By Zack L.
Four years ago, Grinding Gear Games' Path of Exile launched, hoping to become the next Diablo II. Today, they have announced The Fall of Oriath, consisting of Acts 1 to 10 (seen above). Read more to find out everything YOU need to know about the expansion!
Things to note:
During the demo, you can see Tukohama, the Karui God of War and his insane rotating totem attacks facing the cunning magician Shavronne who used her thaumaturgic arts to resurrect the beastly Brutus. We also very briefly saw a boss called Avarius who becomes a Romanesque god called “Innocence, God of Eternity” and “The Brine King” (a giant hermit crab!) who hangs out fittingly enough, at The Brine King's Reef. In some areas, players will take a different route through a previously explored region, while in others re-treading the same ground will be dramatically different. In the current Act 1, players fought through the swampy Fetid Pool against appropriately zombie-like shamblers. When they return in Act 6, having killed the boss who was poisoning the place, its tilesets changes into a lush forest. In a prison, players will be able to pass through a previously locked door and climb Shavronne's Tower, where a tricky dual bossfight with some familiar faces awaits. Winters also excitedly loaded up the city of Oriath, explaining everything that's happened since players were exiled from the city at the start of Act 1. For players who care about the story, this will be a big moment: returning to a place they've heard so much about, ready to exact some good old revenge.
There will be other changes big and small the Path of Exile faithful will be able to pick out of patch notes when The Fall of Oriath launches later this year, but in the lead up they'll still have plenty to play. Grinding Gear plans to launch a "Legacy" league in the coming months, while The Fall of Oriath is in beta, which will bring back every challenge league—and their unique items and mechanics—for a last hurrah. Players will have a last shot at rare items they missed a year or two ago while they wait for a crack at Act 5-10's new bosses.
Path of Exile Pantheon system
Those bosses come into play with the brand new Pantheon character customisation system. A number of the bosses in The Fall of Oriath expansion will actually be gods, and where there are gods there are powers and abilities to steal and harness for yourself - so say the principles of action-RPG design. Certain gods around Oriath unlock specific passive abilities such as Soul of the Brine King, which makes it so that you’re invulnerable to stun or frozen states for a short time after initially being stunned or frozen. There are 16 such abilities, four major and 12 minor.
However, these abilities can be improved and enhanced as you slay additional bosses. For example, if you kill Glace in addition to earning Soul of the Brine King, you’ll unlock a 50% reduction to chill effects on your character. Slay Asphyxia and you’ll gain 5% reduction towards cold damage. Finally, if you defeat The Eroding One you’ll receive a 100% increase to how quickly you recover from stun damage. It’s easy to see how besting as many bosses as possible will reap just rewards for diligent players. The Pantheon system won’t come into effect until you defeat The Beast in Act IV though, at which point the divine powers of the world’s many gods and religions are released back into the world ready for you to acquire as you re-tread old ground from Act 5 to Act 10. Oh and by the way, did you know that this is FREE TO PLAY? GGG also announced previously that Path of Exile will soon be available to China and Xbox One this year. The launch into these two markets will also help to introduce new players. As the game is no longer repeating Acts 1 to 4 three times, it will be much more enjoyable to reach the endgame Atlas of Worlds. GGG is working with Tencent to bring Path of Exile over to the Chinese Market. We can anticipate the number of players to multiply. TechOut Path of Exiles here! For more great content and giveaways, don't forget to like and follow our Facebook page
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