As many ARPG fans wait for the long awaitedDiablo 4release, many are looking for alternative options or fillers to fulfill their hack, slash, and looting itch until then. Some may be looking for other options thanDiablo 4altogether. WhilePath of Exilehas solidified itself as the strongest alternative toDiabloin the ARPG genre,Wolcen: Lords of Mayhempresents itself as a new contender which is quickly gaining a unique foothold in the ARPG community.
For fans who may be eyeing bothPath of ExileandWolcenand wondering which one to pick, there are some key differences to consider, beyond thegorgeous visuals ofWolcenor the massive amount of contentPath of Exileoffers at face-value.
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Path of Exileis a much more complicated game thanWolcen, with an enormous skill tree and various systems to learn and become familiar with. Many describeWolcenas a hybrid ofDiabloandPath of Exile, or even “Path of ExileLite.“Path of ExileandWolcenshare a similar skill tree that is node-based and non-linear. However,Path of Exile’sis much more intimidating for newcomers or casual players, whereasWolcen’sskill treeis more streamlined. They are generally similar, but the key difference is thatWolcen’sincrements are greater between skill levels, especially passive skills, whereasPath of Exile’soffer more branches, yet smaller increments in scale of stats between each one.
Basically, the difference comes down to player preference. If one prefers a slower and more long and drawn out simmer in developing a nuanced character over a period of time,Path of Exilescratches this itch.Wolcenwill provide a much faster progression in feeling one’s character grow stronger and develop their skills at a faster rate, especially during the mid-game whenPath of Exiletakes its time.
Wolcenhas a quicker learning curve, especially for players who are familiar with ARPGs in general. In addition to differences in skill increments between the skill trees inPath of ExileandWolcen’s, the latter also resemblesDiablomore so, especially inWolcen’sability to modify each skill while leveling.
Besidestechnical glitches and bugs inWolcen, it also struggles with end-game content. It should be considered that given the other games have had more time over the years to develop their end-game content as such,Wolcencan still potentially resolve these issues as it heads into the future, and if it can manage to hold onto its current player-base.
Currently,Wolcen’send-game content consists of the Champion of Stormfall mode, which enables players to complete city management initiatives and expeditions, which sounds as if it has a lot of depth. But in order to gain these resources, which require a lot, it mostly entails running through the same missions and landscapes countless times repetitively, without much variation in content or difficulty, if any.
Also, the loot pool does not change much at the end-game, and can sometimes even provide high-level rare items with low-level stats due to some issues with the way in which the developers scaleditems inWolcen. Furthermore, even if one successfully obtains items with enticingly high stats, there is a lack of unique loot which helps define particular character builds a player is working on. This is especially true in the lack of loot offering meaningful bonuses for a particular build-type, even if the rest of the stats scale well for the character.
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This all currently makes it hard to continue to drastically evolve the build of the character atWolcen’send-game and continue onward in the long run, even if one is willing to repeat much of the same content and missions countless times over. It also means there is less incentive to endure the repetitive content over again, while waiting for the developers to create new content.
For some players, the best choice may be to wait onWolcen, or to play through the main game and take a break at the end-game to allow for developers to flesh out its issues and add more content inWolcenorenjoy some ofWolcen’smods. WhileWolcencertainly has potential and has achieved much praise, its biggest mistake may have been in leaving Early Access too early, as players are more willing to show forgiveness for many of these issues when the game has not fully released.
The need for the player-base to stay in place will be the biggest factor in whether the game makes or breaks itself, as the developers need its base to continue development of new content and balancing out current issues. For some players,Path of Exileoffers a more complete package, with a passive skill tree so massive in size that players can continue to accumulate power and higher stats even if they feel they have fully developed their key abilities and skills sets.
Another key difference in choosing betweenWolcenandPath of Exileis whether one wishes to focus on one character or create multiple characters, and this can be fairly crucial for many, depending on play style. InWolcen, a player can essentially accumulate many different skills, as well as equip whatever items they wish. In the long run, a player can essentially create one character only to invest their time into, and use it to play many different build types for the same character.
Also, the way the skill tree is organized inWolcen, one has to follow certain paths which go through vastly different class-architecture types to reach another area of nodes which provide skills specifically for the type of build the player is looking for. In other words, even if one is not interested in creating a diverse character, over the course of the game, the player will naturally encounter other skill-types in order to reach and unlock all the skills for a particular build-type. Many of these may be nearing the outer edges of the node-tree from the center, the latter of which is the starting point.
This can be good or bad, depending on play style. On one hand, it provides less incentive to create other characters inWolcen, but provides tons of flexibility in a single character. It may also suit players well who have limited time, but wish to have diverse gameplay experiences on different occasions inWolcenby switching.
Some fans of ARPGs have already written offDiablo 4as an option for themselves. And for thosefans anxiously waiting forDiablo 4, there is a good chance it is probably over two years away still, and certainly they will be looking for alternative options in the meantime.
While Path of Exile has stood the test of time as a solid and well polished alternative, or even a filler as many wait forDiablo 4’s release, other players have differing views on the game. And for them,Wolcenmay be just the game that offers slightly more complexity, but is less overbearing thanPath of Exile, despite its need for further polish and end-game content.
For others, sticking withDiablo 3and evenGrim Dawnare still solid and well established options in the ARPG genre. And merely waiting forthe eventual release ofPath of Exile 2is another option, if one is confident in their preference forPath of Exile.
Wolcen: Lords of Mayhemis available now on PC.
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