Path of Exile The Forbidden Sanctum has been out for almost a month now. In this month, I basically put most of my time on experiencing Ruthless. After such a long time of experience, I naturally have some personal opinions on some aspects of this new hard mode.

General Thoughts About Gear Progression

The first is about gear progression. Since I'm playing an armor character, I've probably spent a bit longer in white gear than most other characters in Ruthless. To my surprise, it really wasn't bad at all. Dropping a good armor base is exciting in itself. As I progressed to the point where I had conversions for using the good ones, I saw the bases get more rushed. Overall, the gear progression feels really, really good, and I'm amazed at how it makes me feel.

In the base game, I basically just ignore the gear in the campaign. All I look for is links, throw an alch at it, and then we are rolling. I've completed the campaign several times, only to realize I was still wearing the Act 1 gear when I finished the Act 10 kitava. It's not an option at all. Gear progression is important, thus adding a dimension of activity that barely existed in my base game. Rare items are very few until I get into the later stages of the compaign. I start using a gold flask around Act 8, hitting it when I want to kill rare, magic and unique enemies. This seems to give me a significant boost on rare items. In the base game, I can't always tell if rarity makes a difference, but it seems obvious in Ruthless. Maybe rarity needs to be nerfed? RNG is RNG of course, so I admit that the gold flask may not be as important as I thought.

General Thoughts About Decision Making

In the early days of a Ruthless character, you will soon be faced with many important decisions. Every Skill Gem you choose counts. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have used those two Skill Gem rewards on the war cries for Earth Shatter. Each of these gems could be a different gem useful for the current iteration of my character. Also, these options will be more general rather than specialized, and they'll be good for any melee skill, such as blood rage, enduring cry, vitality, etc. My progress in Act 2 and Act 3 may be a bit slower due to using a skill with less Aoe than Earth Shatter, but the overall progression of the campaign will probably always be smoother. I think blood rage and enduring cry in particular might be a bit too strong to be quest rewards so early on.

Now, while there are many important decisions about quest rewards in the early game, this theme doesn't really carry over after Act 3. Please consider finding ways to provide these meaningful choices throughout the campaign. It's a whole new dimension that doesn't exist in the base version at all, and it feels so good to have these options.

I think it would help the Ruthless mode a lot if there were more quests with gem rewards. You can move some of the OP Act 1 to Act 3 skills to later in the game, such as Act 5 to Act 10. This will also leave room to add more early game skill options to each character. For example, you could move the Act 1 Brutus rewards to the Act 6 Brutus and Shavronne fight. Then, for the Burtus reward for Act 1, you can add combat skills that apply to the character you're playing but aren't available elsewhere. I think this would add more variety and give the Ruthless a better game experience while sticking to the extra layer of decision making.

In general, Ruthless is more suitable for players who like hardcore challenges to try. Since the drop rate of items in this mode is extremely low, the best way to improve your own strength is to use POE Currency to obtain some excellent equipment and weapons in advance.

Read More: Tips For Running Path Of Exile Sanctum League

It's been a few weeks since the Sanctum League started. These days, I'm basically addicted to a hard mode called Ruthless, and I basically play 1 to 2 hours a day. After these days of experience, I have gained a lot. The following are my personal thoughts.

*First of all, this mode is actually tailor-made for those players who like hardcore experience, so the difficulty of this mode will be high and the game pace will be slower. The reason why I say this mode is difficult is that in the regular play I have experienced before, no matter what kind of bosses I encounter, I can easily kill them all within a few seconds before they release their skills. This mode is not so easy. If you want to experience this mode better, you must first work hard to learn the monster and boss mechanic.

*In Ruthless mode, a lot of game content is actually missing, such as craft, pantheon, some orbs, etc. This is undoubtedly very painful for regular players. Since they cannot be crafted, it becomes very difficult for them to obtain certain attributes. But for novice players, these missing content is not so important. Since crafting is difficult for them to learn, especially after harvest and crafting after the campaign, most of them don't care too much about crafting.

*Another reason why this mode is difficult is that the item drop rate is extremely low, and generally only drops some Support Gems and a very limited number of Active Gems sold by NPCs. This is actually very attractive to me. Because, when I get to level 8 or 16, etc. I don't have to worry about which Support Gems from the vendor to choose. Instead, I can spend more time thinking about how to make my own builds. Why do you say that? Because when you get +100% damage from Support Gems, what else do you need to think about? Right, so this is one of the disadvantages of regular play.

*You can choose to slow down the progression and farm in low levels. Of course, this is adjusted according to your own game style. If you want to pursue higher level items or have more powerful gems, then you can farm in high levels and speed up your game pace. However, if you are a novice player around level 20 and have a level 4 chest with 30 armor and want the 200 armor one, you can slow down and farm a bit. Because at low levels your choices don't make much of a difference. You can also take advantage of this period to study the mechanic and defense system in Path of Exile.

