Path of Exile - Hardcore beta playthrough

[taolurker]

I've just begun playing the beta of Path of Exiles, a Diablo style clicky adventure game. After only playing the free weekend, I decided I would do a play through as a "Radicalthon" for people to enjoy. I had originally thought of using the default League (ie server) but the temptation to use things in my shared stash proved something I was unable to do (scrapping some 500 images because I began using rare items I had from another character <cheater!>).

So, I started from scratch, and decided on trying Hardcore.





The prison captain's voice bellows through the dungeon: "Attention prisoners! For your crimes against Oriath, you have been Exiled to the forsaken continent of Raeclast. The majesters of Oriath are merciful and have granted all exiles one weapon.. choose wisely. Oriath has bestowed a gift upon you, a chance to redeem your crimes.. A new life. Do not squander it.

Swim straight to the shore, stay together, look for others who can help you. You're not the first exiles, and you won't be the last."



I decided on a Templar, who will likely become a magic using robe wearer, named MrMolecule because it sounds like a magic using Templar guy's name.



I find myself unceremoniously dumped onto a beach, laying face first in the sand.

I get myself to my feet, and see other people similarly washed on the shore near me.





As he is still speaking to me, the body next to him springs to life moaning "Braaains" and munches hungrily on his flesh while I watch.

I spring to action, immediately attacking this zombie murderer, WITH MY BARE HANDS!!



It's only after I've killed the beast that I realize the weapon they'd given me was there on the ground beside me.





Now properly armed, I wander further down the beach, and see a chest before me. Maybe there will be better equipment inside it...



Unfortunately the chest was empty!!

I continue farther down the beach and see creatures and zombies arising all around me. Using my trusty Scepter I send them back to hell, by smashing their skulls with righteous zeal.



"Abominations!" Be Gone!! The Gods command it!!" I bellow, as lightning flashes in exclamation with my strikes and crys.

Three of the creatures carried with them items from their former lives, which I am not too proud to take for myself. "Truly I am blessed."

Two of the items are magical, so I identify them with 2 of the 3 scrolls I managed to keep tucked inside my tunic while swimming.







Also among the items I've found is a magic wand. I praise the heavens for it, since blasting from a distance with holy might seems the better alternative to up close fighting and getting drenched in blood.





The wand is definitely effective, allowing me to kill indiscriminately, in some cases before the creatures around me even notice my presence in the blinding storm.

I move further down the beach, toward the torches and buildings I could see in the distance, and as I near them I dispatch many more creatures laying in wait for unsuspecting marooned adventurers.

Just past the last of torches, a giant Hillock appears rushing directly at me through the storm.



Using my new wand, I smite him several times causing barely scratches, so I retreat back in the direction of the buildings, blasting him as I go.



Finally, he is vanquished, and drops additional rusty gear, which I gather up until I can carry no more.

I move past where he was, and realize that he was waiting outside the encampment's barricade for an unsuspecting exile to turn into a meal.



This encampment is fortified heavily, so hopefully there is safety inside. Possibly there is a reward for killing that large beast, since obviously no one from the encampment would challenge him.

At the very least, I can find rest here, sell some of my collected items, and make peace with God before continuing my trek.

[Ingmar]

Something about the POV/camera angle in this game just weirds me right the fuck out.

[taolurker]

The encampment is little more than a ruined tower, with barely any shelter from the rains.



It fills me with a sense of regret to see bodies in shrouds near the entrance, and is not improved by seeing only a large fireplace with two rag clothed figures tending to other exiles. There also doesn't appear to be any chapel and only a scant few exiles still able to remain on their feet, while others lie injured or dying beneath the tarp.



The female nearest to the fire summons me to her, after she trades with those surrounding her.



After she tells me this, she offers to trade items with me, and it is then that I learn how currency has no value here. It seems all the trades are handled with items, with parts of them serving as currency. For the items I'd collected, she gives me small scraps of paper which combine into a Scroll of Wisdom (Identify Scroll).



For my collection of seven rusty items, I end up with a single Scroll of Wisdom and 2 smaller pieces that might eventually become one.

"God must be mocking me." I say as I wander over to the Nessa's companion, who is administering medical attention to those below the tarp.



Nessa calls me back to her after this.





Well, I guess God does have a purpose for me being here, and it'll be to assist the other exiles here at the risk of my own life.



I amble slowly toward the rear of the encampment, and see a larger fellow surrounded by broken equipment. This must be Tarkleigh.



I guess he'll have some form of reward for dispatching the beast outside the Encampment.



