Path Of Exile Announces "Ruthless" Mode, A Brutally Difficult Flag With "Extreme Item Scarcity" Coming In December

Grinding Gear Games has officially announced the "Ruthless" mode for Path of Exile, an additional character creation flag alongside Hardcore and Solo Self-Found with "extreme item scarcity" and other dynamic changes. The devs expect to launch the flag alongside the 3.20 expansion in December and will have a small-scale Alpha test for Ruthless based on 3.19 to gain feedback from the community.

The article released to publicize the reveal expresses there are no patch notes currently on the numerical data for Ruthless, but rounds up the overall impressions players can expect. Ruthless will not replace regular POE, but instead functions as "a challenging mode for a specific type of player." It will not be monetized differently, stays free-to-play, and allows players to use existing microtransactions.

Ruthless is a mode that "re-imagines traditional understanding of where Path of Exile's endgame is," which makes the entire experience of POE in this mode the endgame. Grinding Gear states, "reaching higher campaign acts, let alone maps, is an achievement."

Traditionally, weak items are more valuable, while high characters and rare items are effectively sacred and warrant immediate bragging rights. All items and crafting currency drops will get chopped massively across the board. Players won't be able to purchase gems from vendors. Even flasks won't restore upon entering the town or your hideout, and Hardcore Ruthless characters are permanently dead forever and won't transfer to Standard.

"Ruthless is not for everyone" rings even more true after reading these sweeping changes coming with the mode. If you're eager for the alpha test and want to help Grinding Gear find the sweet spot for Ruthless, you can sign up via the article. Otherwise, all players can expect to see the mode in December in a pseudo-beta stage that may get mid-league adjustments and does not have challenges.