Gritty Action RPG ‘Path Of Exile’ Coming To Xbox One This Year


For nearly four years players on PC have been exploring Wraeclast, the grim setting for Grinding Gear Games Path of Exile. The isometric action RPG is popular on Steam where thousands of players log in each day. After five major expansions and countless loot drops, the free-to-play title is coming to the Xbox One.

Path of Exile contains a few notable features that endear many players to the action RPG. The iconic skill gem system lets players choose and customize their abilities by equipping skill gems. Players can further customize their gender-locked characters through the massive passive skill tree board. The seven classes also offer several Ascendancy options where the class is further tailored by the player. Each class has three Ascendancy options except for the Scion which has one.

Choose from seven classes and multiple sub-classes in Path of Exile [Image by Grinding Gear Games]

Today, developer and publisher Grinding Gear Games announced that Path of Exile is coming to the Xbox One console later this year. Like the PC version, Path of Exile on Xbox One will be free-to-play featuring the many of the same cosmetic and convenience microtransactions. Xbox One players will soon be able to collect their skill gems, customize their passive build, and work their way to the updated endgame. Although the PC and Xbox One versions of Path of Exile will be separate, leagues and other updates will be applied to both according to the official game website.

“Xbox One players will play on their own realm, separate to the PC realm. This is due to small gameplay differences between the two versions, such as the number of Flask slots and how some skills are targeted. We intend to follow the same content and league release schedule on both the Xbox One and PC versions of Path of Exile.”

On an Xbox One controller, skills are activated with the face buttons and Right Trigger activates a second tray of abilities for selection. Potions are housed on the D-pad letting players quickly access four different options. A new user interface is also featured on the console with character life and mana at the top of the screen rather than the bottom. Menu buttons are also removed on the Xbox One interface making the display cleaner.

As noted by Xbox’s Major Nelson on Twitter, the release of Path of Exile on Xbox One will include the game’s five expansions. Players can start and continue their journey as an exile alone or play with up to five others through four acts and three difficulties. The Xbox One versions will also include other features of the game like hideouts, an area the player can customize with Masters and decorative items.

Skill gems, passive choices, and gear greatly influence a character’s abilities [Image by Grinding Gear Games]

Of course, the action RPG is completely item focused with abilities being unlocked through skill gems, gear providing slots for those gems, and a variety of flasks with different properties also dropping in-game. The in-game economy in Path of Exile completely thrives on items as a form of currency. Instead of buying an item with gold, players purchase new items with usable orbs that reroll properties on items.

Path of Exile is also known for its different leagues. The standard and hardcore leagues are always available, but temporary leagues come and go offering players a slightly different experience. Different leagues last several months at a time and feature different activities themed accordingly. For example, the active PC league right now is the Breach league where breaches open up on maps. Players can enter the breach to fight monsters, collect splinters, and eventually attack the Breachlord.

Xbox One players can expect all of these listed features when Path of Exile releases later this year. Again, the isometric action RPG will be free-to-play on Xbox One which means an active Xbox Live subscription will likely be required to play. Microtransactions are likely to be available on the Xbox One as well, and potential Xbox One players can check out the PC shop for a preview of what might be included in the store. Items like gear effects, alternate spell effects, pets, account features, and more will probably be purchasable on the Xbox One for those willing to support the development of Path of Exile.

[Featured Image by Grinding Gear Games]

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