Is Path Of Exile Still Worth Playing In 2025?
There is no doubt that the most eye-catching ARPG in recent times is Path of Exile 2, which was launched at the end of 2024. Although it is still in the early access stage and has not yet shown its full version charm to you, POE 2 is better than the recent performance of another strong competitor Diablo 4 - after all, the latter’s Season 7 has not yet arrived.
But perhaps you have a question, since Path of Exile 2 is in full swing, is it still necessary to experience the first game in the same series in the new 2025? Based on this, we will make a comprehensive comparison of the recent performance of POE 1, POE 2 and Diablo 4 to provide you with some reference.
Path Of Exile 1 Performance Review
In the past year, from 3.24 Necropolis to 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur, even though it has been more than ten years since its official release, POE 1 has always been committed to maintaining its freshness by constantly updating the league, which is one of the main reasons for its enduring popularity.
POE 3.24
The league was officially launched on March 29, 2024, and added a lot of new content based on the past leagues, such as the league mechanism that allows you to configure the difficulty of monsters and POE Currency rewards, and Embers of the Allflame items that allow you to encounter abnormal monsters with special rewards.
POE 3.25
As the most recent Path of Exile 1 league released to you, POE 3.25 can be said to have made many special updates to the game. In terms of combat, version 3.25 has completely changed your melee mode and introduced Warden class to replace Raider. But besides these, the most eye-catching is the challenge league mechanism that allows you to build and manage your own town.
It is worth noting that it is this league mechanism that allows you to experience a new and more complete trade system in POE 1, allowing you to obtain more necessary materials by hiring workers and port trade besides obtaining POE Divine Orbs through battle.
Compared To Path Of Exile 2
As a sequel, POE 2 must innovate in many aspects to ensure that it will not be overshadowed by the brilliance of the previous work, and based on the current performance, it has completely done this.
First of all, it is worth mentioning that it responds to the response and expectations of fans in the past, and launched the couch co-op that POE 1 did not have, as well as cross-platform games and cross-platform progress. In view of the continuous evolution of current game devices, it is imperative for a large-scale ARPG to keep you and provide you with more convenience in playing.
In the specific game content, POE 2 allows you to provide more unique mechanisms for game characters through support gems based on skill and class differences. This undoubtedly gives you more control and customization, giving you more personality than Path of Exile 1 for any class and weapon you want to experience.
If you like the boss battles of POE series, then POE 2 will never let you down. It brings more than 100 unique bosses to fight. Besides the improved boss battles in the endgame content, you also have the opportunity to get a brand new combat experience through dedicated maps for each boss. And the bosses in POE 2 are more challenging, requiring you to use critical thinking to deploy strategies and make the battles more interesting.
Based on the above changes, there is no doubt that Path of Exile 2 is better than the first game in these aspects, especially the narrative method of the second part is also better. In addition, all the playing threshold of the first and second parts are actually not low. So if you are an old player of the series, you can experience an upgraded version of Path of Exile through POE 2 in the new year.
But if you haven’t come into contact with POE yet, then I think you can also consider playing POE 1. Because compared to the second part, it still has some unique mechanisms, such as the fun league and trade system in 3.25. And the first game has been running for ten years, so it may be more stable.
And if you plan to play POE 1 in the near future, you still can solve the possible POE Currency shortage through the giveaway information and activities in iGMeet Discord, avoiding worries.
Compared To Diablo 4
In the past year, Diablo 4 has always been popular and discussed, especially after October, with the launch of DLC Vessel of Hatred and Season 6, it quickly attracted a group of new players.
Although Diablo 4 was launched in 2023, the development history of the entire Diablo series is much longer than Path of Exile. So although POE 1 also has its own characteristics, Diablo 4 is better than Path of Exile 1 in terms of the smoothness of the game and the exquisiteness of the picture, and the experience will be better.
Although in the face of 2025, except for Season 7 which will be launched soon, Diablo 4 has not yet revealed whether it will launch new DLC or other major activities, but there is no doubt that Diablo 4 is the current core of Diablo series, so any updates will basically be launched in Diablo 4, and the development focus of POE series in 2025 is undoubtedly the second part. So from this perspective, in 2025, Diablo 4 may bring you more surprises than POE 1.
Based on the above review and comparison, if you are only interested in POE series, then in the next year you can choose to play the first or second part according to your own preferences; but if you have to choose between Diablo 4 and POE 1, the former will be better. I hope you can continue to enjoy the fun of ARPG in the new year! Thank you for reading!
