The latest expansion forPath of Exilehas arrived, but launch hasn’t gone according to plan.Ultimatumofficially arrived on April 16 and with it came some of the worst server issues thatPath of Exilehas ever experienced. These server issues are only part of players' frustrations, however. Not only is Grinding Gear Games facing criticism forPath of Exile: Ultimatum’s launch, but also for providing preferential treatment to livestreamers despiteUltimatum’s competitive environment.
The issue at hand is thatPath of Exile’s launch ofUltimatumhas led to very long server queues, plus frequent disconnects that force players back into server queues. Livestreamers, however, are being granted the privilege of skipping the queues even if they disconnect. These players can then gain access to endgame content earlier than other players, using the rewards they acquire to assert themselves at the top ofPath of Exile’s in-game economy. However, it wasn’t clear who and how many streamers were allowed through, leading to a lot of reckless rumors and speculation.
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Grinding Gear Games has since responded to the issue, stating that it had paid “big streamers” toplayUltimatumat launch. However, since the queue would prevent these players from being able to login, they’d have effectively been paid to do nothing. Grinding Gear Games says it would have basically been “setting a big pile of money on fire,” so it let these streamers through. However, Grinding Gear Games then added that it let “some other streamers” through as well, so that they “weren’t on the back foot.”
Now Grinding Gear Games is saying that allowing any streamers through, bypassing thePath of Exilequeue, was “clearly a mistake.” The studio acknowledges that it has “offended” players who were stuck waiting and that it wasn’t a fair playing field forPath of Exile’s latest league. From here on, Grinding Gear Games says streamers won’t be allowed to bypass queues.
Grinding Gear Games also addresses the bigger problem in the same statement, saying that the queue system and server issues, which have largely already been resolved, will be worked on as well. In the future,Path of Exilewill have a system that “works much better” and provides an overall “faster process” to provide a fair playing field.Grinding Gear Gamessays it’s “completely understandable” that players are unhappy and that “we’re unhappy with it too.”
NowPath of Exilefaces a second test, asPath of Exile: Ultimatumhas yet to launch on consoles. Making meaningful changes before the console launch date of April 21 may not be realistic, but it’s still an opportunity for Grinding Gear Games to smooth out the login process andmake a betterPath of Exileexperiencefor all players.
Path of Exileis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
