In the Hack’n Slay Path of Exile a new expansion has been released, initiating a new race: The Twitch streamer Ben_ left all competitors behind with a mammoth performance: He won the prize in 23 hours on Twitch. He couldn’t afford any mistakes.
This is the new expansion: The “Trial of The Ancestors” expansion was released on August 18 for Path of Exile. It was patch 3.22. The expansion was the second new expansion in 2023 after “Crucible”.
The expansion brought:
- 16 new Atlas Keystones
- 14 new Support Gems
- Passive Skill Tattoos
- New items and challenges for Path of Exile
Basically a classic “More of everything” expansion, here you see the trailer for Trials of the Ancestors:
Competition in a brutal Permadeath mode
That was the competition: With the new expansion, the developers called for a “Boss Kill Event”. The one who kills all 7 “Uber Pinnacle Bosses” in the Ancestor Hardcore SSF mode would win. In this mode, deaths are permanent, and players cannot play with others or trade items (via poe).
The competition aims for the best players in the world to act simultaneously cautiously yet maximally effectively. Those who take too high a risk die and drop out. Those who play too cautiously are too slow and miss the prize. The competition rewards the most complete player, who progresses through all levels and also brings their damage to target in the endgame.
As a prize for the first place:
- Original art from the Path of Exile comic in black/white, a unique piece. The developers emphasized how fantastic this prize is (via poe).
- A copy of each merchandise item from the Exile-Con.
- The opportunity to design a “Divination” card yourself.
Twitch streamer plays through for 23 hours straight
Who won that? The prize went to the Twitch streamer Ben_; he is generally considered the best player of Path of Exile in the world.
On August 18, he played live on Twitch for 23 hours straight, reaching a peak of 5,740 viewers.
He won the prize with his character “Ben_ChiefGarf”, a level 97 Elementalist. The gear and his skill distribution can be viewed here, with Ben stating that he swapped gear between bosses.
Ben_ was the third largest streamer of Path of Exile in the world in the last 3 days: 3 times more viewer hours were accumulated by the controversial Quin69.
“He can see the Matrix”
This is being discussed: Ben_’s performance is highly regarded in the community (via reddit): It is said he dispatched the Uber bosses in under 2 hours.
“I am convinced he can see the Path of Exile matrix,” says an admirer.
Another suggests: Ben should become the next boss in the game.
But mortals are also happy: A Twitch clip is circulating in which Ben shows weakness.
Players joke: You can see him trembling as he panicked, while he had to figure out where to go next and apparently had a blackout for a moment.
Others say: He must have done it on purpose, so we mortals feel better.
Many are waiting for the sequel to Path of Exile:
Path of Exile 2 will be easier, but you will still die more often
