As of writing this I have over 3.5k hours in this game so it should be clear that I like it, a lot. Path of Exile is a grimdark ARPG, and a complex one at that. You can play thousands of hours and still not complete all the content or have tried all the possible build options.n It is dark, gritty and punishing at end game. Fans of the Diablo franchise, who are looking for a lot more complexity and flexibility should look into this game.

There are several character archetypes to choose from when starting out, this will influence a few things:
- Where you start on the passive skill tree (which is huge and customisable to some degree)
- Your ascendancy class options (think class specialisations)
- What skills are offered as quest rewards.

There is an additional class which can be unlocked partway through the main storyline which will then be available for use when creating new characters.

Skills are determined by socketing gems into items (similar to the socketing of materia in FFVII) with support gems allowing you to modify how skills work. This allows for massive customisation of powers and play style. E.g. you have a single projectile fireball spell, link it to a multiple projectile support gem and now you have several fireballs. Want it to burn for more, there is a gem for that, want the burning to spread to nearby monsters, you can do that too.

When you combine the random statistics and abilities on items, the massive skill tree, the customisation options for your skills, you have astronomic levels of flexibility in your build.

That said this is a massive game, which can be pretty grindy at times in end game, it is somewhere between an MMO and Massively Single Player. You can party up and get better XP and rewards, but it also limits your attempts at end game maps and significantly increases monster HP the more people in party (up to 6).

There is a 'base game' called standard which can be played constantly and is always around, however there are also leagues. Leagues last a few months at max and introduce a new mechanic or themed event, complete with challenges and rewards. Once a league ends, your characters will be migrated to standard and if the league proved popular and non-gamebreaking it will generally get worked into standard as a core mechanic. That said most people only play leagues.

There are a lot of scammers, and this is definitely a game for more mature audiences. Only the bare minimum is done to control language and scamming - this is largely because thematically, everything in the game is trying to screw you over somehow, and other players trying to do the same fits with that. Note, most of the gameplay is instanced to you or your party, and PVP is by request only, so you cannot be ganked or have your general gameplay interfered with.

All-in-all I strongly recommend PoE to anyone even remotely interested in the genre, but be aware that like EVE, it has a learning curve.