Ultimatum makes getting better gear riskier

February 2023 · 3 minute read

Path of Exile has been a staple of what it means to make a quality online game that is completely free for quite some time now, being one of the most popular games on Steam for quite a few years.

However, every king will eventually surrender its crown, with Grinding Gear Games already laying out the foundation for Path of Exile 2 in 2022.

However, Path of Exile is still a long way from having the much-coveted sequel it so truly deserves, so the developers are still actively improving the original, with the Ultimatum expansion being the perfect proof.

Ultimatum hits live on April 16th

Ultimatum is a quarter League expansion, and it will allow players to let players play a new and improved version of Double or Nothing, where both monster counts and loot drops will be at an all-time high.

This new league will last for about 3 months, and it will introduce a new way through which players can improve their characters and the way they can exterminate entire screens of enemies.

The Trialmaster brings tougher enemies, but better rewards

Whenever a user rolls a new character, they will encounter the Trialmaster, a new NPC that will invite you to join apparently simple arena battle where the sole purpose is to pretty much kill everything on site.

The caveat here is that you will know exactly what prize you’ll be fighting for, and once you’re done you can choose to either tap out and claim your prize, or go through a much more difficult arena match and win another prize besides the original.

The catch? This second arena match will be the same as the first, but the monster will benefit from other modifiers (faster monsters, more obstacles, etc).

More so, if you lose any arena matches, you will lose all the previous gear you wagered for, staying true to its Double or Nothing namesake.

Finally, players that manage to fight their way to the tenth round (if they don’t die by round 3 that is), will face off a boss, and earn an extra special bonus, besides the 10 items they’ve already accumulated.

While this part isn’t specifically showcased in the video, one could presume that the boss will not be something to be trifled with, so keep your potions and other self-sustain methods at hand at all costs.

In fact, Grinding Gear Games held a short Q&A session earlier this week, and the studio head himself confirmed that there’ll be a tough new final boss hidden deeper within Ultimatum’s arena battles.

Additionally, loot hoggers will be glad to know that some unique new will also become available, items only obtainable through beating the toughest of battles and (presumably) the Trialmaster himself.

All in all, Ultimatum may not be as content-packed as the previous expansion, but it sure makes grinding for gear a lot more fun, easier, and the new all-or-nothing approach will surely keep hardcore players at the edge of their seats.

Are you excited about Ultimatum? Tell us what you think about this new high risk/high-reward approach by leaving us your feedback in the comments section below.

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