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, randomised items and random dungeons, the game promises three acts of visceral combat gameplay, with additional expansions already planned.

So far, the game has raised over USD$1,200,000 in a Kickstarter-like campaign from fans buying access to the closed beta, virtual pets and pre-purchased game currency. This weekend is the opportunity for anyone to try to game for free, without having to buy a supporter pack.

The Path of Exile Beta servers will open for public access at 5pm PDT on Friday, September 14. Public access will end at 11:59pm PDT Sunday night, September 16. A full FAQ about the public weekend is available.

When released, the game will be free to play, but will not feature ‘pay-to-win’. A previous public weekend in July attracted 55,000 players.

The latest patch adds new skills such as Arctic Breath and Ghost Reaver, additional quests, greatly improved minion functionality and a new look for item hovers.

A host of unique items have been added, including several designed by Brother Laz, author of the popular Diablo 2 mod Median XL. Over 90 fans who have purchased the USD$1000 ‘Diamond Supporter’ pack also get to design unique items for the game.

While the game is currently in a Closed Beta, fans who pre-purchase at least USD$10 of credit for the game’s ‘ethical microtransactions’ receive a beta key.

Grinding Gear Games’ producer Chris Wilson says “We find these open weekends extremely valuable, because the feedback from the general gaming public provides a different perspective than that of our Closed Beta testers. We’re really pleased to see that many public weekend players choose to join the Closed Beta to continue playing after the weekend events.”

The Open Weekend will also feature special events, such as two hour ladder races and competitions to clear areas first.

Key features:

• A dark and deep action RPG
• Build unlimited unique characters on a gigantic skill tree
• Combine over 110 skill gems to create unique combat strategies
• Explore a dark and gritty world rendered from a fixed 3D perspective
• Download and play for free, but never ‘pay-to-win’
• Explore randomly generated levels for extreme replayability
• Craft weapons, magic items and even end-game maps to become more powerful
• Cooperate or compete with thousands of other exiles in a persistent online world
• Ascend online ladders in every game mode
• Battle in PVP tournaments for worldwide recognition