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[Preview] Path of Exile: On Launch, The Future, and Beyond

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

Path of Exile has been in open beta for quite some time and has been well-received by players. Grinding Gears is ready to launch the game into retail release with some awesome new features. We caught up with the studio's Managing Director, Chris Wilson to talk about launch and beyond.

Upcoming F2P MMOARPG, Path of Exile has certainly made a big impression on a lot of gamers during its open beta period and has over 3 Million registered users already. Now, as the game prepares for its full launch on October 23rd Grinding Gears Games are showing off some the games new features, including a new character class (The Scion) and committing to a 4 month release plan for special leagues and a 2-week turnaround for patches. We sat down with Grinding Gears’ Managing Director, Chris Wilson to find out what we can expect post-launch and what the process was like for his team balancing the title.

Read more of Blake Morse's Path of Exile: On Launch, The Future, and Beyond.

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Comments

  • LunarpacLunarpac Member UncommonPosts: 57
    For me, the desync (client and server disagreeing on where your character is in the game world) pretty much overshadows anything GGG is planning. Which is a shame, because they're planning a lot of features and stuff for the game, but in the end it's just like strapping a horn to a horse and combing its mane. It's still not really a fabulous unicorn.
  • anarchywitchanarchywitch Member Posts: 1
    Desync problem still isn't fixed, you can die at any moment or disconnect. It has no offline mode, even though the game is basically dead. If you queue for pvp 2v2, 4v4 ect, it even shows you 0 people in queue. if you want to play a shit game, you may aswell buy diablo 3, atleast they don't sell out and have Razor items in the cash shop.
     
  • ParasitenoirParasitenoir Member Posts: 43

    @Lunarpac

    @Anarchywitch

    Haha both of you have clearly never played or are playing on a cardboard box because D-sync really is zero issue at this point.  Game is far from dead.  I would say both of you are prolly just scrubs that died alot because you cannot understand game mechanics.  Been playing for 10 months now and have not died from d-sync since february.  I play a summoner with 3 flame sentinels, 13 skeletons and 9 zombies - d-sync i do not experience.

    Thanks - everyone else give this game a try - specially if your a hardcore D2 fanatic.

     

     

  • irnbru69irnbru69 Member UncommonPosts: 124

    @Parasitenoir

    Ive been part of PoE since the very 1st closed beta wave, thats over 2 years this august and I cant tell you first hand that de sync is a massive problem. How dare you write about how you have no de sync when you play a summoner class.  If you say you understand the game then you would know what skills are affected

    (summoner knows about a game that must be a 1st)

    What does playing with a Calculator computer or card board box pc have to do with de sync, nothing actually. They have how ever introduced some kind of experimental anti lag*  script which helps a little with some skills but does not solve the overall problem.

    Thats not to say it nulls the game completely, But and it is a very huge but.... When certain classes need to use escape skills and what not to get around the quirky gameplay like de sync then there is a problem as the game is supposed to be about choosing and creating your very own Path, Now how is it possible to create such a unique path when one is simply forced to use skills that dont reflect the path they want to take, and not just skills passives are taken into consideration  when faced with quirky gameplay.

    Non the less it would not stop me from recommending this game.

     
     
  • sacredfoolsacredfool Member UncommonPosts: 849
    Played it casually, never experienced desync. 


    Originally posted by nethaniah

    Seriously Farmville? Yeah I think it's great. In a World where half our population is dying of hunger the more fortunate half is spending their time harvesting food that doesn't exist.


  • n00bitn00bit Member UncommonPosts: 345
    Ah, looking so forward to this launch. Been taking a small break in anticipation of the launch of a new multi-month league. Don't let the desync criers scare you off; yes, there is desync, but it really only occurs often with a few skills such as flickerstrike and cyclone.
  • AroukosAroukos Member Posts: 571
    Excellent game! i m 45 lvl marauder and really having a blast. Skill gem system, map mods, currency, passive skill tree, item mods, all are brilliant. It also gives me the lost sense of D2, an epic dark feeling. The game can only get better, considering that they were a small team growing day by day. It is also 100% f2p. No boosts, no pots, not anything in the store besides visual effects. I m waiting for launch day!
  • JeroKaneJeroKane Member EpicPosts: 7,096

    Very often De-Sync issues happen due to hardware not being able to cope With the load.

