In Path of Exile an event took place where the best players had 10 days to compete. The tasks were difficult and the game was modified so that even the leveling phase posed a problem. One player managed to succeed and emerged as the winner.
What kind of competition was it? The “Zizaran Merciless Gauntlet” competition was meant to be a challenge for the best of the best in Path of Exile. Here, Path of Exile is played not only with hardcore settings, that is, without trading, groups, and character death ending the game, but also with further modifications.
Monsters had much larger AoE attacks, 150% more health points, and more projectiles. Some attack patterns were even changed.
To compare players, there were various challenges, each assigned a different number of points. A level-up, for example, gave one point, a boss kill gave 8 points. In the end, 260 points could be reached. However, the challenge was really difficult.
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Only one succeeded
How did the competition end? While many professionals and streamers struggled with the challenges, the same player claimed both 1st and 2nd place in the competition. For players of Path of Exile, it’s hardly a surprise: the winner is Ben_
The Twitch streamer has been regarded as the best player of Path of Exile for years and has proven his skills multiple times. Already in 2023, he played live on Twitch for 23 hours straight, earning fame and prizes.
In this year’s competition, the player managed to reach 255 out of 260 points. The only missing points are the 5 level-ups from level 95 to level 100, which the player did not complete. He managed all other challenges. Some even twice, because his first character died before completing all challenges, and he had to start over.
No one else has overcome as many challenges as he has. The next player with 219 points is missing 3 boss kills to catch up (via poe-racing.com). So Ben_ was able to win with a good lead. Thus, 1st and 2nd place goes to him.
What did he win? For completing level goals and challenges, there were raffle entries for substantial hardware prizes and cosmetic items. The developers of Grinding Gear Games also participated with a skin and a mystery box for all participants who reached at least level 2 and completed Act 10.
Through crowdfunding (via Paypal), there were also some cash prizes. Thus, winner Ben_ earned at least 700 USD (about 600 €) from the competition.
Path of Exile regularly hosts events like speedruns or challenges to reward players. In Path of Exile 2, however, a professional made a critical mistake in such a competition: Best player in Path of Exile 2 misses a second, loses everything
