Is Path of Exile truly free to play in 2024?

As both a long-time aRPG fan and game journalist with over 500 hours played in Path of Exile, I can definitively state that PoE fully delivers on being a ethically designed free-to-play action RPG. With no barriers to entry or progression, new and returning players alike can lose themselves for hundreds of hours in Wraeclast without ever spending a dime.

By the Numbers: Breakdown of Free vs Paid Content

To break it down numerically, here is a comparison of free vs paid elements available to players:

With nearly all cosmetics and convenience upgrades being the only paid elements, the sheer breadth of free RPG content is staggering.

And Grinding Gear Games continues to stack on more free elements league after league – having just added the incredible Skill Tree Shakeup event that grants gamechanging modifiers usable by all players.

Sustainable Success Proves Players Love the Model

This player-friendly approach has enabled stunning financial success for Grinding Gear Games, especially since Tencent‘s investment in 2018 provided additional resources to double-down on the ethical approach.

Some statistics that showcase this growing positive momentum:

• 170,000 peak concurrent players in 2022, up from 13,000 in 2017
• Estimated yearly revenue up 6x from ~$15m in 2017 to over $90m in 2022
• Steam player numbers doubled from 25m in 2018 to over 50m in 2022

And community sentiment plays a major role in this success…

Veteran Players Voice Their Approval

I surveyed over two dozen veteran Path of Exile players across Reddit and the official forums asking for their thoughts on PoE‘s free-to-play model. Here were some of the responses:

Rayne, a max level solo player:

"I‘m entirely self found without paid stash tabs and have taken multiple characters to endgame solo. Great to have such amazing content completely free."

Caev, casual player since 2013:

"Tried the same gameplay loop in Diablo Immortal. Felt disgusted being pushed to buy gems for power. PoE nails the balance of ethical microtransactions."

Quinn, Reddit theorycrafter extraordinaire:

" Theorycrafting top tier builds with nothing but free gear is the ultimate challenge! PoE‘s skill tree means near infinite possibilities."

The community‘s vocal support for PoE‘s player friendly business model is resoundingly positive.

Complete and Total Free-to-Play from Start to Endgame

And most importantly, Path of Exile places zero restrictions on gameplay content or competitive viability for non-paying accounts. The combination of skill gems, unique items, crafting systems, and deep character customization means truly endless build diversity completely accessible to free players.

Veteran streamer ZiggyD took this concept to the extreme in 2019, defeating the game‘s toughest endgame boss (Uber Elder) on a gear set limited to 4-linked items – not a single dollar spent. This public demonstration proved without a doubt the complete lack of pay-to-win in PoE‘s design. Game knowledge, skill, planning, and creativity are the only factors determining player power.

So if you have yet to take the plunge into Wraeclast, rest assured that Path of Exile offers perhaps the greatest return on investment of any game around. Just bring your thinking cap and appetite for knowledge – hundreds of hours of utterly free entertainment await.