Scourge brings a whole new mechanic to the table for fans of PoE.
The leagues in Path of Exile are fantastic wats of adding additional content to the game. We have seen many newcomers over the years, with leagues mixing up the challenges that players face each time. Recently, we saw the introduction of a new challenge league called Scourge brought in, giving us something new to test our skills with. Whether Scourge is the best addition yet is of course a subjective choice, but we can take a look at what it brings, and what some of the best leagues offer themselves. Be sure to check out PoE Trade too if you really want to prepare yourself for these leagues.
What Does Scourge Bring?
When playing Scourge, players are tasked with filling up a Blood Crucible. This will come from enemies that you have slain and will take you to an alternate version of Wraeclast when it’s sufficiently filled. In this differing reality that you are taken to, you will be in the midst of a devastating event that’s taking play.
The enemies that dwell in this area are called The Scourge. To spend a longer amount of time in this reality, you’ll need to destroy these Scourge demons to keep filling the Blood Crucible. It is definitely worth mentioning that extending your stay will increase the damage that you take. When you kill enemies to get into the Nightmare Realm, you’ll then be killing these monsters to start collecting Corruption. Whilst you are gaining it, you will get the status effect that states you’re exposed to Corruption. The items that you collect in the Blood Crucible will gain Corruption too, after which it can be transformed and Scourge to increase its modifiers.
Maps can also be Scourged, in a process that can be repeated up to 10 times if you wish. In maps, the monsters will start to drop an item known as a Dream Furnace. If you were to take this over to The Last to Die, you could increase the slots for maps within the Blood Crucible.
With this and everything else that Scourge offers, including 40 optional challenges and much more, you could say that it is a contender for one of the better leagues that Path of Exile brings. That said, there are a couple of other major players in the race for the best league, that Scourge would have to contend with.
Delve League
The introduction of this league really did have a massive impact on Path of Exile. The typical formula of a league usually involves opening up portals and bringing in as many monsters as you can to slay them. This is where Delve shifted the course to offer something a bit different.
The Delve league presents a dungeon that’s procedurally generated, that you could navigate through and take a voyage of exploration with. As you continue to head deeper down in the dungeon, it would become more and more difficult. In fact, it even houses what is considered to be the hardest boss in the entire game. The many rewards that you receive more than making it worth your time visiting, and if you’re a fan of crafting then you’re going to find an abundance of crafting goodies here.
Breach League
Another league considered to be the best by many of the PoE community is Breach. It is the perfect example of less is more, keeping the concept simple yet incredibly fun. Your task is to open up a fearsome realm that will spawn in monsters for you to kill, in turn, to allow the portal to expand further. Expect a plethora of PoE currency and uniques from this league, which a lot of players would agree should be the foundation for every league.
Is Scourge the Best League?
Perhaps it’s a little early to tell whether this is the best league to be added to the game so far. Even the likes of Delve weren’t considered to be as good as it is until it went over a few balance changes here and there. The fact that it whisks you to a new reality is something that’s very exciting, and the Blood Crucible mechanic is motivation enough to keep you slaying.
What Scourge does offer may suit your style of play very well, meaning it’s going to be high up on your list regardless. Whether it’s going to be the league equivalent of an Exalted Orb remains to be seen, meaning that it may take a little while longer to really compare it to the very best that Grinding Gear Games has provided.
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