Supporter newsletter 74

Issue
This is a copy of Eternal and Diamond Supporter Newsletter #74, published by Grinding Gear Games.

Hello Supporters,

Late this week the marketing (well, teasers) for the upcoming expansion will begin. It will be a short while until I can start talking about what we are designing and doing in the office, so I can’t tell you about what design stuff is being discussed here this Sunday afternoon.

So this week in the newsletter I thought I’d talk more about the past and some of the interesting game elements that can no longer be found in game. Some of you were around for these things. Hopefully you enjoy the nostalgia.

Notes from the past

The Beta Timer - There was a time when there were only two ways to be able to play Path of Exile: to be directly invited, or to be selected by the beta timer. Instead of issuing large waves of invites, every five minutes someone was invited to the closed beta.

Keysus - The old testament version of RNGsus. According to Urban Dictionary - “Keysus, Son of The Alpha and The Beta, is the giver of beta keys to enter the glorious Kingdom of Closed Beta. - Originated by Prophet Starcraft42 of Path of Exile (GGG) 2011”

The Keyblade - This one-of-a-kind weapon has the flavour text “Forged from thousands of unclaimed Beta keys.” This sword dripped gold coins, and was the first cosmetic item in the game. Chris used to wield it. Supporter XvXReaperXvX was given the sword as a result of his support of the game, and wielded it until it was intentionally destroyed in transition from Closed to Open Beta.

Placeholder Quest Guy - In Act 2, the giver of all the quests was this vital NPC. Even after Act 2 was developed, he has been known to pop up in other areas of the game.

Merveil’s Tears - This early unique was a flask that prevented your character from dying for the duration. This item was designed by Chris who also designed “Shaftstorm”. These uniques were removed from the game.

Insider Info

This week we have some more monster concept art. This is one of the earliest images of a Sea Witch I could find:

http://i.imgur.com/8cz8BS3.jpg