Path of Exile 3.27 is ‘Keepers of the Flame,’ and it is the ARPG’s first-ever sequel league. Whereas public consideration has definitely been extra centered on PoE 2 since its early-access launch, there are loads of causes to care about its persevering with predecessor. The primary sport is way more substantial, with a decade-plus of affection and improvement from Grinding Gear Video games honing it into the most effective RPGs on PC in the present day – and you may play it free of charge. Its newest replace is a superb motive to take action, too, as a result of it is filled with some deliciously darkish techniques that allow you to modify your character’s physique or develop fleshy, warped gear.
Path of Exile Keepers of the Flame is pitched by sport director Mark Roberts, who I spoke with forward of the reveal, as “a real sequel to the Breach league.” First launched to the free Steam sport again in 2016, Breach has remained one in all PoE’s core mechanics through the years, beloved for its easy however satisfying loop of racing towards time to smash by means of hordes in a slowly increasing circle. Its new-look type kicks off proper from the opening moments of your marketing campaign, while you run into the eponymous Keepers in act one’s beginning zone, The Coast.
The Keepers of the Flame are sworn to defend Wraeclast towards the Breachlords, with their founder Ailith accompanying you in these twisted encounters. In areas the place the hiveborn have constructed up impediments, she’ll lend you a spark of cleaning fireplace, permitting you to push by means of their barricades and clear sufficient of a path for her to demolish the hive with a full-on blast. Elsewhere, she’ll be a part of you for a extra conventional Breach-style encounter, however one the place sufficient development will stabilize the rift.
Managing to create a stabilized breach will earn you the ire of Vruun, Marshal of Xesht, kicking off a boss encounter that you have to overcome to completely seal the entry level and declare your rewards. The opposite kind you will discover are full-blown Breach Hives, that are “visions of the Breachlords made actual in Wraeclast.” Head in, battle your method by means of the hardest hiveborn foes, and assist Ailith to set off a detonation able to bringing the entire thing down. Simply be sure to’re capable of get out of there earlier than it goes off.
“We have taken all the teachings we have realized because the launch of Breach 9 years in the past and improved upon it each method we will,” Roberts remarks. “Nevertheless, a lot of the enjoyment of Breach got here from its simplicity. Whereas we wish to modernize the mechanic, we do not wish to undermine the core expertise. You are still largely simply slaughtering hordes of enemies in a circle.”
In return to your onerous work, Ailith will take you to the Monastery of the Keepers, the place you are launched to the Genesis Tree. Sure, get your jokes in now, they’ve added yet one more tree to Path of Exile. Certainly, not solely is that this a literal, large plant, it is also bought a brand-new specialization community of its personal to place factors into, as a result of typically actuality is the funniest factor of all. That is used to switch the fruits of the Genesis Tree, which incorporates all the pieces from objects and tools to forex, and even new limbs.
These particular “breach-hands” are referred to as Grafts, and so they’re fused “on to your physique in a totally protected course of” to allow you to harness the ability of the Breach for your self. Some grant passive advantages, others can unlock lively expertise to fill gaps in your equipment. There are a complete of sixteen Graft sorts to chase after, and you will finally earn the power to pop on a second one to amplify the ability acquire even additional. Your grafted arm has one other use, too. It’s going to acquire Graftblood from the monsters you defeat, which might then be fed to the tree to develop your whole chosen rewards.
Relying on the way you make investments into the Genesis Tree, you are ready to decide on particular items of apparatus to develop and apply numerous modifiers to their manufacturing course of. Roberts offers an instance: “You’ll be able to particularly goal boots, with a dexterity requirement, with an elevated likelihood for pace modifiers, and a decreased likelihood for chilly modifiers.” Most of those influencing nodes aren’t ensures, however they’re extraordinarily giant multipliers that stack the chances in your favor, so you will often get one thing near what you need.
Grafted gear sometimes cannot be modified by regular crafting currencies, however there’s even an answer for that, as a result of one other passive level permits the tree to forge “fleshy mockeries of forex orbs” that can do the job. You’ll be able to even uncover particular ‘Foulborn’ variants of some that lock out lower-value rolls to ensure you get an excellent consequence when utilizing them, a bit like PoE 2’s new, tiered choices. It isn’t solely crafting objects that may be Foulborn, nevertheless; it could additionally occur with distinctive objects you develop, inflicting them to have mutated modifiers that would remodel how they’re used.
One other highly effective option to increase your loadout in 3.27 is Bloodlines, which work very like a secondary Ascendancy that imbues you with the powers of PoE’s most iconic bosses. They’re unlocked by defeating the foe in query; overcome the Trialmaster’s ultimate problem in Ultimatum to earn the best to the Chaos Bloodline and its boosts to Vaal expertise and corrupted objects, or surpass Oshabi on the climax of Harvest to soak up skills drawn from the three forms of Azmerian lifeforce. You’ll be able to spec into one Bloodline and one Ascendancy per character, and unfold your factors between them nevertheless you want.
Should you performed PoE 3.26, Secrets and techniques of the Atlas, you will bear in mind the three new pinnacle boss battles launched with Zara’s questline. Properly, shock shock, they’re again once more as even-tougher uber variants, unlocked by means of fragments from tier-17 map bosses. The Incarnation of Worry and Incarnation of Neglect are robust sufficient alone, however the brand new battle with the Incarnation of Dread will really require you to defeat each of the others because it progresses. Good luck.
Asynchronous commerce makes its method over after a profitable take a look at run in PoE 2’s most up-to-date season. Whereas it is unable to present an actual statistic because of the likes of associates swapping gear, GGG tells me that roughly “40-50% of trades” because the replace have been made utilizing the brand new Service provider tabs launched with The Third Edict. It has been an actual godsend that is lastly tempted me to promote undesirable objects for the primary time in a decade of taking part in Path of Exile, so it goes with out saying that I am thrilled about this.
In fact, there are additionally loads extra additions in PoE 3.27, together with a collection of new talent and assist gems, and loads of quality-of-life upgrades. One of the helpful is the power to mass-identify your total stock on the town with out utilizing any Scrolls of Knowledge, however you will additionally be capable of entry disenchanting in cities and hideouts, degree a number of talent gems with a single click on, respec your Atlas passive tree with gold (together with the entire thing without delay, should you like), and rapid-open stacked decks to both your stock or the bottom.
Final however not least, Heist is getting some much-needed love. To at the present time, it is the mechanic that made the strongest first impression on me. I like the vibe of breaking right into a closely guarded facility, snatching up as a lot loot as potential, after which making your escape because the alarms ring and guards flood in. I have not revisited it for fairly a while, nevertheless, due to the grind required to degree up your accomplices. GGG has fortunately eliminated this requirement eventually, and your rogues will now instantly begin at max degree from the get go.
Path of Exile 3.27 ‘Keepers of the Flame’ launches Friday October 31. You’ll be able to play free of charge on Steam or through the standalone shopper. Head right here to get began and uncover what’s made it so beloved.
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