He offers me a choice of 3 different gems, which I can use to make my equipment more powerful.



The choices seem mostly designed for up close bashing, but I decide instead to take the Ice Nova one to enhance my Wand with.



There is only one other exit from the Encampment, that leads to the Terraces and possibly this Tidal Island Bestel mentioned.



I venture out, onto a different beach, and the rain ceases at the instant I leave the broken outpost. "God must still favor me in some small measure." I whisper, and utter a minor prayer of thanks.

The beach here is half lit by the setting sun, casting shadows on the dunes around me.



I immediately am set upon by various different Thieves and creatures, but instead of being deterred it inspires me with Divine retribution. It also gives me an opportunity to experiment with my wand and it's new Ice spell.

I kill a dozen or more relatively easily, and even find a helm to wear.



I kill numerous robbers, sand crawlers, and zombies, eventually filling my pack with equipment. The sun is almost about to set, so I will return to sell these items and venture out again in the morning.

[taolurker]

Morning arrives, after a night plagued by disturbing dreams. My dream self was taking delight in murder, blasting creatures and other men with sadistic delight. It was almost as if my divine fervor was twisting and becoming a blood lust borne of evil. I thanked God for this vision, and knew that sadly this was to teach me humility and reverence for dealing death in his name, as well as keep me from being perverted by it.

I resigned myself to continue despite this vision of evil overtaking me, again returning to battle the beasts and twisted humans who plague this land.



I set off from the encampment again, this time viewing each death at my hands with doses of sympathy and regret. The whispered prayers I uttered this time easily replaced the fervor and delight of the previous day. Each dying foe brought me immense sadness, and in contrast to the previous day, I felt this more represented my faith than the joy I'd exhibited previously.



Many more foes fell before me, and again I found useful equipment on their corpses. I rapidly fill my pack and return to exchange these for scroll fragments, hoping to accumulate Scrolls of Wisdom to use on my adventures.

A wooden focus becomes my offhand shield, after finding it among the dead.





I also managed to find two rings, one from a crate washed onto the shore, and the other from the hand of a crazed wretch who attacked me.

I rapidly filled my pack with items again, and even achieved new skill in magic.



My previous selection of skill went toward Mana regeneration, and I use this new skill improvement to enhance my magic damage.



I return to town a third time, since I'd hardly progressed far from the Encampment or made any progress along the Terraces themselves.



I also find among the dead a new wand, that gives me slightly more mana at the cost of slightly reduced magic damage, and two flasks for mana.

I continue further down the beach, sending twisted beings to atone over and over, when suddenly while engaging a group of them I am struck by fireballs raining upon me. It is one of the twisted humans, who has become a Fire Fury, standing near a huge campfire while cackling hideously.



I use my ice nova to slow or freeze solid the ones surrounding me, and blast the Fire Fury repeatedly with my wand while my body is enveloped in his fire attacks.



The battle is painful, and I just barely survive by rapidly chugging flasks, but the Fire Fury eventually falls from my wand blasts.



Unfortunately, the fire fury drops only a magical bow, and other equipment I have no real use for.

I continue further North East along the beach, killing as I go, and eventually I discover the entrance to a swamp, but not the Tidal Island.

Retracing my steps along the water line, I come across a small strip of sand I must've missed when I'd first passed.



The strip of beach does lead to the Tidal Island I was looking for, and it was hidden among a twist of rocks and broken ships which allowed me to miss it the first time.





I find more creatures to slay along this island's beach, as well as more chests, crates and barrels washed ashore by the violent seas.



One of the wretches who falls before me drops a Portal Scroll, which I will certainly find use for as my pack rapidly fills very far from the entrance to the encampment.



I also find another magical armor, a banded vest, but after using a Scroll of Wisdom on it, it is less armor with less powerful magic than the one I already wear.

I decide to use the Portal Scroll, after adding the vest and more junk items to my collection.



I quickly sell my collection of items, so I can return to the Tidal Island and locate this Medicine Chest.



Almost as soon as I step from the portal re-emerging on the island, I am struck with a bolt of magical lightning.

It is a Halldrake, who might have once been human.





After blasting at one another from a distance, he runs up to engage me directly, pummeling me with his fists.



Again I rapidly chug potions, using my Ice Nova to slow him down in the process.



The battle continues for long minutes, with the tide swinging rapidly between us. Thankfully he has no other beasts to assist him.



The health flasks at my belt are nearing empty but I finally dispatch him.