Jan-07-2025
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Path Of Exile 3.24: Is The ...
In this guide, we're venturing into the fascinating realm of character builds in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League. Our focus lies on the Ngamahu's Flame Cyclone Berserker, a powerful build residing within the Marauder class. Pros & Cons Now, let's explore the pros of this build in greater detail. Firstly, the clear speed is exceptional. Utilizing Cyclone, you sustain perpetual motion, delivering a thrilling whirlwind experience as you effortlessly decimate foes. Moreover, this build offers impressive single-target damage output without requiring extensive investment. However, let's address the cons as well. The primary concern lies in survivability. Despite incorporating multiple defensive layers, this build necessitates proximity to enemies, rendering it vulnerable to incoming attacks. Furthermore, as a Berserker, you inherently endure a 10% increase in damage taken, exacerbating the survivability challenge. About Ngamahu's Flame Axe Ngamahu's Flame Axe features a unique built-in skill, Molten Burst, triggered with a 20% chance on melee hit, akin to Molten Strike. This presents an excellent opportunity for a trigger build with high attack speed. Cyclone distinguishes itself as the optimal skill for triggering Molten Burst due to its swift attack speed and the capability to move while executing attacks. With approximately 20 hits per second on a single enemy, Molten Burst becomes a reliable source of damage. The skill can be supported by 6 support gems, and the axe doesn't require its sockets to be linked, simplifying the build assembly. Enhancing damage further, players can anoint their amulet with Vengeant Cascade to make projectiles bounce, and utilize Point Blank Support for up to 30% more damage. Budget Of This Build To begin tackling endgame maps on a budget, you can kickstart with approximately 90 chaos. However, to smoothly progress to yellow maps, it's advisable to invest around 150 chaos for a more comfortable experience. For easily completing your Atlas, I recommend investing around 6 Divine Orbs. Otherwise, your survivability won't be enough, and you'll end up dying a lot. You need 2 mandatory unique items for this build. The primary and pivotal component is the Ngamahu's Flame Axe. It instantly converts 60% of your physical damage into fire, provides 20% fire penetration, and initiates Molten Burst upon hits, significantly amplifying single-target damage. Next, we also need the Stampede boots, which guarantee that our movement speed is always 150% of its base. This is great because now we can replace the regular Cyclone with Cyclone of Tumult for a lot more damage and AOE effect for clear speed. Performance Ratings I will analyze whether this build is suitable for POE 3.24 Necropolis League from these 3 aspects: clear speed, boss damage and survivability. Clear Speed: When assessing the clear speed, this build shines with an impressive rating of 9 out of 10. The Cyclone skill emerges as a standout feature, facilitating effortless traversal across varied terrains and swiftly dispatching enemies, enabling uninterrupted movement. Boss Damage: When assessing the damage on bosses, this build achieves a flawless rating of 10 out of 10. The introduction of the Cyclone of Tumult significantly amplifies attack speed, leading to more frequent activation of Molten Burst. As a result, even the most formidable bosses are swiftly brought to their knees within mere moments. Survivability: When evaluating the survivability of this build, it attains a rating of 7 out of 10. Although bolstered by substantial life reserves, permanent Fortify, heightened armor, evasion, and spell suppression, the build is not without its vulnerabilities, particularly in close-quarters combat scenarios. This inherent risk becomes more pronounced, especially when facing off against high-tier maps without sufficient investment in fortifying survivability attributes.Apr-10-2024
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Path Of Exile 3.24: Is The ...