*Compared to relying on movement skills in regular play, Ruthless mode restricts all movement skills. I think it's better this way. Although it is said that with the assistance of movement skills, you can become more flexible, but in Ruthless mode, choosing movement skills will not work either. Because you will always be hurt by the monsters around you or affected by the environment with Affliction due to negligence, your movement skills will also be slowed down, out of control or the cooldown time will be increased due to these slowdowns and curses. So, if you rely more on movement skills, you will still die due to some uncertainties.

*This last point I'm going to make isn't terribly important, but it's definitely a big reason why I like Ruthless mode. That is, this mode will always bring me different surprises. Specifically, every hour of Ruthless brings something new and worth playing. Plus the Sanctum League wasn't that fun for me personally. I think I'm going to stick with Ruthless until the end of the league.

In general, I think Ruthless is more suitable for novice players to experience than regular players. Although this mode has minimum items and rarity drops, novices do not need to trade. It's better to farm slowly for a while, and you will always get good item drops in Ruthless.

I'm in a state where I don't want to switch to regular games anymore. I feel that the game process in HC SSF Ruthless that I am experiencing now is very interesting. What do you think? Would you recommend Ruthless to new players because it's slow or would you throw them into the regular game and expose them to a whole bunch of incomprehensibly overwhelming stuff?

Of course, if you want to experience Ruthless better, I suggest you use Divine Orbs to create your own builds, and you will definitely be pleasantly surprised!

Read More: Path Of Exile: What Should You Be Aware Of About The Upcoming Release Of Ruthless Mode?

So when I first read the Ruthless announcement, my initial reaction was boring, until I got to the point where Support Gems are rare and no longer part of the quest rewards. It's absolutely brilliant, and it brings an entire game mode together.

For SSF players, this should give them an experience where their gameplay is more tuned to the gems they receive. For experienced players, this is a treat, as we usually know how to end up force dropping whatever we need, as long as its rarity is reasonable. I'm sure adding extra layers to the game like this will keep us coming back for a longer period of time.

For me, a player who trades a lot, dropping Support Gems in this mode is more exciting than dropping almost everything available in the base game. I was so excited when I dropped the faster cast support in Act 3. I've been reading feedback from other players, so I know the meta for this gamemode is spells, and I know gems are very valuable. It shows that I'm able to trade it for pride, and it's one of the overall most powerful gems available for physical melee builds. Even for an economy player like me, this extra drop potential is very refreshing.

However, I worry that this novelty will be erased if Ruthless is added to pathofexile.com/trade. As I mentioned before, adding extra layers to the game will keep experienced players coming back. One of these additional layers may be that we have to figure out the value of items in the economy ourselves. The less data we have, the better we can learn about the economy. I don't expect the base game to be like this, but for Ruthless, I feel like it would fit nicely.

However, I admit I'm conflicted about this transaction. While Ruthless mode is more challenging than the base game, it's also simpler. I think this game mode might appeal to a certain type of new player more than the base game. For context, over the years I've taught at least a dozen players how to play Path of Exile from scratch, and tried to get even more players into the game. Generally, if I can help acquire a player through events and help them become self-sufficient on a trade site, they'll keep playing for a long time.

A lot of players I tried to teach dropped out during the campaign because the gem link system and Skill Trees were too complicated. Therefore, players who are willing to follow the build guide will usually do better in their first playthrough. This game mode completely removes the complexity of the early game gem linking system. It also removes a lot of gear complexity until later. This allows new players to fully focus their critical thinking on the skill tree. As of now, in the base game, new players are faced with more consistent opportunities that feel like a requirement for critical thinking, which I think is a huge barrier for a lot of new players.

I really think that with the right marketing or advertising to the gaming community, this game mode has a good chance of getting a lot of players into the game. I don't think that's why you guys started doing this, but I do think it's something worth considering at the moment. Those new to the game can get used to the game better by visiting the trading site. Text channel transactions between larger general communities is definitely the point where a transaction site is needed. But again, our seasoned players know how to fix this.

Forgot to add, currency drops feel great. Extremely rare in the early game, but you'll get enough of them throughout the campaign that you feel like you could use some on a good basis. This adds another layer of decision-making, which is great.

In general, the drop rate of new expansion packs is extremely low. If you want to increase the ease of completing all challenges, then using POE Currency to equip yourself with well-equipped weapons and equipment will be a good choice.

Path of Exile 3.20 expansion, The Forbidden Sanctum has been released on PC for a while, and during this period, many players can't wait to try the new mode Ruthless. The following are some players who have experienced the mode posted on the official forum personal opinion.

