Path of Exile's Forbidden Sanctum Expansion Launches Friday, December 9 (PC)
Path of Exile's latest expansion titled 'Forbidden Sanctum' is launching on Friday, December 9th for PC and Wednesday, December 14th for consoles.
Forbidden Sanctum will add a whole host of new features to the popular action RPG including a new challenge league and big changes to endgame content. One big change is the introduction of 'Ruthless' difficulty which is an optional way to play the game with extreme item scarcity.
As with previous expansions, players can expect new uniques, skill gems, and a new core mechanic, which in this expansion is the Forbidden Sanctum.
Path of Exile remains the most popular ARPG out there with an average 30 day concurrent playerbase of 7,500 on Steam. This statistic is pretty low right now because the game hasn't had a big update in a few months. In August Path of Exile hit 151,000 concurrent players and when The Forbidden Sanctum launches expect a similar spike in players.
Full Content Reveal / Explanations:
The Forbidden Sanctum New Content/Features Overview:
- New Three-month Challenge League: The Forbidden Sanctum is a roguelike that takes place within Path of Exile. Players will explore an ancient sanctum which is rumored to be hidden beneath the Fellshrine Ruins. Long abandoned, a malevolent presence has taken hold. In each area of Wraeclast they play through, players will have the opportunity to explore one room of the Sanctum as they search for its treasures.
- New Skills and Vaal Gems - Two new skill gems that benefit melee characters have been introduced. These are Volcanic Fissure, a fiery slam skill, and Frozen Legion, a spell that summons a ring of icy melee statues. Many new Vaal Gems have been introduced. Vaal Gems are alternate versions of existing skill gems that come with a periodic and massive power boost.
- Ruthless Mode - An optional new game mode which can be selected during character creation. Ruthless is all about extreme item scarcity, which creates a challenging and brutal way to play Path of Exile.
- New Unique Items - This expansion introduces over fifteen new unique items that can be found within the Sanctum or throughout Wraeclast. These items create new opportunities for specialized character creation.
- Monster Modifiers - The Archnemesis monster modifier system has been replaced with a refined set of modifiers that each only do one thing and say exactly what they do. Their rewards have been updated as a result and are no longer associated with specific modifiers. In general, magic and rare monster combat is now less complex but can still result in a combination of modifiers that get your heart racing.
- Endgame Improvements - Improvements have been made to the Atlas Passive Tree that allow players to invest even further into content they enjoy. Two new Atlas Memories can now also be found, telling the story of Domination and Bestiary.
- Buffed Endgame Unique Weapons - Ten endgame unique weapons have received massive buffs to bring them in line with some of Path of Exile's most iconic items. Naturally, they're now extremely rare.
- Balance Changes - Many balance changes have been made to game areas such as Jewels, Hexes, and Eldritch Altars.
Forbidden Sanctum Official Trailer:
