Path of Exile 3.27 adopts Elden Ring’s most grotesque mechanic for the free ARPG’s first-ever sequel league

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 targeted on PoE 2 since its early-access launch, there are a variety of causes to care about its persevering with predecessor. The primary recreation is far more substantial, with a decade-plus of affection and growth from Grinding Gear Video games honing it into top-of-the-line RPGs on PC at the moment – and you may play it at no cost. Its newest replace is a superb motive to take action, too, as a result of it is filled with some deliciously darkish programs that allow you to modify your character’s physique or develop fleshy, warped gear.

Path of Exile Keepers of the Flame is pitched by recreation 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 recreation again in 2016, Breach has remained one in every of PoE’s core mechanics over time, beloved for its easy however satisfying loop of racing towards time to smash by way of hordes in a slowly increasing circle. Its new-look kind kicks off proper from the opening moments of your marketing campaign, once 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 way 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 need to overcome to completely seal the entry level and declare your rewards. The opposite sort you may discover are full-blown Breach Hives, that are “visions of the Breachlords made actual in Wraeclast.” Head in, struggle your manner by way 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 in a position to 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 manner we are able to,” Roberts remarks. “Nonetheless, a lot of the enjoyment of Breach got here from its simplicity. Whereas we need to modernize the mechanic, we do not need to undermine the core expertise. You are still principally simply slaughtering hordes of enemies in a circle.”

In return to your laborious 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 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 the whole lot from objects and gear to forex, and even new limbs.

These particular “breach-hands” are known as Grafts, and so they’re fused “on to your physique in a very secure course of” to allow you to harness the ability of the Breach for your self. Some grant passive advantages, others can unlock energetic abilities to fill gaps in your package. There are a complete of sixteen Graft sorts to chase after, and you may ultimately earn the flexibility to pop on a second one to amplify the ability achieve even additional. Your grafted arm has one other use, too. It will gather 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 kit to develop and apply numerous modifiers to their manufacturing course of. Roberts provides an instance: “You possibly can particularly goal boots, with a dexterity requirement, with an elevated probability for pace modifiers, and a decreased probability for chilly modifiers.” Most of those influencing nodes aren’t ensures, however they’re extraordinarily giant multipliers that stack the percentages in your favor, so you may often get one thing near what you need.

Grafted gear usually 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 possibly can even uncover particular ‘Foulborn’ variants of some that lock out lower-value rolls to ensure you get 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 may well additionally occur with distinctive objects you develop, inflicting them to have mutated modifiers that would rework how they’re used.

One other highly effective approach to increase your loadout in 3.27 is Bloodlines, which work very similar to 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 remaining problem in Ultimatum to earn the proper to the Chaos Bloodline and its boosts to Vaal abilities and corrupted objects, or surpass Oshabi on the climax of Harvest to soak up skills drawn from the three sorts of Azmerian lifeforce. You possibly can spec into one Bloodline and one Ascendancy per character, and unfold your factors between them nevertheless you would like.

When you performed PoE 3.26, Secrets and techniques of the Atlas, you may 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 way of fragments from tier-17 map bosses. The Incarnation of Concern and Incarnation of Neglect are powerful sufficient alone, however the brand new struggle with the Incarnation of Dread will really require you to defeat each of the others because it progresses. Good luck.

Asynchronous commerce makes its manner over after a profitable take a look at run in PoE 2’s most up-to-date season. Whereas it is unable to present a precise statistic as a result of likes of pals 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 enjoying Path of Exile, so it goes with out saying that I am thrilled about this.

In fact, there are additionally a lot extra additions in PoE 3.27, together with a choice of new talent and help gems, and loads of quality-of-life upgrades. One of the vital beneficial is the flexibility to mass-identify your total stock on the town with out utilizing any Scrolls of Knowledge, however you may additionally be capable to 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, in the event 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 this present day, 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 never revisited it for fairly a while, nevertheless, due to the grind required to degree up your accomplices. GGG has fortunately eliminated this requirement ultimately, 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 possibly can play at no cost 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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