Like a particular skill a whole bunch? Do some research and create a character build entirely around that skill. It’s possible to do just about anything with enough dedication. If you thought creating a Barbarian that uses throwing weapons was unique in Diablo II, you ain’t seen nothing yet. In other words, the sockets in the gear must be the appropriate colors and be connected together in order to create certain combinations.Ĭombining both the passive skill tree and the gem system allows some of the strangest and unique builds ever encountered in the genre. Support gems must be linked to a skill gem through gear, however. It is also possible to attach a spell skill gem to the Remote Mine support gem and create a Remote Mine that can be detonated to use whatever spell you attacked the support gem to. For example, it is possible to link together a Melee Splash support gem onto a single-target melee skill, and suddenly it is an area of effect attack. Support gems add an extra effect onto a skill gem. Things get a tad more complicated when support gems are introduced. It’s a very simple mechanic that allows for a ton of freedom when building a character, and places a lot more emphasis on gear sockets instead of all the emphasis being placed on the gear’s stats. When a player has a piece of gear with a skill gem in it equipped, the player can then use that skill. Once a player has a skill gem, it can be inserted into the appropriately colored socket (red, green, or blue) in a piece of gear.

Yes, you read that correctly, skills are drops in the game just like a character’s gear. The active skills operate on an entirely different mechanic, which is actually more similar to the Materia system in Final Fantasy VII. It’s not something I expect to be able to do any time soon, but understand why decisions are made helps me think more clearly when it comes time for me to make a decision in my skill tree. I love seeing all of the various builds that players create and, more importantly, their reasoning as to why they took certain nodes over others. In fact, studying skill tree builds has become a small hobby of mine since the game’s release. However as time goes by, mistakes are made and enough knowledge is gained to maybe eventually actually create a halfway decent character that feels unique. Where to start? Where to end? What the hell am I doing? It’s overwhelming to say the least, and it is pretty much a given that each player’s first character will end up being relatively useless as they struggle to navigate a decent path through the skill tree. Some players will be reminded of the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X, others will just spend time being lost in its vast amount branches and nodes. Path of Exile is very much its own game, which becomes apparent the first time players encounter the passive skill tree. It’s a clear homage to the all-time classic, Diablo II, but an homage is all it is. Picking a class, the clicky-click nature of the combat, the Tetris-style inventory management, the dark atmosphere, and even one of the early quests that has players killing every last monster inside a sort of “den” filled with monsters that you might call…evil. The very beginning of Path of Exile will immediately make seasoned veterans of the ARPG genre feel at home. Rig: Intel i7-4770k 3.50 GHz, 8GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU But beware! True enjoyment will demand patience and dedication from all who enter.

The result is a truly free-to-play unique romp through a carefully crafted an interesting universe. Enter Grinding Gear Games who, despite this set up, have beautifully married to two pieces together to create a wonderful whole in Path of Exile. A free-to-play ARPG ( Diablo-like) sounds like a terrible idea on paper, mostly due to the track record of microtransactions recently and the obvious exploitation potential of a loot-heavy genre.

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