In the four decades since Path of exile currency was initially released, I have tried to play it countless times. I start a new personality and, before long, leave them because I feel overwhelmed by the sheer intricacy--the commodity-based economy, freeform character progression, and the nagging feeling that I'm enjoying it the wrong way. But with the launch of its large Fall of Oriath growth a month ago, I decided to try once again, and I've finally seen the light. Path of Exile isn't an easy POE game to get into, but if you stick with it, you'll discover the most richly rewarding ARPG on the market.

Path of Exile is a theory crafter's dream come true, the kind of POE match with apparently endless ways to build and maximize your ideal character. On top of a standard leveling system is a passive power tree that makes Final Fantasy 10's Sphere Grid seem like a 'join the dots' puzzle book for toddlers--and that is only the start. There's an Ascension platform for further focusing your personality, a Pantheon system which gives you more passive bonuses for murdering various gods and trapping their own souls, the skill gems that lets you essentially spellcraft--the list continues. And on. And on.

Oh, and that I have not even mentioned loot. Never have I been so haunted by an inventory full of vague knick-knacks and gizmos that I know do something but have no clue if this something is worth doing. If you're somebody who likes knowing the basic concepts of a cheap poe currency game right away, Path of Exile can feel impossible.