In this guide for Path of Exile 3.24, the purpose is to clarify the currency farming strategy that I customize for the Essence. This farming is set in the Dunes Map, including the effects of 3 Essence Scarabs, a Scarab of Ascension with the Essence map mod and the Searing Exarch influence. It is advisable to pick the Dunes Map for Essence farming. Compared with other maps, we can avoid the demand for large-scale map rolling and can maximize the number of quantities and rareness. Strategy Overview The strategy is straightforward: Utilize the Cartography Scarab of Ascension along with 3 small Essence Scarabs, the Essence map mod, and Searing Exarch influence. The decision to use the Dunes Map for Essence farming is intentional and the simplicity of its navigation and the potential of Boss Rush. It should be noted that killing the boss isn't necessary, as it garners ample essences from Crystal Resonance. The boss is nowhere near as crazy as it is in the high-end strategy where you use the Essence Scarab of Calcification, but it is still advisable to bring the boss below 50% health to speed up the kill at the end of the map. Farming Build If your build boasts a formidable damage output, let’s say around 20 million DPS or higher, it’s advisable to prioritize eliminating a few essences before engaging the boss. This precautionary measure prevents accidental boss kills, which could diminish your number of Essence each time it occurs. For minion-based builds, strategic allocation of passive points is crucial. Consider investing in skills like Indomitable Army and physical damage reduction to counter the effects of Corrupted Blood. Without these defensive measures, your minions will require substantial damage output and life recovery capabilities to effectively contend with the Essence monsters. Map Rolling Tips The Dunes Map doesn’t have to be rolled much. I recommend to just chisel and alch the Dunes Map to increase loot and get the occasional high-quantity maps for other strategies. Even though this is not a strategy for Essence Scarab of Calcification, it’s still advisable to roll maps with strong defensive mods like more monster life and damage reduction for physical and elemental builds because you want to kill the Essence monsters and the boss as quickly as possible. Farming Investment The investment in the farming required is minimal. It’s around 8 chaos for the map itself, 14 chaos for the Scarabs, and another 3 chaos for the map mod, for 25 chaos per map. In the 20 loot breakdown maps, there are 6 Fortress Maps, which actually constitute most of our total amount of Essence farming. All the Essences that we found still dwarf this, with the Essences of Envy and Loathing being the most valuable ones. So, they make up more of the total than the other essences. The Incandescent Imitation is on 20 maps. So you can probably reduce this by 20% or so, given the total amount of POE Currency. The total map cost, including the 25 chaos, actually translates to profit rather than losses. While there are some additional items, like the Polaric Invitations, chaos orbs, and great jammers, they don't contribute substantially to the total currency gained. Final Thought If there were any exceptionally valuable drops, they would have been highlighted. We did find one fortunate drop, but it was quite average. As for items like coffins and Allflames, they don't significantly contribute to the overall currency. Considering coffins, for instance, they don't add much to your earnings, so skipping them won't cause a substantial loss. Allflames, on the other hand, are a bit more impactful. But overall, the main contributors to currency are the Essences and the Fortress maps we found, with smaller items like Polaric Invitations and bubblegum currency also playing a role. While the sample size isn't huge, the consistency of the earnings is noteworthy. You can expect to earn around 15 divines per hour if you consistently run this strategy and can navigate the maps efficiently. On average, it took me about 2 and a half to 3 minutes per map. Cutting down on this time further could potentially increase your earnings even more.Apr-11-2024
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Exploring the Potent Transc ...
Path of Exile 3.22, also known as the Trial of the Ancestors league, has introduced a slew of new build options, and one that's generating significant buzz is Transcendence. Historically, this keystone has been primarily used in conjunction with the Loreweave unique item to mitigate the maximum resistance penalty affecting characters. However, with the inclusion of tattoos in this league, paired with Chieftain's Valako notable or the Melding of the Flesh unique jewel, there's a new way to address these issues. This article dives deep into the Transcendence keystone, its strengths, weaknesses, and how to leverage tattoos for a powerful build. The Transcendence Keystone: Strengths and Weaknesses Transcendence offers a robust defensive advantage but comes with two substantial drawbacks that have limited its usage in the past. First, it causes armor to cease reducing physical damage while applying to elemental damage. Additionally, it imposes a substantial elemental max resistance penalty, making it challenging to overcome these hurdles. Traditional Approach: Loreweave Traditionally, Transcendence was paired with the Loreweave unique item, which has a hard cap on maximum resistance, effectively mitigating the keystone's drawbacks. However, this approach requires dedicating your body armor slot to Loreweave, leaving you vulnerable to physical damage unless you have exceptional gear. Enter Tattoos: A Game-Changer in 3.22 Path of Exile 3.22 introduces tattoos, which bring new opportunities to the table. The Tattoo of the Ngamahu Makanga, for example, grants +1 to maximum fire resistance. There are similar tattoos for cold and lightning resistance. Additionally, the unique jewel Warrior's Tale doubles the effect of all tattoos within a medium radius, significantly enhancing their potency. Chieftain's Advantage Chieftain, in particular, benefits from these tattoos due to its Valako notable. By investing in specific nodes on the skill tree, you can obtain up to +8 maximum fire resistance, not including other potential sources like Purity of Fire and halo effect scaling. This means you can easily equip Transcendence without relying on Loreweave. With Transcendence and Lightning Coil, you can effectively address both elemental and physical damage threats. Expanding Beyond Chieftain: Melding of the Flesh While Chieftain benefits greatly from these changes, other classes can also take advantage of tattoos. Adding the Melding of the Flesh jewel to another class introduces another -4 maximum elemental resistance challenge. However, this is easily manageable through additional tattooing. For instance, the Tattoo of the Arohongui Makanga offers +1 maximum cold resistance. Items like Brine Crown provide three maximum cold resistances, and you can further boost your resistances through your shield slot or items like Aegis Aurora. The passive tree offers numerous options, and placing your Warrior's Tale in a strategic location can further increase your maximum resistance. Closing Thoughts In summary, the Transcendence keystone in Path of Exile 3.22 has been a potent but limited choice due to its significant drawbacks. However, with the introduction of tattoos and unique jewels, these limitations are easier to overcome. This league offers a chance to create exceptionally tanky characters using Transcendence, and it will be fascinating to see how players leverage this setup to tackle challenging content and withstand formidable boss abilities.Sep-19-2023
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Explosive Arrow Ballista El ...
