Path Of Exile: Scourge Expansion Revealed

Grinding Gear Games revealed a lot of information about the Scourge expansion today during stream presentations. Many of the aspects you’re probably expecting from most leagues are on full display here, including a massive risk/reward system that has you fueling your items with demonic corruption.

In fact, you’re fueling everything with corruption here as you fill your Blood Crucible with the power of your enemies as you move from map to map, choosing when to activate your device to shift the world into an apocalypse and take on as many demonic entities as you can to glean massive rewards. You can make all sorts of things corrupt and give them terrifying new powers. However, your Blood Crucible can be upgraded to increase your control over these transformative abilities. 

As has become the name of the game in Path of Exile over the years, you can pretty much level up and tweak damn near everything in what has become one of the most elaborate “numbers go up” games in recent memory. This means that you can place maps in the Blood Crucible. For more variety and fun, simply include the new corruption features into your map system if you’re familiar with Path of Exile: the Atlas.

Like every league there are new items and unique skills available. Perhaps much more exciting and meaningful is that the Atlas adventure has been streamlined and pared down from eight regions to four, meaning the number of Watchstones you need is down to 16 from 32. If you have ever mapped the Atlas, then this is a significant shift in how long it takes to reach major milestones. To reflect this, Atlas passive trees were modified. Endgame players now have access to a variety of Uber encounters. Delve, where you can go deeper and deeper into mines, has also been updated for an entirely new experience. The passive trees were also reworked. Although this is something that happens frequently, this appears to be the most important overhaul. Take a good look at the area before you commit to a build or expansion for the league.

Scourge is also a lot more fun when you play with friends. Due to the nature of Path of Exile, most players will choose to face the difficulties alone. But new linking powers may encourage them to work together for adventure. While linked, players enjoy various augmented boosts, but if one player in the link dies then all linked players die, so yes, there’s yet another risk/reward element to this feature. It’s always about the gamble, right?

There’s a ton more to come in Path of Exile: Scourge, if you’re interested in all the changes and additions Check out the official site for more information