Among the items he drops is the medicine chest Nessa wanted.



Since I have already used the Portal Scroll, I need to walk my way back to the Encampment. It is however uneventful since most of the beasts and desperate men are already dead by my hand.



I give the Medicine Chest to Nessa, and in return she allows me to choose between two different Medium flasks.



She also sends me to Tarkleigh for an additional reward.



I'm not sure what is more shocking, Tarkleigh's words of "being someone you weren't in Oriath" or the rewards he offers in the form of spell gems. All of them save one are designed for clubs or staves, when I'd already decided to avoid fighting up close. The only one that was suited for wand use was Raise Zombie!!



Should I have forgone magic and remained a violent instrument of up close death?
I wonder again if this is God's way of testing me.
I postpone the decision, and will spend this evening in prayer to decide how to proceed.

[K9]

Interesting, I'm enjoying this so far.

Although I'll echo ingmar, the PoV looks a little too close and top-down for comfort. Perhaps it's not so bad in practise though.

[Draegan]

I'm pretty sure he's playing D2 at 800x600 resolution.

[taolurker]

I'm pretty sure he's playing D2 at 800x600 resolution.

Nope, it's Path of Exiles. The resolution it's being played at is 1024x768 (in a window), but that's more to facilitate the screenshots via Snagit. Might have the next section done sometime later today.

[taolurker]

My play of Path of Exile was interrupted by some betas, so I decided to make them part of the story of MrMolecule. It's all part of the dream, but hopefully I'll be back to Path of Exile - Hardcore soon.



I spend a long while in prayer, seeking to understand the signs that God is presenting me with. Why would my decision to move away from up close violence result in the dark arts of necromancy? Does God want me to use these powers? Will I maintain control or be perverted by a practice I considered evil? Was I cast out of Oriath because they sensed a potential for this? Is killing by smashing skulls with blunt objects really any different than raising the dead to serve my purpose?



For long hours I remain in a trance of questions, eventually collapsing into sleep while still kneeling in prayer.  



I see myself changing as the dream takes me. I am praying just as I was prior to my slumber, yet it becomes twisted and distorted by the dream. I am instead praying before a pool of blood, twisted by the evil of sorcery. Using the blood, I am conjuring God still, but it is evil and perverted somehow.



I am horrified by the sight of myself, taken by this horrible power. Using blood for magic, and raising the undead to be my army. Even as it offends me, I can feel it's immense power growing within me, allowing me to combat the evil more effectively.



The pool of blood rises up and envelops me, drenching me in it's might. As this fades behind my blood soaked vision, I see another version of myself.

Instead of blood, this time I am drenched in colorful light. This peaceful pulse of pastels reveals me as a devout man of stone.



I am still the servant of God, and cursed to the land of exiles, but instead of being part of it I am stone.. Unaffected by the devastation and sorrow around me. I am a giant sculpted from rock, bearing almost no resemblance to the humanity I hold dear.



As the stone faced Giant I wander through the world, seeing everything around me as representations of evil, but am unmoved and impassively stoic seeing it.

Scantily clad females are all around me, some appearing as demons with horns. I see them and normally would be disgusted or shocked, yet I remain emotionless, ignoring them as f I can no longer see.



The world seen through my stone eyes is either perverse visions of evil, or comical creatures of youth. Smiling bears walking and talking, or strangely childlike creatures with ears and tails surround me, but I find no joy or revulsion in seeing them.



I speak to the exiles similarly filling the beach around me, assisting some with healing and uttering prayers, all while barely seeing the chaos swirling around me. I plod through this beach, finding myself being ordered to travel further by those coordinating the forces here.  I am to travel through a mystical portal, and assist those I find there in the upcoming battle.



On the other side of the magical gateway I need to dive from a platform, and then climb an immense ladder afterward.



I move further past this, and locate those I was sent to help. The group is beset on all sides by foul creatures which I combat with shimmering holiness, while using healing magic to keep them from death. Emotionless I go about my task, and even the zeal of belief seems a distant memory to this version of  myself.



Tasked with saving yet another group, I wade into the fray against a much larger creature, who crushes me to the ground in only a couple of attacks. The dream's vision of my impenatrible self, made of stone, is replaced by the pool of blood once again.

[Phred]

Interesting, I'm enjoying this so far.

Although I'll echo ingmar, the PoV looks a little too close and top-down for comfort. Perhaps it's not so bad in practise though.

I think they needed to set the angle so steep because they haven't implemented wall popping yet and narrow corridors would be a huge problem with a flatter angle.