I just found out about this game about a week ago and got myself a closed beta key by buying a supporter pack right after seeing the skill tree.

Haven't played as much as I'd like to due to exams but what I've seen so far has been absolutely great!

Now, I've personally been waiting for Diablo III for a long time and when it actually came out it was a huge dissapointment and I feel like this might be the game which will fix the hole that game left for me.

I'm looking forward to starting my Witch in open beta tomorrow, how about the rest of you?

you sound really excited. you might be disappointed agin like you was with D3.

Played it for a while but didn't like it. =/

@Bell_End: Hi there Eeyore.

I have some friends that are or at least were really excited for it. There are some cool systems going in that game. And that skill tree is just massive.

But for me personally, the art style isn't appealing and the combat feels off. So likely not for me. But then again, I really enjoyed Diablo 3 in spite of it's flaws.

Path of Exile is pretty rad. I think its been around a year since last I played it, but its cool to see that they're going live finally. Might have to start playing again. Probably a lot of changes since last I played.

@Aete said:

Now, I've personally been waiting for Diablo III for a long time and when it actually came out it was a huge dissapointment and I feel like this might be the game which will fix the hole that game left for me.

I got into the Path of Exile and Diablo 3 betas at the same time (around January 2012, IIRC). Imagine how confusing it was for me to see the problems with Diablo 3, and then to see them alongside this spectacular F2P game.

I was really confused.

@Bell_End: I might, but I get excited about games pretty easily which means I ussually get over it pretty quickly as well.

The huge skill tree and skillgem system is making me want to try a lot of different builds though, this alone should be able to amuse me for quite a while.

@project343: Truthfully, I didn't think Diablo 3 was that bad of a game, I had fun with it until about halfway inferno when it turned into grinding the same act to earn money to spend on the auction house.

I like experimenting with different builds along with the excitement of that next piece of gear dropping which I just missed in D3. That's what I hope PoE will do a lot better and judging by the beta's it seems it will.

Seems very interesting! I would play it if I had more free time :) too many bloody games!

I loved D3 and i cant wait to try out Path of Exiles, theres nothing wrong with having interest in the two. D3 got boring in the late game but thats a problem with alot of these games and im not sure whay PoE is doing to alleviate these issues but its not gonna stop me from playing it till i get bored.

Yep, been waiting for open beta since I had a chance to play it a while ago.

@buft said:

I loved D3 and i cant wait to try out Path of Exiles, theres nothing wrong with having interest in the two. D3 got boring in the late game but thats a problem with alot of these games and im not sure whay PoE is doing to alleviate these issues but its not gonna stop me from playing it till i get bored.

Well, Diablo III had a laundry list of known issues that will never be fixed, for example, Auction House (I know everyone has mixed feelings on this), terrible story with Deckard Cain being killed off by a moth and a Diablo with tits. Also the art direction of Diablo 3 is far removed from what made it's predecessors what they were, it gave them a dark mood, an atmosphere. Diablo 3 feels as if they threw the project at the Wow team and said "Go".

Path of Exile may not be perfect, but if you liked Diablo 2 and the darker atmosphere, you will most likely like POE.

@Aete: Oh, I don't think Diablo 3 is a bad game either. It just isn't want I personally want from a modern ARPG. I saw the streamlined skill system, I saw the intrusiveness of narrative, and I imagined the potential problems that an online auction house might create... it just felt like a really poor compromise between action and RPG. The disconnected action is nowhere near as solid-feeling as a proper action game, and the RPG bits are so streamlined and simplified that they almost cease to exist.

Path of Exile, in that way, feels like a proper sequel of Diablo 2: embracing the hardcore elements of that game and bringing them into the modern day.

I'll play in the open beta but I'm over mindless dungeon crawlers.

It's a great game, but most certainly not for everyone. I've been playing quite a bit of the closed beta and the first few hours are relatively slow and might turn a lot of people off. If you make it past that, however, PoE could steal a lot of your time... I will definitely spend a lot of time playing it.

It definitely looks like an amazing game, and I can't wait to fire it up on my Surface Pro! That skill tree is just too tempting.

