A new league in Path of Exile recently released. Watching the trailer, I couldn’t help but smile. The graphics look fantastic, and I’ve already started considering what kind of build I want to play. There are so many options to choose from. When I really connect with a new league mechanic, I always tell myself that I’ll progress further than I did in previous leagues. To be completely transparent, I have to admit that since the addition of the 10th chapter, I have never made it to the end game in Path of Exile.
I know, it’s embarrassing to admit. At first, I thought it might be the skill tree that was holding me back. The skill tree can be quite complex. It’s often recommended for new players to use a premade build created by the community. But even when I tried that, I found myself losing interest. Despite my love for the game, my enjoyment of watching streams and keeping up with what’s going on in the game, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was simply a spectator. Similar to how some of my friends are fanatical about football but don’t actually play it themselves.
But after further reflection, I realized that the repetitive zones and the loss of progress each quarter might be the root of my problem. In Path of Exile, every three months there is a new league, and everything starts from scratch. I’ve been through the beginning zones countless times, and although the areas are somewhat randomized and a new mechanic is added each quarter, seeing the same zones with the same stories can be tedious. The thought of going through them again doesn’t fill me with excitement.
There is the option to keep progression in the standard league, where all characters are placed when a new league starts. While players get to keep everything, the standard league lags behind the current league, and the economy becomes inflated (there’s no point in trying to balance it). And if a new mechanic isn’t added to the main game, a player can miss it entirely.
I think I’ve finally realized why I’ve never made it to endgame in Path of Exile. While I enjoy the game and love watching streams of it, I think it’s time for me to accept that I don’t like repeating myself in games. No matter how many new classes or builds I try, I still have to go through the same zones and listen to the same stories that I already know. That’s why I’ve completed the main game for Diablo 1-3, which is a similar game to Path of Exile. In Diablo, I play for the story, and when I reach the end, I put the game down. In contrast, Path of Exile has much more content and is more flexible, but that repetition just doesn’t appeal to me.
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