Summary
- Path of Exile 1's Legacy of Phrecia event introduces 19 new Ascendancy classes for players to experiment with.
- The event offers unique rewards like the Autumn Knight armor set and Twitch Drops, appealing to both PoE 1 and PoE 2 players.
- Legacy of Phrecia breathes new life into PoE 1 and may potentially inspire future events for Path of Exile 2, making it a significant addition.
2024 has been a big year for Grinding Gear Games, as it marked the release of two Leagues for Path of Exile 1 and then the early access debut of Path of Exile 2. Path of Exile 2 is considered one of the best action RPGs on the market even though it's still very much incomplete, something that GGG is and will be working on until the title is ready for its full release. Initially, GGG promised that it would develop both games simultaneously, alternating Leagues and major patches for PoE 1 with early access updates for PoE 2. As the company recently admitted through a video featuring Jonathan Rogers, this wasn't possible. Still, despite the lack of a new League, February 20 will be a big day for Path of Exile.
The first League for Path of Exile 2 may be a long time coming, as it's not guaranteed to debut with patch 0.2.0, but Path of Exile 1 has been stuck on Settlers of Kalguur for over 200 days. With its current duration being over 29 weeks, Settlers of Kalguur is Path of Exile 1's longest League ever, and GGG decided to put together an event for fans as an apology. This event, starting February 20, is called Legacy of Phrecia, and it will feature 19 totally new Ascendancy classes themed around the game's lore and mechanics.
Path of Exile 2's Next Class May Already Be Clear
Path of Exile 2's roster of playable characters will be expanded in the future with six more classes, and the next one may be easy to predict.
Why Path of Exile's Legacy of Phrecia Event is a Big Deal
While Legacy of Phrecia is not meant for Path of Exile 2, it doesn't mean that it won't eventually inspire some PoE 2 event or League further down the line. More importantly, this is the first piece of new content for Path of Exile in a long time, and even as an apology event, it's one of the most refreshing additions to the game. This is because PoE 1 has been around for almost 12 years, or even 14 counting the closed beta that started in 2011, and Ascendancy classes have been roughly the same for almost nine years now.
PoE 1's Legacy of Phrecia Event Explained
Legacy of Phrecia doesn't bring a major balance patch that dramatically shifts the meta, but rather it introduces 19 never-before-seen Ascendancy classes for players to toy with and make new builds that fill different niches. These 19 Ascendancies are a game-changer not only because of their novelty, but also because they use interesting concepts that would probably never make it into the game for regular classes or Ascendancies, including Path of Exile 2.
A great example of this is the Harbinger Ascendancy for the Witch, which is based entirely on the beings introduced in the respective League in 2017. Considering that Harbingers have canonically been enemies, even though a few Summon Greater Harbinger skills exist for players to use these beings as allies, it's an interesting spin to play this Ascendancy. Likewise, the Marauder has access to the Antiquarian Ascendancy, which is all about using the effects of ancient artifacts as the class' power-ups. These are just examples of how Legacy of Phrecia will breathe new life into Path of Exile.
Why Path of Exile 2 Players Shouldn't Sleep on PoE 1's Legacy of Phrecia Event
GGG has already confirmed that the alternate Ascendancy classes will return in the future for private Leagues. Though the event will last for a month, with GGG being open to the idea of extending it based on player feedback and reception, it will also include some rewards that make playing this event all the more worthwhile - even for PoE 2 players. At levels 20, 40, 60, and 80, players will receive pieces of the unique cosmetic Autumn Knight armor set, which will be usable in both games and won't be made available for purchase. On top of that, players will also be able to get Twitch Drops during the first week of the event. As such, Path of Exile 2 players shouldn't sleep on Legacy of Phrecia, and Path of Exile 1 fans will get some good new content, making it a win-win situation.
Path of Exile II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- December 6, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
- Developer(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
