Grinding Gear Games’ newest expansion for Path of Exile, Crucible, launched this past Friday and has been quite successful. It hit 321,180 peak concurrent players, which beat the previous record by more than 50,000. That’s only accounting for PC, since the expansion launches on April 12th for Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
Crucible adds a new mechanic to the action RPG, allowing players to upgrade their weapons. By channeling Forges throughout Wraeclast, they can summon tough enemies, earn XP and unlock powerful Passives for said weapon. Only one skill is allowed per tier, and some can provide negative for one’s build, but the risk/reward makes it worth pursuing, especially if you combine one weapon’s Passive tree with another in the end-game Forge of the Titans.
The expansion also added reworks for the Pathfinder and Saboteur Ascendancies, ten new Unique items, Atlas Gateways to make pathing easier in the Atlas Passive Tree, and new Vaal Skills. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.