Hey guys, I bet you would agree with me, also the developers will!

i want a dang beta key!!!!

Well said OP. I don't see a competition with something such as Diablo 2 to be necessary, but everything from reading the early write ups when first introduced, to the recent podcasts and media out put shows a great deal of care affection for the ARPG format. While I love games like Torchlight and Titanquest, they both took very different steps sideways and even backwards despite being fantastic games. Path of Exile reminds me of Din's Curse (excellent very small indie ARPG) in that it's taking care to improve upon and expand in areas that many people loved in the first place. The artistic direction of this game is the first in the genre to capture that "feeling" I got when I first played the Diablo series.

I've always felt one of the wonderful advantages indie developers have is the ability to be bold and risky with design advancement, and these advances look to be coming together well in PoE.

Edit: I just saw the post date of the OP. Now I feel silly, but I still like what I read in this thread.