Because of the character wipes I didn't put too many hours into the closed beta, but what I played was really great. So, yeah, I'm quite excited.

I was excited enough to give them far too much money. I really had a blast playing it, the alpha changes, ladders, races and the way they balance their game got me even more excited. The next 8 hours are going to be rough.

I might give it a whirl though not expecting much. The gameplay doesn't seem like its very fun, inferior to TL2 and D3. I like the customization stuff they are doing but I don't think they can balance it. I'm sure the story will be worse than both TL2 and D3, so I dno how D3 story is even coming up in a POE thread. Also this game probably requires considerably more time sinking than both those games if you are going to see more variety than them(if it is indeed possible).

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Path of Exile! I've been in the closed beta for a long while now. While I don't log on nearly as often (I want to make sure I can keep it fresh for me when full release hits), I'll definitely be launching it up during the open beta to help offer advice to those needing it. The systems in that game are second-to-none in terms of customization and capability. No currency (everything is barter-based), massive skill tree that puts the Sphere Grid to shame, the server system, gems that you equip to your gear are your actual abilities and they are leveled up through the XP you gain from enemy kills, potions that are just an actual item with charges and can get attributes to them as well...

Fuck, I need to play some more PoE now.

Yeah I'm gonna check this out, I heard about the crazy skill tree and since I'm looking for a loot game (should bought TL2 on Steam sale, gah!) I figure I'll give this a whirl.

The open beta is available now for those who are interested. I am going to give it a look-see but am keeping my expectations in check. I hope it isn't as hard core multiplayer as it sounds as I like playing online with friends but years of random dungeons and "LFG" in mmo's has pretty much killed me on wanting to do jack with some random dude or chick.

EDIT: The open beta patch is 1.5 gig not to mention the game itself. So if you are going to try to get involved today I would start the download now.

I'll start playing tonight or tomorrow. Yea, I'm somewhat excited. The only knee jerk issue i have with the game (not having played it yet) is the fact that the armor and weapons look like shit. I've seen high level play where everyone looks like they're level 6. I understand that how they're making their money off the game is through cosmetic micro transactions but I dunno...getting your dude to look awesome is a significant part of why I like arpgs. It won't stop me from trying it, though.

I'm in queue for the beta now. It'll probably take me a while to be able to actually play but I'm patiently waiting.

Friends on Skype are getting me excited though and I was so trying so hard to stay calm.

Should be good either way, I'm starting my witch tonight and then start playing seriously when I actually have time tomorrow.

Played about 10 levels in the closed beta and it felt like everything I wanted DIII to be. This game needs more attention, not just from GB's crew and community, but from everyone and everywhere.

@aquamarin said:

Yeah I'm gonna check this out, I heard about the crazy skill tree and since I'm looking for a loot game (should bought TL2 on Steam sale, gah!) I figure I'll give this a whirl.

POE is much less a 'loot' game. It feels a lot more like a 'skill' game insofar as the main appeal moving forward is finding new abilities, combining them in crazy ways, and layering on the effects of the passive skill tree. I feel like this video might explain the appeal better than I can.

@SJSchmidt93 said:

it felt like everything I wanted DIII to be

I think this is the most important thing about this game. I think we can all agree that Diablo 3 isn't a bad game, but it is certainly a game that wasn't afraid of change. This change felt like it was trying to appeal to a drastically different audience than fans of more traditional ARPGs.

@Karkarov said:

I hope it isn't as hard core multiplayer as it sounds as I like playing online with friends but years of random dungeons and "LFG" in mmo's has pretty much killed me on wanting to do jack with some random dude or chick.

It is a lot like the original Guild Wars. Small towns where you see other players doing their thing; you can chat, trade or group up there, but the majority of the game is spent by yourself (or friends) in your own version of the world. It's the furthest thing from intrusive or disruptive to the core cooperative ARPG business that you're looking for, methinks.

The game hasn't really grabbed me in the same way other games like this has. Maybe it takes a bit longer to reveal what is appealing about it, but as far as the actual gameplay goes it feels a bit generic.