Path Of Exile is a true free to play game, in that the player never needs to drop a dime to experience everything the game has to offer, leaving gamers no reason to pass it by.
Path of Exile, lovingly called PoE by players worldwide continues intriguing fans with frequent updates in its ever evolving dark world. With frequent events and frequent new game modes, this indie gem has dug its roots deep into the MMO scene. To prevent gold from becoming totally worthless, PoE simply removed it.
Though, as with most free-to-play games there are microtransactions, any items that require cash does not affect gameplay, but are instead things like skins or glow-effects. A much kinder way to handle microtransactions.
One of the other extremely deep features in this game is the item system. In game currency comes in the form of usable ‘orb’ items which impact pieces of equipment in tangible, sometimes outrageously powerful ways. The active skills employed by any given character are also items, represented as gems, which level up and gain more power as time goes on. These gems slot into sockets in pieces of equipment, and can link together up to a maximum of six gems. The interactions between these gems and the items they slot into lend a stunning level of depth to the gameplay. Players can do anything from summoning flaming skulls to attack enemies, to throwing magical representations of melee weapons in great arcs, tearing through large monster packs.
The interesting aspect is the currency system it implements. There is no usual gold-like currency in this game. Instead, various orbs and scraps are awarded for vendoring loot, and also dropped, that can used to modify pieces of armor. You can still sell to and purchase Path of Exile items from NPCs, only you’ll be trading fragments of enhancement orbs and Scrolls. There are orbs for all different types of things such as upgrading item quality, changing the amount or color of sockets, upgrading rarity level, adding stats, or erasing stats to “rebuild” an item. This makes for a rich trading economy that is in a constant state of flux.
Most, if not all free-to-play games have a shared aspect in the presence of microtransactions. The ability to purchase either cosmetic items, gameplay features or performance enhancements by spending a certain amount of real money on the product. Path of exiles microtransactions all fall under cosmetic enhancements, or stash tabs, for additional item storage. Not being able to pay for a power boost may seem like a negative, but at the end of the day, it’s a refreshing change of pace from Path of Exile’s competition.
The cosmetic items on display here are for the most part pretty impressive, with flaming helmets, lightning wreathed weapons, and freezing footprints available for purchase. These cosmetic looks can be added to equipment your character already has, and removed without destroying the gear. The customization this allows for doesn’t just stop at gear, it extends to active skills as well, with examples like summoned skeletons becoming magically animated classical statues and fireballs turning into fierce looking dragons. At the end of the day, your character can look cool with the game in free-to-play mode, but can look awesome if a person is willing to drop a few dollars.
