Playing as one of six character classes, players find themselves banished for their past misdeeds to the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. There, they will encounter hundreds of species of opponents laden with loot and mysterious artifacts as they explore the abandoned continent.

Players will be able to purchase in-game perks, such as extra victory animations, clothing and special effects. To protect the integrity of the game for all players, Grinding Gear Games has decided not to sell abilities or experience points – ensuring a level-playing field for everyone in game.

With an open-ended and flexible skill and item system, randomized items and random dungeons, the game promises three acts of visceral combat gameplay, with additional expansions already planned.

With the closed beta, starting August 10th, members of the game’s online community will be periodically selected at random and granted access to the game’s beta. Players will be added continuously to stress test the game’s servers, as the game is played entirely online to facilitate a secure item-based economy. The beta version of the game includes the first two acts of gameplay and five character classes at first, with more content added frequently.

Path of Exile has also been designed to provide a fair, competitive playing field for Player vs. Player combat, in addition to cooperative play.

“Your character’s build really matters in Path of Exile.  The game’s deep itemization, innovative flask system and emphasis on skill combos will encourage players to plan character builds carefully so they can compete with the realm’s best players,” says producer Chris Wilson.  “We won’t be selling any form of power in the game, only aesthetic improvements, so if you’re fighting someone you know they earned their place the hard way.”  

Taking advantage of Path of Exile’s advanced random level generation, the PvP arenas will be dynamic environments with dangerous threats and hostile opponents of their own. The PvP modes available range from duels to large scale team combat in a variety of scenarios with different level caps.  Organized tournaments are planned in future.

Players in the optional “cut-throat” leagues will get to experience a more horrific form of PvP – the ability for players to invade their instances and kill them, taking all their items.  “Of course, only a hyper-competitive player would ever choose to play in this league in the first place,” says Wilson.

Accounts rather than individual characters earn PvP rating in each mode and are scored on ladders with seasonal prizes awarded.

Key features

• Completely free to download and play
• A persistent online world capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of players
• A dark and gritty game world rendered from a fixed 3D perspective
• Randomly generated levels and items for extreme replayability
• Online ranking and ladders for every game mode
• Visceral combat with dozens of combinable skills
• Battle in PVP tournaments for worldwide recognition
• Dynamic skill system