A user named MildlyClever said that he is currently using minion witch to challenge Ruthless mode and his character has only reached level 7 or so. As far as his current game state is concerned, he said that his interest in this new mode is quite strong. He especially likes the fact that Ruthless has different rooms to explore. Because it will be more interesting than the boring blitz. Through these few days of experience, he also shared his personal findings.

First of all, the zone named seems to be more difficult than he imagined, and after the exploration is over, only one or two white items may drop. Secondly, the drop rate of items in Ruthless mode is extremely low. Of the 4 areas he's explored so far, he's only gotten one rare item. Finally, he also mentioned that the current chat room is relatively deserted. Most chats are basically about transactions. And everyone rarely exchanged items for POE 3.20 Currency. This made it very difficult for him to exchange for some gems.

Some players also expressed their love for Ruthless. Some people already prefer this kind of game with a hardcore experience. Some felt that since the mode was dominated by dropped gems, each player's builds would be more creative as a result. Another player said that he can still chill farm white tier maps to his heart's content without running into a rare mob that completely counters his build. In this way, almost all rare items can be used to upgrade his personal characters.

Of course, when anyone faces new things, there will be likes and dislikes. Faced with the new mode of Ruthless, some players expressed their dissatisfaction. Some people said that the difficulty of this mode is very high and mobile skills are banned. These contents are not suitable for all players, especially for newcomers. Some people feel that the crafting table should not have been removed. That way they have even fewer ways to level up. Some players said that The only thing slowing down the gameplay is the debuff inflicted to the player. It makes them feel very unnatural and boring.

Another player who has reached level 55 and is playing the melee build said that there will be many strange phenomena in the new mode. For example, the boss healing mechanic doesn't reset the phase after you die. So, you can eventually get the full health boss, but in its final phase. Second, many attacks in Ruthless seem to allow for fast movement, but GGG removes most movement options. Also, certain attack patterns can be difficult or even impossible to dodge. In this case, when participating in Sanctum melee, it will feel very boring.

If you are a player who pays great attention to your builds, then Devine Orbs must be one of your essential items. You can make some ahead of time just in case you need them.

Path of Exile 3.20 expansion, The Forbidden Sanctum has officially released on PC. Among all the new content, the newly added mode Ruthless is the player that attracted the attention of a large number of players.

*Ruthless is a mode that is tense all the way but makes you look forward to it. In this mode, you will face many challenges. But if you can stick to it, you feel very rewarded.

*In this mode, you can hardly find any items. Slowly you will find that even if you sometimes pick up just an ordinary item, you will get a breakthrough improvement. This is mostly due to the extremely low item drop rate in this mode, you don't see many magic items, and even fewer rare ones. So, some traditionally weak items can become very valuable here.

*Another reason why Ruthless mode is difficult is that you can hardly find a mode to make currency here. You'll likely only find one Orb of Alchemy throughout the campaign. But that orb lets you convert any base type you choose into a rare item.

*In Ruthless mode, all your processes are paramount. According to Grinding Gear Games, the developer of Path of Exile, whether you're farming items in the early game or building crafting items using items you've acquired over the course of the game, these are important to you.

However, Ruthless's design is not suitable for all players, this mode is more suitable for those players who like hardcore experience. I actually think Path of Exile itself isn't for everyone. At first, when I first came into contact with this game, I was very disgusted with the concept of Leagues in this game, so I generally avoided this system directly. But after a long time, my skills are constantly improving. My progress is very obvious, and my strength is gradually increasing. I realized that I wanted a new experience, and Leagues in Path of Exile provided that for me.

Over time, I feel like Path of Exile has gotten a lot easier for a veteran like me. For example, now I can easily find failed builds early in the season. So, for the launch of Ruthless mode, I am very happy. This leads me to see Grinding Gear Games for a change. It's a testament to the fact that they're constantly introducing new things in Path of Exile.

Read More : Path Of Exile: What Should You Be Aware Of About The Upcoming Release Of Ruthless Mode?

If Ruthless mode is popular with the community, I fully expect it to be implemented in Path of Exile 2 as well, I can't wait to see what it has to offer. For now, the difficulty of Ruthless is not suitable for all players to try. I estimate that this mode will need some patch adjustments to achieve the proper balance. But Ruthless is exactly what the game needs to cater to a hardcore audience.

The new Sanctum Challenge League and new items will also change the game in the coming weeks and I'm waiting to try everything the game has to offer. It's been almost ten years since Path of Exile was released, the game is still innovating to this day, and I can't wait to see what its sequel brings.

If you are very interested in Ruthless, then you can prepare some POE Currency in advance. This way you can get better equipment and weapons. You can also defeat enemies and complete missions more quickly. All in all, POE Currency is a good choice to help you speed up the game.