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Pros
Pro Not pay to win
The developers have a strict "no pay to win" mindset on this game, which is greatsince everyone has a fair chance at winning. Microtransactions are almost exclusively cosmetic, but can also get additional stash tabs (NOT inventory space), non combat pets and weapon graphics. Note that free accounts already start off with a lot of stash space.
Pro Completely free to download and play
Just install steam and download the game. No purchase required and the only thing locked behind paywalls is cosmetic accessories and inventory slots of which you can waste money on cosmetics, but you won't fall behind if you don't want to spend money.
Pro Completely free without pay to win mechanics
You can just download and install the game without any purchases. On top of that, there are no pay-to-win mechanics and the only things locked behind paywalls are cosmetic effects, pets, and additional storage space. You can easily play the game for hundreds of hours without spending a dime.
Pro Hundreds of possible character builds
There's a staggering amount of builds and skills you can try out in Path of Exile. There are 7 classes, 19 subclasses, 194 active skill gems, 107 support gems, and over 1000 skill nodes on the expansive skill tree. As a result, there are hundreds of possible combinations, allowing you to spend hours theory-crafting just to create the perfect build. Even if you don't feel like planning out a build from scratch, you can just look up one of the many guides online and get straight into the action.
Cons
Con Anti-experimentation for new players
The game heavily punishes any experimentation for new players. Unless you have near perfect understanding of late game and the various viable build-options you are more or less unable to experiment your way into viable builds (and the options for correcting mistakes are limited at best). So, unless you are fine with having to scrap a bunch of characters for being sub-optimal, you are more or less forced into following player-made guides to learn the game rather than through engaging with the game itself. This may or may not be a problem for you.
Con Endgame can get really repetitive
It takes an exceptionally long time to get any wealth, useful items, or access to endgame bosses in this game. You endlessly farm the same maps, hoping you'll get lucky with a few good items, but that usually won't be the case, which can be really discouraging to keep playing. This is made worse by the fact that your character progression comes to a grinding halt near the upper 80s of character levels, requiring you to buy insanely expensive items to feel any progression at all. If you don't like grinding, you'll get quickly bored of Path of Exile.
Con Very high learning curve
There's quite a lot to learn when starting to play Path of Exile. There are the mechanics, the crafting system, and the skill gem system. However, the most intimidating factor is the massive skill tree with over 1000 skill nodes, 6 classes and 19 subclasses, allowing you to create hundreds of unique builds. Unfortunately, creating a functional build is really difficult, taking hours of theorycrafting, so it might be better to stick to guides as you're starting out, unless you're fine with possibly messing up.
Con Some aspects of the graphics look dated
While the graphics have received updates over time, a lot of the visuals still lack polish you'd see in most AAA games. Some textures are fairly low res, certain character models look weird when they have armor on, and the animations feel somewhat stiff and clunky. You probably won't notice this during active gameplay, but when you stop for a moment to look around it becomes painfully obvious.
Con Clunky trading system
The western PC version of Path of Exile currently requires using an external site to find deals or sifting through scam attempts in the trade chat. After you find an item you want to buy, you need to message the seller, and if they respond, enter the same area as them to make a direct trade. There is no auction house, no mail, no automated trading posts, and to sell stuff you have to buy a premium stash tab via a microtransaction.
Con As any ARPG worth mentioning, you'll eventually have to invest time into character builds
There is a lot of loot dropped. Most of the loot you get is junk. Even the rares and many of the uniques. While free to play. You have very limited inventory space. No auction house. To sell to other players you will have to buy premium inventory stash pages to use with a web site. So at the very least you will feel the need to spend 20 bucks on inventory space to even have a prayer of managing your inventory.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Pro More customization than any action RPG ever made
The passive tree (more aptly named giant passive web of insanity) has more options with real depth and great customization than any other game. This allows for hundreds or even thousands of potential unique "character builds", especially when combined with the hundreds of unique items (to which they keep adding more regularly)
Pro Expansive skill tree
While it may be difficult to take in at first the skill tree in Path of Exile is quite expansive allowing for many areas of the characters skills to be customized. The tree is so large there are numerous guides online on how to build specific optimized characters as well as an unofficial companion app for Android.
Pro Not pay to win
The developers have a strict "no pay to win" mindset on this game, which is greatsince everyone has a fair chance at winning. Microtransactions are almost exclusively cosmetic, but can also get additional stash tabs (NOT inventory space), non combat pets and weapon graphics. Note that free accounts already start off with a lot of stash space.