It's been months since I've played Path of Exile; when I did, I randomly chose to play the Templar class, the only character in a group of ruffians and criminals who actually acts like a good soul. While every other PC is mainly interested in self-preservation, glory, or revenge, the Templar sees being branded a heretic and exiled by his own Church as "the will of God" and believes he is meant to bring light to the dark land of Wraeclast. And throughout the game, he manages to do just that, not only killing several ancient evils but the corrupt heads of his Church trying to exploit their power and even, it is implied, the dark god who is responsible for the world's creation. This is a common enough plot within video games, but Path of Exile puts a twist on it:

There is no evidence his God actually exists.

There is no evidence of a good God or even holy angels throughout the game to balance the darkness and demons it constantly throws at you. Even the Templar's powers come from the discarded gems created by the dark god. The game hammers this home by constantly having characters remark the Templar is a madman, crusading into deadly nightmares at the behest of a nonexistent God. But as he succeeds at dispelling those nightmares of flesh and returning triumphantly, those same characters remark the Templar's "madness" may be a blessing in disguise. At the end of the game, once you've defeated the final boss and basically vanquished an eldritch abomination from the world, one dialogue in particular stands out:

"You're going to tell me that you didn't kill the Beast, that it was simply your God acting through you. Please don't say it. I fear I might be ill upon your self-righteous toes. No, Templar. You did this. The oh-so-ordinary man that is you. That's where Malachai had it wrong, you see. He considered greatness to be a birthright, the possession of but a gifted few. You, Templar, have but one gift: Belief. You believed that God chose you to free Wraeclast from its nightmare and you've done everything in your power to prove that belief to be true. It's a lie, of course, but what a beautiful and powerful deceit! Please, continue to lie to yourself, Templar. It brings out the best in you."

While much has been written in games of the dangers of blind faith, this is one of the few examples of firm belief being a force for good. A world where faith in a nonexistent god can bring about the destruction of ancient evils and make a better world in the process. It reminds me of another story that expounds upon humanity's need for faith and belief in something: Terry Pratchett's The Hogfather. It is a parody of Christmas stories in which the incarnation of Death treats the sudden mass disbelief in the equivalent of Santa Claus as a threat to humanity's very existence. At the very end, he explains why:

Death: Yes. As practice. You have to start out learning to believe the little lies.

Susan: So we can believe the big ones?

Death: Yes. Justice. Mercy. Duty. That sort of thing.

Susan: They're not the same at all!

Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet- And yet you act as if there is some ideal order in the world, as if there is some rightness in the universe by which it may be judged.

...

Susan: You make us sound mad.

Death: No. You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?

This is a wonderful observation, & will probably push me to finally play PoE.

This was a fantastic read, thanks!

I'm a bit ashamed I didn't notice that detail in my playthrough, but yeah, you are totally right. That's pretty cool.

The idea that blind belief can itself be a positive force even if the thing being believed in isn't real is a nice sentiment. Unfortunately, that phenomenon has been far overshadowed by the opposite here in the real world.

Obviously there are real world examples of people with strong beliefs doing good because of them, but those that spread fear and hatred or commit acts of murder and genocide in the name of faith aren't worth whatever positive acts others commit in the name of faith.

@ll_exile_ll: Fear, hatred, murder, and genocide aren't solely faith's fault, and abolishing faith would not eliminate them or even put a huge dent in their activity. The greatest atrocities of the 20th century were caused not by faith, but by nationalism, racism, and greed. Faith certainly isn't perfect, but I think it gets a worse rap than it deserves; its failures are etched in stone for eternity, its successes fade into history.

I believe people who say humanity would be better off without faith are like those who say humanity would be better off without emotions: missing some fundamental quality about those traits that are responsible for humanity being humanity. (It is not coincidental the most intelligent species on Earth is also the most emotional.)

I couldn't disagree more. Religion and faith are being squeezed out of western society bit by bit and we're all the better for it. Decisions should be based on facts and science. Not some random dogma.

I know this is a necro but someone actually paid attention to the lore in PoE?

I am one of those idiots who skips the dialogue in most of these diablo / like games (although i liked Diablo's III story. MOAR LOOT !

Someone always does.

As for the necro, judging by it being the only post that account's ever made, I've flagged it as spam.