  • LunarpacLunarpac Member UncommonPosts: 57
    If any of you (Parasitenoir) think the majority of desync in PoE happens due to inferior hardware on the client end, you're just not very bright. Or a troll. Either way, I'm sorry.
  • TheHavokTheHavok Member UncommonPosts: 2,423
    Great game.  Great devs.  Great F2P model.  Grats to GGG for being the ideal indie gaming company.
  • rodingorodingo Member RarePosts: 2,870
    Originally posted by TheHavok
    Great game.  Great devs.  Great F2P model.  Grats to GGG for being the ideal indie gaming company.

    I agree completely.

    "If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor

  • AdalwulffAdalwulff Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,152

    I couldn't get used to the diablo style view, it seems even worse than diablo was

    Love the skill tree though!

    I wont be playing this game anymore, but I think it has potential.

    image
  • VicodinTacoVicodinTaco Member UncommonPosts: 804

    I took a weeks vacation and I forgot to do anything else but play this game and occasionally go out for lunch.

     

    Practicing now for the new launch leagues.

    I encounter a desync maybe once for every 5 hours of solid gameplay, and I recover in a second or two.  This is an issue in hardcore mode sure, but you gotta be fucking careful, don't play the damn game if your ISP is spewing lost packets morons.   Mine does it every once in awhile so I go play GW2  or something where nothing you really do matters anyways.

     

    Also, turning off your porn torrents, itunes, and the Batman DvD you are burning would help too.

  • Ender4Ender4 Member UncommonPosts: 2,247

    Desync comes and goes. You can play a solid week without getting it and then have it happen every 30 minutes for a few days. The game was ok. Gets boring really fast though since you basically see the entire game in the first 10 hours of play. The end game maps are kind of a pain and the RNG crafting really stinks. I really wish you could justify crafting at earlier levels too instead of waiting for end game.

    The mob AI is just awful though, probably the biggest issue with the game. Once you figure out that certain skills are just way better than others while leveling it takes a lot of the replayability away too since you end up leveling the same exact way even if you are speccing multiple characters in different ways.

  • boxsndboxsnd Member UncommonPosts: 438

    Originally posted by Lunarpac
    For me, the desync (client and server disagreeing on where your character is in the game world) pretty much overshadows anything GGG is planning. Which is a shame, because they're planning a lot of features and stuff for the game, but in the end it's just like strapping a horn to a horse and combing its mane. It's still not really a fabulous unicorn.

    Originally posted by anarchywitch
    Desync problem still isn't fixed, you can die at any moment or disconnect. It has no offline mode, even though the game is basically dead. If you queue for pvp 2v2, 4v4 ect, it even shows you 0 people in queue. if you want to play a shit game, you may aswell buy diablo 3, atleast they don't sell out and have Razor items in the cash shop.

     

    I started playing in march and I usually play skills that are prone to desync (cyclone). I have never died to it (and I play HC). It is very easy to control after you learn the basics of the game (which both you guys probably never did). Don't get me wrong, it is PoE's #1 problem but you can easily avoid the desync-heavy skills, have a backup plan for when it actually happens and you'll be fine.

     

    About the article. Another disappointing interview by someone who obviously hasn't played PoE. The same old questions that were already asked dozens of times in the last weeks. Nothing about PvP tournaments/ladders/balance , the new guild system, guild leveling and perks, steam achievements/trading cards. Thanks for nothing, interviewer :( 

    DAoC - Excalibur & Camlann

  • RegnorRegnor Member UncommonPosts: 112
    I played PoE religiously for eons after a slow start, initially unimpressed. The currency system was kind of wacko, the item-to-inventory space ratio ludicrous, and passive skill tree inpenetrably obscure. And then it clicked and boy did it. One of the deepest and most satisfying games I've ever played, and one of the very very few in which I was eager to re-roll alts and other classes. The endgame maps system was brilliant and the beauty of the passive skill tree became more and more evident and exciting. Kripp played nothing but PoE for ages, and now I understand why. He saw in this game the vast potential for the kind of thing that brought a lot of us to Magic the Gathering: the ability to discover new build combos that could dominate for a while, until the next one was discovered. Great game, and omg what a great company. Transparent, communicative with their community. After many many months, the game ran out of steam for me and I'm probably done, but it was one HELL of a ride and one of my most memorable ever.

    Men do not stop playing because they grow old. They grow old because they stop playing. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

  • AroukosAroukos Member Posts: 571
    Originally posted by Regnor
    I played PoE religiously for eons after a slow start, initially unimpressed. The currency system was kind of wacko, the item-to-inventory space ratio ludicrous, and passive skill tree inpenetrably obscure. And then it clicked and boy did it. One of the deepest and most satisfying games I've ever played, and one of the very very few in which I was eager to re-roll alts and other classes. The endgame maps system was brilliant and the beauty of the passive skill tree became more and more evident and exciting. Kripp played nothing but PoE for ages, and now I understand why. He saw in this game the vast potential for the kind of thing that brought a lot of us to Magic the Gathering: the ability to discover new build combos that could dominate for a while, until the next one was discovered. Great game, and omg what a great company. Transparent, communicative with their community. After many many months, the game ran out of steam for me and I'm probably done, but it was one HELL of a ride and one of my most memorable ever.

