Download Path of Exile for free – renowned ARPG hack-and-slash
Path of Exile launched in 2013, a year after Diablo 3. Unlike the first two Diablo titles, Diablo 3 wasn’t a massive success at release and took a beating from critics.
That opened the door for new titles to step into the spotlight of the online action RPG genre and find success. And that’s exactly what Path of Exile did—partly by taking a different direction than Diablo 3 and appealing more to the hardcore gamer crowd.
An intense genre
The ARPG hack-and-slash genre is intense because it demands that you think on your feet, and the gameplay revolves around killing a lot (and we really mean a lot) of monsters.
Often, the characters you play (as is also the case in PoE) are based on fantasy archetypes, letting you fight in many different ways with a variety of weapons and spells. As we also mention further down, Path of Exile goes a step further with one of the most complex skill trees in any game, ever.
Customize your gameplay with weapons, skills, and gems
In Path of Exile, you choose an archetype you want to play (Templar, Witch, Duelist, etc.), each of which can use different combinations of weapons.
The game is known for its skill system, which lets you swap abilities in and out freely. When you pick up a weapon or a piece of armor and equip it, it may have small sockets. Into these, you place magical gems that grant the abilities you use to slay monsters (for example, a gem might let you cast fire spells, slam your hammer into the ground, or heal yourself).
These are your active skills—alongside them is a passive system that runs in parallel. This is the system many associate with Path of Exile, and it’s a big part of what makes the game stand out.
A whole world of skill trees
Each class has its own skill tree that grants bonuses and influences your active abilities. For example, if you play as a Witch, your first choices might involve dealing more damage while remaining fragile—or dealing a bit less damage in exchange for a magical shield that protects you from heavy hits.
Later in the game, you can also specialize through the Ascendancy system. As a Witch, for example, you can specialize as an Elementalist, Necromancer, or Occultist, which changes your abilities and overall playstyle.
If you want to test this system, you can use the Path of Exile’s passive skill tree builder, which lets you create your own combination of skills and passives without opening the game—and also share your creation with the world.
Free to download and play—with an optional in-game cash shop
Path of Exile is completely free-to-play; if you have the patience and don’t care much about cosmetics, you can play without spending a cent.
The in-game shop, where you can spend real money, offers various options. You can buy cosmetics that turn your footsteps into glowing effects, add cool (but not stronger) weapon skins, new portal effects, or give you the ability to create more characters on the same server.
There’s a lot to choose from, but as mentioned, you can skip this section entirely if you’re good at holding back when it comes to spending money in games.
Other similar games
Genshin Impact may not resemble Path of Exile in many ways (especially visually), but both are online games that require strong technical skill to succeed. Combat is packed with action, and you need to cast spells quickly, strike enemies with your sword, and dodge various attacks.
Tales of Arise is a recently released ARPG that isn’t strictly hack-and-slash, but it still features plenty of battles that demand quick reflexes and fast fingers.
Conclusion
Path of Exile is a free game that won the BAFTA Games Award in 2020 for Best Evolving Game. The story is solid, but it truly shines through its combat and highly customizable skill system, which ensures every player has a unique experience of this world.
The graphics are great, though certain builds that trigger many effects at once can pull FPS down if your PC struggles.
Frequent updates keep the game alive and constantly draw former players back in, which is always a positive when we’re dealing with online games.
Download Path of Exile
