What makes Path of Exile stand out from the competition is its unique take on several of the genre's more intricate details. For example, while it currently has five classes (six are planned), including ranger, witch, and marauder, the classes don't really put any restrictions on your character. A witch doesn't have to focus on spells, and a marauder doesn't have to rely on heavy weapons and armor. The only elements that your choice of class changes are your starting ability scores (strength, dexterity and intelligence), some of your quest rewards, and your starting position on the passive skills board.
Speaking of skills, that's another area where Path of Exile is unique. Active skills only appear on gems (which you find as you play the game), and then you have to socket them into your equipment to use them. That means when you look for equipment, you have to pay attention to the sockets in the items as well as the stats, to make sure that you can support all of the skills you want to use. Plus, along with skill gems, there are also support gems, which improve any skills gems that they're connected to on an item. For example, one support gem adds cold damage to skills, and so it's worthwhile to find equipment with as many sockets as possible so you can add cold damage to as many of your skills as possible. Sockets are color-coded for different skills (dexterity skills are green, strength skills are red, and intelligence skills are blue), and skill gems gain experience as you do (to a maximum level of 7), adding to the complexity.