     

    Agree with you.

    Thank god my only char is 46 lvl, so i have a long way ahead until i get bored :)

  • flizzerflizzer Member RarePosts: 2,455

    I've posted elsewhere about my experience with this game, but I figure I would repeat myself here.  I played this game when it first went online and figured it would be a nice online Diablo type game, as the developers were admitted Diablo fans.  In a game like this the combat is everything and if it does not feel right, well, there goes your game. For me the game felt clunky and unresponsive, and yes, I was getting constant desync and disconnect to the point it caused me to abandon the game.  Also, I remember going through Act III and then getting dumped in to the beginning again.  Apparently you just keep doing the Acts all over again and then at some point there are random maps you get when you have done this enough.  Really?   Maybe Diablo style players are fine with this, but for a game in development for 7 years?  I would expect much more than this.  This also contributed to my decision to abandon the game.

     

    Maybe the technical issues have been resolved, although judging from the posts on here that might be doubtful.  And I still don't believe there is much content in this game. 

  • DauzqulDauzqul Member RarePosts: 1,982

    This "open beta" stuff is getting silly.

     

    IMO, if the game claims that there will be no more character wipes, then that is when the game is no longer beta.

  • BizkitNLBizkitNL Member RarePosts: 2,546
    Originally posted by Dauzqul

    This "open beta" stuff is getting silly.

     

    IMO, if the game claims that there will be no more character wipes, then that is when the game is no longer beta.

    It's a nice little trick to not have to give refunds when people get upset over bugs and things.

    10
  • boxsndboxsnd Member UncommonPosts: 438
    Originally posted by flizzer

    I've posted elsewhere about my experience with this game, but I figure I would repeat myself here.  I played this game when it first went online and figured it would be a nice online Diablo type game, as the developers were admitted Diablo fans.  In a game like this the combat is everything and if it does not feel right, well, there goes your game. For me the game felt clunky and unresponsive, and yes, I was getting constant desync and disconnect to the point it caused me to abandon the game.  Also, I remember going through Act III and then getting dumped in to the beginning again.  Apparently you just keep doing the Acts all over again and then at some point there are random maps you get when you have done this enough.  Really?   Maybe Diablo style players are fine with this, but for a game in development for 7 years?  I would expect much more than this.  This also contributed to my decision to abandon the game.

     

    Maybe the technical issues have been resolved, although judging from the posts on here that might be doubtful.  And I still don't believe there is much content in this game. 

    Sounds like ARPGs aren't your thing. 

    DAoC - Excalibur & Camlann

  • cheeseheadscheeseheads Member UncommonPosts: 73
    Originally posted by Dauzqul

    This "open beta" stuff is getting silly.

     

    IMO, if the game claims that there will be no more character wipes, then that is when the game is no longer beta.

    dont worry in 10 days the 'beta card' will be done for good.  should be fun then

  • Ender4Ender4 Member UncommonPosts: 2,247


    Originally posted by boxsnd
    Sounds like ARPGs aren't your thing. 

    Or maybe just the ones based on the horribly flawed D2 backbone aren't for him? Playing the content over and over just swapping out the resist rates is such a terrible system that there is just no way to defend it. These games are simply broken.

  • boxsndboxsnd Member UncommonPosts: 438
    Originally posted by Ender4

     


    Originally posted by boxsnd
    Sounds like ARPGs aren't your thing. 

     

    Or maybe just the ones based on the horribly flawed D2 backbone aren't for him? Playing the content over and over just swapping out the resist rates is such a terrible system that there is just no way to defend it. These games are simply broken.

    What ARPGs do you like?

    DAoC - Excalibur & Camlann

  • Ender4Ender4 Member UncommonPosts: 2,247


    Originally posted by boxsnd
    What ARPGs do you like?

    There are plenty that have difficulty settings that change how hard the game is but aren't a specific part of the leveling curve. You can get to max level in Titan Quest or Torchlight games on the easiest setting or you can play them on harder ones. Games like D2, D3 and PoE are completely flawed by making you replay the same content over and over and over again just to reach max level and then asking you to sit in that same content for end game. It is one of the most flawed systems in gaming history.

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