For the uninitiated, Path of Exile is a top down action RPG in the same theme as Diablo but in my opinion much better. It's been in development and closed beta for more than a year but Grinding Gear Games is slowly progressing towards Public Beta.
Path of Exile is a free to play game that is truly free. You don't need to pay to win. The only items you pay for are cosmetic based and all completely optional. The game is sort of a hybrid MMO. When you're adventuring you're alone but you can travel to common areas such as cities. In cities you can interact with everyone else in the realm, trade or group up and go on quests with up to eight other people. If you want to show your mettle in some PvP, Path of Exile is designed from the beginning with this in mind. Grinding Gear Games will test leagues, world PvP and tournaments all throughout the beta period.
The Open Weekend includes the first two acts of Path of Exile, special end-game maps, Default and Hardcore leagues, six character classes, approximately 70 active skills, 40 support gems and hundreds of item types. Grinding Gear Games added a host of unique items designed by Brother Laz, author of the popular Diablo 2 mod Median XL, and their "Diamond Supporter" fans.
Game servers go public at 5pm (PDT) on Friday, September 14th until 11:59pm on Sunday, September 16th. Over 55,000 people played during the last Open Weekend in July. Any feedback you provide this weekend will help Grinding Gear Games prepare for the permanent Open Beta.
To play you will need to setup an account here http://www.pathofexile.com/account/create
and download the client here http://www.pathofexile.com/downloads/PathOfExileInstaller.msi
The Public Beta Weekend FAQ can be found here http://www.pathofexile.com/publicweekend/
Check out Path of Exile gameplay below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf4b7cklmmw
