Bitmap Frogs
Mr. Community
Hello fellow neogaffers!
Path of Exile, an upcoming action RPG hack'n'slash dungeon crawler character builder loot whoring videogame is holding an open weekend to test infrastucture. The game has been on closed beta since summer last year but it's inching closer to release - up to the point the team behind it requires a stress test for their servers.
The game's gonna release as a F2P game with no pay2win, rather they'll sell cosmetic upgrades not unlike what League of Legends does.
There's a serious contingent of gaffers playing the beta and submitting feedback. You can ask them more questions about it as I hope they'll show up on this thread.
Now, at this point, you'll be thinking... this is like that game from Blizzard, right?
WRONG!
What makes PoE unique
- Hundreds of passive skills to customize your build: bow marauders? casting rangers? sword-slashing witches? You make your own character!
- Unique active skill system: currently the game features 50ish active skills which can be supported by 40ish support skills. Need more loot? support your summon zombie with increased drops and increased rarity! Your attacks not hitting enough monsters? There's an increased area of effect support to go with that!
- Never before seen potions! Because potions in this game have magic mods! Some dispel frozen while they heal so you can run away from pesky ice enemies, others add lifeleech while they heal so you can go wild! Again, the idea is that you can fully customize your character.
- Make your own league! Players will be able to create their own separate playgrounds and set the rules of it - with their own ladder to boot. Make it private, make it public, make it by invitation only... it's your game to play.
- No RMAH. Nuff' said.
FAQ
Here's the copypasted FAQ from their public weekend site at http://www.pathofexile.com/publicweekend/ Be sure to go there to check how long until the floodgates open and to download the client!
The Path of Exile Beta servers will be open to the public for the weekend of March 30-April 1. Below is a list of answers to frequently asked questions, explaining the details of how it works.
1. What’s the public stress test weekend for?
Primarily, testing to see how the Path of Exile servers run under heavy player load. Our Closed Beta is around the size we need for gameplay feedback, but we need to test to see if we can handle larger number of players in the lead-up to Open Beta.
2. What are the specific times that I can play?
We will make the servers public at 5pm on Friday (March 30), Pacific Daylight Time. This is 1pm Saturday (March 31) in New Zealand. This link will help you convert to other timezones
The public weekend ends at 11:59pm on Sunday (April 1), Pacific Daylight Time. This is 7pm on Monday (April 2) in New Zealand. This link will help you convert to other timezones.
Note that daylight savings causes New Zealand times to go back by an hour during the weekend, so use those above links to find the correct times!
3. Can I download the game client in advance?
Yes. The download is available here.
4. I have never signed up for an account at pathofexile.com. Can I still play?
Definitely! An account is required to play but you can create one at any time, even while the event is running. These accounts can be upgraded to Closed Beta accounts after the event if a Beta key is added to them (and of course, they become full game accounts once we enter Open Beta).
5. How do I start playing?
Just create an account, download the client, then start playing when the public weekend is live! If you have problems, please post in the forums and we’ll try to help.
6. What content is available during the weekend?
All of the current Closed Beta content. This includes two acts repeated over four difficulties (about 60 levels worth of content), the Maelstrom of Chaos, Default and Hardcore leagues, five character classes, approximately 55 active skills, 40 support gems and hundreds of types of items.
7. Will there be any special events during the public weekend?
For the last few months, we’ve been running weekly special events in Path of Exile. For example, a three hour event that rewards the people that reach the highest level or the first people to accomplish certain tasks (completing quests, clearing an area of monsters, etc). We’re going to try to run four of these events during the public stress test weekend. The exact schedule of times as well as more detailed information about rules and prizes will be posted before the weekend starts.
These events take place in temporary leagues that we create on the server specifically for the event. Players must create new characters to participate in these events and they do not have the benefit of any stashed items. Following the event, the league is closed and characters are moved to the appropriate permanent league.
There are four events running this weekend. Each event will last for two hours.
Event One (Sat 4pm NZ time - click for time conversions): Default (not Hardcore)
Event Two (Sun 8am NZ time - click for time conversions): Default (not Hardcore)
Event Three (Sun 9pm NZ time - click for time conversions): Hardcore
Event Four (Mon 1pm NZ time - click for time conversions): Hardcore
8. What is a league?
A league is a self-contained separate economy within a server. Characters created within a league are unable to interact with characters from other leagues. Read more about leagues here
9. If this is a stress test, are the servers going to be laggy/unstable?
Probably. Prior to doing the stress test, we don’t know quite how many users we can fit on our current server hardware. Over the past few weeks, we’ve done some load testing with bots to get a rough idea of how our servers will cope with the additional strain. However, nothing can simulate real players like real players.
Our intention is to allow users to log on freely until we encounter stability issues. At that point, we’ll place a player limit at a stability threshold and attempt to resolve any issues. Once we’re confident our servers can handle more players, we’ll incrementally raise the limit until we run into more issues. This process should help us find and resolve stability issues while also allowing people to play the game without overloading the servers. As a result, there may be a queue to log in while problems are being resolved.
10. Won’t the global chat channels be too crowded with all the new testers?
Yes! Currently global chat is segregated into the Hardcore and Default leagues, but we’re planning to further segregate it by act and difficulty. This means that your global messages will only be seen by people who are at roughly the same place in the game. Long-term, we plan to implement a more robust chat system.
11. Can I interact with Closed Beta testers during the weekend?
Yes, Closed Beta testers will have access to the same leagues that public players will. Since the public Default and Hardcore leagues are being enabled specifically for this weekend, the existing Closed Beta testers must create new characters if they choose to play in them.
12. What happens to my access after the weekend?
Unless you’re already a Closed Beta tester, your access will cease when the weekend ends. Of course, now that you have a Path of Exile account, you’ll be eligible for selection into the Closed Beta. We’re planning to ramp up invitations to the Closed Beta in preparation for the Open Beta. You may find that you get permanent access soon.
13. What happens to all my characters and items from this weekend?
The public weekend takes place in the leagues that regular Beta testers play in. If you gain access to the Closed Beta later, you’ll be able to pick up and play your characters right where you left off. For current Closed Beta testers, you will of course have continued access to items you have found in the public weekend during the Closed Beta. Remember, characters and items may be wiped at any time while we’re in the Closed Beta phase.
14. Are there future public stress test weekends planned?
Based on the data that we receive from this public weekend we will decide if we need to hold additional stress test weekends. We’ll post details about a week in advance if we have any planned.
15. I’m an existing Closed Beta tester. What does this mean for me?
Because of 0.9.8 balance changes, we’re performing a “Legacy Migration” before the public weekend starts. This means that all of your existing characters and items are moved to the Legacy league (or the Hardcore Legacy league if they were in Hardcore). The new Default and Hardcore leagues will be a fresh start for players to compete for top ladder rankings.
Your existing Beta characters will not be modified by the stress test and can still be used in the regular Closed Beta Legacy leagues during the weekend if you’re not interested in the playing in the new leagues.
The new leagues will continue to run after the public stress test weekend until we have to make balance changes that warrant another Legacy Migration. This is not the first time a Legacy Migration has occurred - the one for 0.9.5 was very successful and yielded plenty of useful balance data.
You’re welcome to compete with the public testers on the new ladder. Your experience with the game will undoubtedly give you a huge advantage, but that’s part of the fun of events like this. Please help out the public testers if they encounter problems or have questions. If you troll people, we may mute your ability to chat. Thanks for your help and courtesy. Have fun!
