Mercenary in Action on Shooter Gameplay from PoE2; Affliction DLC for PoE1 Announced

As announced, during today's live presentation, developers from studio Grinding Gear Games revealed a handful of information about the upcoming Path of Exile 2, presenting the mercenary class in action, among other things.

In addition, we learned a lot about new content heading to the ever-popular first installment, with the Affliction expansions, which will debut on December 8 on PC and December 13 on Xbox and PlayStation - both 8th and 9th generation, of course.

Long gameplay from Path of Exile 2 and new movement mechanics

The developers from Grinding Gear Games mainly revealed a new class, which we will try out during next year's beta of Path of Exile 2. It is the mercenary, a character who fights at a distance with a crossbow.

Presented on an exceptionally long gameplay (below), the class turns Path of Exile 2, so to speak, into a shooter - as emphasized by the developers themselves.

Using various types of ammunition "on the fly" - often impressive - the mercenaries will use their crossbow first, for example, as a shotgun, the next time as a machine gun, spreading terror among enemies.

Developers, in order to enhance the shooter "feel" of the character in question, decided to implement into Path of Exile 2 keyboard "WASD" movement system, which will enable us to aim and choose the direction of attack other than the one in which the character is moving.

Importantly, it will be possible to switch between standard mouse and the said controls at any time.

Let me remind you that Path of Exile 2 is heading for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. Unfortunately, the game's release date is not yet known. All we know is that on June 7, 2024, closed beta testing of the game will begin. Today we learned its PC system requirements.

Details on the Affliction expansion for Path of Exile

During the broadcast in question - in the second part of the stream - a ton of information was also provided about the upcoming major expansion for Path of Exile titled Affliction. This segment of the show was accompanied by a short trailer, which you can find below.

Here are the highlights of the upcoming content for Path of Exile:

• A new challenge league will be coming to the game, and as part of it we will visit the Viridian Wild Forest, which has fallen victim to a mysterious contamination. The goal of the players will be to discover its source and put an end to the corruption ruining in the forest.
• Whisps and their various versions, including "hallowed" ones, will prove crucial in the upcoming league. They will light the way, burn away the darkness, and serve as a signpost to uncover the secrets of the expansion. However, their power will eventually run out.
• Rescued by us from the title ailment whisps will be scattered around the game world and will inhabit the bodies of random monsters - including bosses - strengthening them, while offering better rewards for defeating them. Interestingly, hostile creatures can be "upgraded" by several types of whisps at the same time, making the opponents extremely challenging.
• There are 15 unique items heading to the game, which will be obtained by, among other things, by defeating enhanced monsters.
• Also developed is a system of so-called transfigurable gems, which enable you to completely change the style of gameplay. For example, the Frost Bomb of Instability, under the influence of these alternative gems, can be changed from a useful stronger skill with a cooldown to a main one, constantly dealing damage, only that less than before.
• During the exploration of the Wild Forest, we will choose which of the Azmeri Wanderers we will complete quests for to unlock one of the three new Ascendancy classes that we can acquire, in addition to the "usual" development path of this type.
• The iconic Ultimatum mechanic returns, which are deadly Vaal challenges commissioned by Chaos' servant, the Trialmaster. The greater the risk taken by the player during the trials, the potentially better the rewards, among which we will find new "uniques".

These are just some of the content and changes coming to PoE along with the Affliction DLC. For details on this, I refer you to the game's official website.

1. Path of Exile - game guide
2. Grinding Gear Games - official website

Path of Exile 2

December 6, 2024

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