Path of Exile
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 14 action role-playing games by recommenders
Free-to-play action RPG praised for frequent free content updates and strategic depth. Most common caveat: heavy pressure to buy stash tabs in later game.
Free-to-play action RPG praised for frequent free content updates and strategic depth. Most common caveat: heavy pressure to buy stash tabs in later game.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Runs well, even at high refresh
“my favorite game of all times (Path of Exile 1) runs fantastically on it.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “It's hard to justify Tahoe icons” “it plays better than the native release”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Valve reveals it’s the architect behind a push to bring Windows games to Arm” “PoE at 144Hz is incredible”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “New iMac with M6” Frequent free content updates
“PoE is still getting new content 3 times per year, the dev is committed supporting both games for a long time.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Dwarf Fortress' creator says the industry's in shambles over AI” “maybe the game that has received the most updates and content of any game in existence”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Dwarf Fortress' creator says the industry's in shambles over AI” Lots of game for little money
“Around $20 and you've got yourself a meaty beast of a game.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Dark Pattern Games” “having probably the softest freemium model in existence”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Dark Pattern Games” Long-lasting fun and social play
“can eat a lot of time and still give you social connections”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: How to Be Alone?” “I would rather play Path of Exile than Diablo 2”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Dwarf Fortress' creator says the industry's in shambles over AI”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Pressure to buy stash tabs
“There is pretty heavy pressure to buy stash tabs once you hit the later parts of the game”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Dark Pattern Games” “Stash tabs are de facto required for trade.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Dark Pattern Games”
Other action role-playing games people recommend
The four most recommended other action role-playing games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elden Ring | 25 | 8 | 76% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Dark Souls | 23 | 6 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Diablo II: Resurrected | 19 | 3 | 86% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Mass Effect | 19 | 5 | 79% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Path of ExileThis page | 15 | 5 | 75% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
21 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“PoE at 144Hz is incredible”
“Earlier this year an RMT account for Path of Exile was finally banned”
“Same deal, once you're at the endgame - the goal just becomes bigger numbers”
“PoE is still getting new content 3 times per year, the dev is committed supporting both games for a long time.”
“maybe the game that has received the most updates and content of any game in existence”
“I would rather play Path of Exile than Diablo 2”
“People were getting banned for using macros and I wanted to demonstrate it was a pointless battle.”
“Path of Exile potion management requiring you to constantly press that for hours near end game”
“Path of Exile, another example where their vision REQUIRED a custom game engine.”
“POE does have a high skill ceiling, it’s just more of a strategic game than tactical.”
“Path of exile 1 still lags even on a 5090”
“That's actually the beauty of Path of Exile as a whole”
“I found so many little bugs and issues that I had more fun jotting them down than actually playing the game!”
“can eat a lot of time and still give you social connections”
“my favorite game of all times (Path of Exile 1) runs fantastically on it.”
“it plays better than the native release”
“Around $20 and you've got yourself a meaty beast of a game.”
“Stash tabs are de facto required for trade.”
“There is pretty heavy pressure to buy stash tabs once you hit the later parts of the game”
“having probably the softest freemium model in existence”
“I am able to play expedition 33 and poe1”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.