been around that long so things are looking bright for them, which very nice since F2P model they are using is as fair as it gets(only cosmetic things can be purchased for real money).
 
Joined
May 21, 2012
Messages
1,436
Location
Sto plains
Back
Top Bottom