There’s a lot of common ground to be found amongPath of Exilefans andWorld of Warcraftplayers. Made by Grinding Gear Games as a spiritual successor to legendaryhack-and-slash RPGs such asDiablo 2, another Blizzard Entertainment franchise, it’s very likely that a person who playsPath of Exilehas triedWorld of Warcraftat some point in their life.
The setting inPath of Exilewas made by a New Zealand-based developer team, and the world of Wraeclast is an intriguing take on dark fantasy with a clear and bold Maori influence interwoven throughout, depicted with the Karui people. On the other hand,World of Warcraft’smaps have become iconic with a distinct, easily-recognizable style – and one talented fan of both games had the bright idea of joining these two concepts together.
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Created by Azapls, who among other things also made a concept map of therumored Dragon Isles expansion forWorld of Warcraft, this version of Wraeclast has been lovingly drawn in the style present on maps of Azeroth. While the trend of recreating maps in theWorld of Warcraftstyle is not new, Azapls' work displays such wondrous accuracy and attention to detail that one might easily mistake it for an official Blizzard map.
All the major landmarks are present, from the Vaal City casting its shadow over the Phrecian Forest, the Act 2 (and Act 7) location inPath of Exile, to the isle of Oriath from which the player character is exiled at the start of the game. In fact,Path of Exilefans might find some non-negligible amount of joy in following along their exile’s path on this map, from their humble beginnings on the placid beach next to Lioneye’s Watch, to the tall mountainous peaks of Highgate, and back to Theopolis all over again.
The map pools knowledge from all the expansions and post-launch content released forPath of Exilethus far, as the game edges close to releasing its “Siege of the Atlas” expansion on February 11. One notable, yet logical omission is the mysterious continent of Kalguur, from which the Kalguuran adventurers hail from inPath of Exile’sExpedition League, given that the map’s sole focus seems to be on recreating Wraeclast alone.
Kalguur has been on the community’s wishlist as a location they would want to see in future content, and given that not much is known concerning the locations inPath of Exile 2, it is not entirely out of the question for at least one of its seven Acts to take place in the Norse-inspired land.
Path of Exile: Siege of the Atlasis available starting February 11.
