ARPG Expansions
DEVELOPER CRATE ENTERTAINMENT, PIECES, GRINDING GEAR GAMES • P UBLISHER CRATE ENTERTAINMENT, THQ NORDIC, GRINDING GEAR GAMES • P RICE $ 17.99, $ 19.99, FREE • A VAILABLE AT STEAM www.grimdawn.com,www.thqnordic.com,www.pathofexile.com
The last month or so has really been something of a tale of two gaming industries, one hell-bent on squeezing every single ounce of profit from its IPs through some remarkably predatory practises, and another that really seems to listen to their player base and work hard to keep them happy and loyal. Three excellent action RPGs all received (or in the case of Path of Exile, is set to receive) significant expansions, the development of one of them fully funded by microtransactions and another partially funded by the same.
GRIM DAWN: ASHES OF MALMOUTH
The first expansion for Grim Dawn adds an entire new act as well as two new masteries for players to experiment with. Developed by Crate Entertainment (former members of Iron Lore, the original developers of Titan Quest), Grim Dawn uses a hybrid character class system with players choosing two masteries and combining them into the final class. The two new masteries, the Necromancer and Inquisitor are about as opposite as the names suggest. The Inquisitor is an elemental ranged attack mastery, and the Necromancer is more geared towards pets, summoning and cold/ vitality damage. With the two new masteries, there are now 28 possible classes. The level cap has also been raised from 85 to 100 and the Devotion tree (a secondary skill tree that allows for extra customisation) raised to 55. The new act itself is great, taking the fight to a new area dominated by the Aetherials, otherworldly, vaguely Lovecraftian beasts that possess beings and manipulate flesh.
TITAN QUEST: RAGNAROK
There is probably a little bit of marketing dickishness releasing a Titan Quest expansion so close to the release of the Grim Dawn expansion, but the fact that THQ Nordic and developer Pieces dropped a new Titan Quest expansion out of the blue is a miracle unto itself given the fact that it’s coming a mere 11 years after the original game was released (though only a year since the Anniversary Edition). The expansion adds a new act, taking the players through Eastern European and Celtic lands and adds a new mastery, the Runemaster, an elemental combatant, to the mix allowing for a total of 45 different classes. The new act isn’t exactly nuanced, but it’s hugely fun to meet new and interesting monsters and click on them until they explode into loot.
PATH OF EXILE: WAR FOR THE ATLAS
In August, Grinding Gear Games released The Fall of Oriath, an expansion that changed the levelling process for characters, taking it from the traditional multiple playthough to reach endgame style used by most ARPGs, to a single ten act playthrough that takes characters from level one to endgame. War for the Atlas, the new expansion reworks the endgame, introducing 32 new maps (semirandomised levels the player can craft to become more challenging) as well as a meta-game within the maps that sees a new villain warring against an established endgame boss to dominate the Atlas of Worlds (the map system). Players will be able to tailor their mapping experience by manipulating who is in control of different areas of the Atlas, guaranteeing certain challenges and increasing the potential of certain item drops. Not bad for a free expansion. Just goes to show that not everyone who has microtransaction in their game is a bad guy.
meet new and interesting monsters and click on them until they explode into loot