Hacking a Path: Path of Exile no longer in beta, adds Scion Class and Guilds

Sound the trumpets, beat the wardrums, and ready your most trusted weapon for Path of Exile has shed its beta title today. Unlike other games with more "superficial" releases, Path of Exile's patch to 1.0 has some substantial meat to it. Grinding Gear Games has went about adding several new zones with fresh tilesets, new enemies, items, challenge modes, and the new Scion class who can only be unlocked through the story once players complete the game.

The Scion is the most customizable of all the classes, allowing full freedom with talent point specialization. However, flexibility comes at a price, and the Scion does not posses any class specific specializations. Six new world areas and eight new end-game maps ensure even the most veteran PoE players have something new to look at. They'll want to return anyways as GGG also added a grand finale boss fight. Certainly can't have an ARPG finale without one.

Virtual socialites will be pleased to know you can now more effectively dispatch your enemies alongside friends with the inclusion of guilds. Guilds aren't just a way of pooling your friends together in one place though. Powerful guilds can earn name tags which require "sacrificing a set of end-game maps" allowing players to create unique tags with rare symbols. Competitive guilds should be on the lookout for special Guilds Challenges soon.

Those seeking to be competitive on their own will be happy to hear about the inclusion of new four-month Challenge Leagues, which offer new Domination and Nemesis modes with specific guidelines along with special loot. In Domination, players will need to power Shrines throughout the land which give nearby monsters large bonuses, but can reward players with their powers if they can fight their way to them. Nemesis is a hardcore league which grant rare monsters players encounter more attributes, making the fight substantially harder.

All the aforementioned content could be considered the highlights from the patch, but the amount of additional content crammed into release is fairly staggering. GGG has added over a dozen new skills, made substantial balance changes, added an achievement system, Capture the Flag PvP, and cleaned up a multitude of pesky bugs. You can read over the extensive 1.0 patch notes to find out more.