Path of Exile is a highly popular action role-playing game that has been around for quite some time. For those who enjoy playing an Elementalist, there is a build that is worth considering. The Explosive Arrow Ballista Elementalist is a powerful build that can deal massive damage to enemies. This blog post will discuss this build in detail. 1. Overview: - The Explosive Arrow Ballista Elementalist is a powerful build that combines the Explosive Arrow skill with Ballista to deal massive area damage. - This build focuses on stacking explosive arrows on enemies and utilizing ballistas to amplify the damage. - The Elementalist ascendancy class provides additional elemental damage and utility, making it an excellent choice for this build. 2. Skill Gems: - Explosive Arrow: This is your primary skill. It fires an arrow that embeds itself in enemies and creates a fuse. After a short delay, the fuse ignites and explodes, dealing massive area damage. Link it with support gems like Greater Multiple Projectiles, Elemental Damage with Attacks, and Ignite Proliferation for enhanced damage and AoE coverage. - Ballista Totem: Summon Ballista Totems to support your Explosive Arrow. They provide additional damage, attack speed, and can be linked with support gems like Multiple Totems, Elemental Focus, and Added Lightning Damage for increased effectiveness. - Herald of Ash: Activate this aura skill to boost your fire damage and ignite chance. It also grants additional burning damage to enemies killed by your skills. - Cast When Damage Taken (CWDT) setup: Use CWDT linked with Immortal Call, Increased Duration, and Molten Shell for defense. It triggers automatically when you take a certain amount of damage, providing temporary invulnerability and extra armor. 3. Passive Skill Tree: - Prioritize passive nodes that increase bow damage, elemental damage, projectile damage, and area damage. - Allocate life and energy shield nodes to enhance survivability. - Take advantage of the Elementalist ascendancy class's notable passive skills, such as Mastermind of Discord, Beacon of Ruin, and Paragon of Calamity, which provide elemental damage boosts, ignite proliferation, and elemental ailment immunity. 4. Gear: - Weapon: Look for a high DPS bow with increased elemental damage and added fire damage modifiers. - Quiver: Choose a quiver that provides increased elemental damage, increased attack speed, and additional arrow modifiers. - Armor: Aim for a combination of life and energy shield on your body armor, and prioritize resistances and elemental damage modifiers. - Accessories: Focus on rings and amulets that grant increased elemental damage, life, resistances, and critical strike chance/multiplier. - Jewels: Use jewels with increased damage, attack speed, life, and resistances to further enhance your build. 5. Playstyle Tips: - Start by summoning Ballista Totems to provide additional damage and support your Explosive Arrow. - Fire Explosive Arrows at groups of enemies, aiming to stack multiple arrows on each target. - Once arrows are stacked, detonate them by hitting the same target repeatedly or using a single-target skill like Scourge Arrow. - Move strategically to avoid enemy attacks while maintaining a safe distance to deal damage effectively. - Utilize defensive flasks, such as Quicksilver Flasks and Basalt Flasks, to improve mobility and mitigate incoming damage. - Keep an eye on your mana pool and utilize skills like Herald of Ash and Anger for extra damage, while ensuring you have enough mana to cast your skills. You can customize the build according to your playstyle and available resources. Experiment with different gems, gear, and passive tree choices to optimize your Explosive Arrow Ballista Elementalist in Path of Exile. Good luck and have fun!Jun-20-2023