Path of Exile - Review @ RPGFan

RPGFan reviews the F2P ARPG Path Of Exile and awards the game with a score of 88/100.

Preference among Diablo, Torchlight, and Path of Exile may be a matter of taste. To be quite honest, all three series have proven themselves to be top-notch experiences in the realm of action RPGs. In terms of atmosphere and the unique approach to character building, each latest title offers an engaging experience guaranteed to wile away the hours. I've immersed myself in each world, and although I'll happily play the next title in each series, for right now Path of Exile stands above the rest.

More information.

While I really can't state anything specifically "wrong" with PoE, I just fine the game more repetitive than usual for a game of it's type.

Enemies in ARPG's are usually quite dumb and predictable, but they seem even more so in this game.

More repetitive than Diablo 3? How far did you get into the game? I'm in Act 3 of Path of Exile where I couldn't stomach D3 for more than an hour. The fact that its entirely free with no "pay to win" option is pretty outstanding.

I'd play Diablo 3 over PoE any day of the week and twice on sundays. I played D3 for about 100 hours, by the way.

Not becaues PoE is a bad game, it just doesn't have much of a personality and I find the atmosphere oppressively dull and the areas extremely repetitive.

Diablo 3 has atmosphere in spades and the actual combat (99.9% of the gameplay) is much more visceral and entertaining.

Thad said, PoE mechanics in D3 would have been quite something.

D3's system is too simplistic for my tastes. I'll take the PoE environment over the cartoon world of D3 any day. For solo play I like the follower mechanic in D3 though.

Fair enough, we all like different things

While I don't consider the world of D3 a cartoon - I do appreciate the warmth and vibrance of the colors, and the atmosphere is quite tangible to me.

Downloaded POE, played for 10 minutes, then uninstalled. Not my cup of tea.

If you don't like Diablo type games its a waste of time. The game is about build management. The skill tree in PoE is 100% impactful. I finished the game last night with a gimped Marauder who took too much 2h specialization and strength instead of armor and life. The end boss was a catastrophe of frustration.

I started Diablo 3 tonight. I like it more than I thought. As a barbarian Stun+Rend for bleed damage makes short work of bosses. Killed the Skeleton King and I have not been defeated yet. I really like the crafting. My gear is looking very good and I'm gearing the followers as well. It is *much* easier than PoE because the skill system is noobish. Enjoyable though!

PoE is kind of a niche game in the genre. Strikes me as more geared to the hardcore crowd with the various leagues and competitions. The skill tree is amazing but it's really easy to gimp a build and the game will punish you for it, especially if you're melee and neglect survivability.

Dart - I'm happy to be wrong about Diablo 3. Its really great. I'm approaching the end of Act 2 and the atmosphere and variety is as you said. It really is fun. I still have not been defeated yet so my 2nd play though is going to be at a higher difficulty than normal. I've almost died a few times so its not a total cake walk, just a fun adventure with mayhem. The crafting *almost* makes up for the lame skill system, but whatever its enjoyable.

I hear PoE is getting a new act soon too. I will play different class and start over for that.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Dart - I'm happy to be wrong about Diablo 3. Its really great. I'm approaching the end of Act 2 and the atmosphere and variety is as you said. It really is fun. I still have not been defeated yet so my 2nd play though is going to be at a higher difficulty than normal. I've almost died a few times so its not a total cake walk, just a fun adventure with mayhem. The crafting *almost* makes up for the lame skill system, but whatever its enjoyable.

I hear PoE is getting a new act soon too. I will play different class and start over for that.

You should have waited for "Patch 2.0" or the expansion, as the game will change in a very big way - and your current loot will likely be all but worthless at that point.

But I'm glad you like it.

We also agree that it has a lot of mechanical weaknesses - but it's still quite good if you ask me.

I'm not much for waiting and I'm going to try a different class next time anyway.

I had to stop using Rend with the Barbarian. It was far too easy with high heath globe bonuses. Once the heal with Rend rune was equipped it was drastically overpowered. Seismic Slam is my current choice. That never gets old!

The game doesn't really begin until Hell and beyond - but that'll change with the new patch. They're removing the old difficulties and they'll just let you pick "normal, hard, whatever" instead.

But the first time through is a complete pushover now - no matter what class or combo, I'd say.

I have the 360 version of this as well for my kids. My kids can't get beyond the Act 1 spider boss and the minions prior to the queen sequence spray acid. It seems to be significantly more difficult but I have not tried it myself.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
I have the 360 version of this as well for my kids. My kids can't get beyond the Act 1 spider boss and the minions prior to the queen sequence spray acid. It seems to be significantly more difficult but I have not tried it myself.

I believe the console versions use an earlier iteration of the new difficulty system. It depends on what you choose when you begin the game. If your kids have chosen something harder, that might be the reason.

Interesting. Apparently "normal" is hard on the Xbox. Can it be changed mid game?

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Interesting. Apparently "normal" is hard on the Xbox. Can it be changed mid game?

I would think so, but I can't be sure. But I do believe that Normal is somewhat like Nightmare on PC - which is a bit harder, but not really hard for an experienced ARPG fan.