When you create a character in Path of Exile, you choose a league for that character to exist in. We expect and encourage most players to play in the default league, but other leagues exist for specific play styles or events.
Characters can only see and interact with other characters in the same league. In this way, each one is its own isolated economy. The default league is extremely large and hence acts as a general economy for all characters that were not created in a specialist league. All characters in a league have access to the same shared stash pages.
Competition
Each league has its own set of ladder rankings. We’ll be frequently creating short term leagues that last varying durations (a day, a weekend, a week, etc) with item rewards for the highest placed characters on the ladder at the end of the league. There are leagues that end once a specific goal has been met (a race to level 90, for example).
League competitions are another way for players to get rewarded for their play skill and to be competitive with other players as an alternative to PvP.
Completion
There are a few permanent long term leagues including the default “standard” and “hardcore” leagues. All other leagues have a duration value and a parent league. When the duration is over, all characters in that league become part of the parent league.
Whenever any league ends, its characters are all converted back to its parent league. This way, no one loses the character they were leveling (it just ends up in a less restricted economy/ladder than the one it was initially being played in).
Game Modes
Leagues are able to apply a different set of game rules to their players. For example, increased monster difficulty, world PvP, permadeath or various "Ironman" rules.
We have many plans for interesting game modifiers that leagues can apply, but one rule is clear – they must only make the game harder. Because characters transfer back to the parent league when a league ends, it is important that the character’s journey to its current status was equivalent or more difficult than gameplay in the parent league.
Paid Leagues
In addition, we plan to allow guilds or groups of players to pay for the creation of their own league with a choice of game rule modifiers. Only players invited by the people who paid for the league can create characters in these private leagues. This option helps cater towards any groups of players who want to play online together but don’t want their playgroup to have access to items traded from external players.
The following are examples of leagues that we are working on designing. Feedback and ideas are greatly appreciated - we're very keen to hear what you think on the forums.
Hardcore
Typically, “hardcore mode” in action RPGs involves permadeath. A character killed in this mode cannot be accessed any more. In Path of Exile, slain hardcore characters revert to the parent non-hardcore league. This system encourages non-hardcore players to try the hardcore game mode, while still permanently removing hardcore characters from the economy when they die.
Ironman
In Ironman, players are unable to trade with vendors or refill their flasks in town. Mana regeneration is disabled by default. Players are encouraged to band together and manage their resources in order to survive.
Cut-throat
The cut-throat leagues appeal to the niche of players who demand the most hardcore gaming experience possible. In this mode, all world areas are public, with full PvP enabled by default. Slain characters drop all their items upon death. This game mode can also be combined with Hardcore to create an even more unforgiving world.
Attrition
An attrition league is a short duration league that starts with a fixed number of players and eliminates the player with the lowest amount of experience at periodic intervals. For example, a 24 hour attrition league might start with 100 players and eliminate one player per 12 minutes after a four hour initial leveling period. Players would be able to see how close to elimination they are on an on-screen ladder display.
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After reading the article on the Leagues system, do you have any ideas for leagues or game modes that you think we should support?
Lead Game Designer and Producer
I cannot reply to requests for Beta Keys. Please PM Support if you need help!  |
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Some people might enjoy a Partners League, where you can only go into the wilderness in groups of 2, no solo or large group play. perhaps make it a temporary league where you have to sign up as a pair and you can only group with the one person. The goal could be first to reach a level cap, or combined with cut-throat league, first to a set amount of kills, or highest kills after a set time. ( the kills would have to be of similar lvl to you to prevent camping lvl 1's to rack up kills )
Just a few ideas, I'm sure more will come to me with time |
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not gonna lie, these sound AMAZING!!!!!! i want to try them all.
one question i did have though. it says that when a character is eliminated from a league, they are sent back to the parent league. is the parent league always the same, general league or are there different parent leagues? i.e. parent league for hardcore, parent league for ironman, etc. :-{
yeah, it's a mustache |
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At all times there's the big global parent league (where we expect most players will have their main characters), and the hardcore league.
We're unlikely to have for example a parent ironman league, as it's simpler to just make them into normal characters when that league ends. That way the players can use them alongside their existing characters without worrying about having dozens of characters spread across dozens of leagues that can't interact with each other. I'm personally really excited about the cut-throat league. We've been discussing that one internally for some time now and I think a lot of very hardcore players will really like it. Lead Game Designer and Producer
I cannot reply to requests for Beta Keys. Please PM Support if you need help! |
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WIN! ... EPIC WIN!
This idea is AWESOME! Hardcore was a given. But Ironman, Cut-throat .. and even Attrition are incredible and innovative ideas! I can't wait to try this. |
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My Idea:
Everyone can only create one charakter in the League. U get a random class (marauder, ranger, etc.) You cant choose your skills (every lvl up your skillpoints are randomly assigned) Players just have to deal with what they get. First one to beat the game on easiest difficult wins or sth. like that. |
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What about a "specific class" league. You have to use that class to play in the league? This could be applied to any other modifiers and can level the playing field so to speak when starting out.
The path of exile holds him, not at all twisted gold, a frozen spirit, not the bounty of the earth.
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It would be nice to have some sort of race between small parties instead of individual characters. It would be even better if somehow one party could sabotage the progress of the other.
Ex.: the first party to reach x place and do Y summons a boss that the other party must defeat. |
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I always liked the hardcore no-town runs in Diablo 2 where after a certain time people stop and go PvP the hell out of each other.
Rules: - Hardcore - You cannot go back to town EVER - Assigned loot (to make the PvP a little more fair, if 1 person grabs all the good loot the run won't be as fun I think) - Time limit - After time limit a PvP tournament (I like a bracket system where every round you have better equipment because you get the loot from your previous opponents) - Winner gets a price and gets to keep his character with all the loot from his opponents |
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A temporary (48 hour) hardcore mode where the prizes go to the top X people who are:
A. At the highest level B. Still alive In this league, the traps would be more frequent and more deadly (assuming PoE will have traps). After playing Din's Curse, I'm into the idea of dungeons having traps (like cave-ins) that just outright kill you. I am a poor freezingly cold soul
So far from where I intended to go |
