Path Of Exile Player Numbers Drop Following Expedition’s Release, Fixes Coming Soon
Normally, Path of Exile would see a spike in player numbers following the launch of a new League. Last week’s Expedition expansion, however, saw player numbers decrease by nearly 25% compared to April’s Ultimatum expansion as shown in a chart created by one on Reddit. The drop in player numbers is largely attributed to the widely unpopular changes introduced in the latest expansion.
Grinding Gear Games CEO Chris Wilson also noted the significant drop in a separate Reddit post, saying that they were prepared for the eventuality. “To be transparent, the number is that 23% fewer players ed us at launch compared to our all-time record, and this is something we were prepared for,” he said. “In addition to the normal variance between releases, we completely understand that Path of Exile had a lot of changes in 3.15 and this is definitely unnerving to some players.”
Wilson also itted that the mana cost changes for Gems were “too extreme” and that they will be addressing it in an patch. “Based on and data, we are reviewing the mana cost multipliers again and will be reducing many (but not all) of them. While this will ease the impact on your mana by a moderate amount, the goal is still that mana matters a lot more than it did before.”
According to the Wilson, the team will also be increasing the rate that players find Expedition Vendor Refresh Currencies and will also be buffing flask immunities and nerfing Molten Shells and Goatman Leap Slams. He also explained the need for 20 different currencies in Expedition, citing each vendor’s need for several types of currencies.
“[. . .] Because you can immediately stash them into the Expedition Locker after an encounter, the variety of currency types doesn't really cause additional inconvenience,” he added. “We feel that the gameplay benefits described above (plus the ability to immediately stash them in the field) justify the number of currency items that the league uses. Having said that, we hear you. There are too many types of splinters in Path of Exile. We will be mindful of this for the design of future releases.”
He also briefly explained how Remnants work, which apparently was giving players a hard time.
“Remnants are detonated in a sequence (as your chain of explosives reaches them). When one is detonated, its effects apply to the monsters unearthed by that blast and all subsequent blasts. This is one of the things you need to consider strategically while planning where to place the explosives. You do not need to wait until all explosives have gone off before you start fighting the monsters.”
More information can be found on the Path of Exile Subreddit.
