Path of Exile 2: Summoning an army of 2,000 skeletons, an ultimate frame rate shredder
A Path of Exile 2 streamer and his companions embarked on an unusual experiment, pushing the game's boundaries by conjuring an astonishing legion of 2,000 skeletons. This audacious endeavor resulted in a catastrophic drop in frame rates, rendering the game almost unplayable, yet delivering a uniquely entertaining spectacle. The group even devised a clever trap, luring unsuspecting players into their lag-filled lair with the promise of a rare in-game item.
Many players, upon exhausting their enthusiasm for a new season in Path of Exile 2, typically take a break until the next update. However, one streamer, known as Empyriangaming, chose a different path. He decided to invest his considerable in-game wealth into an unprecedented minion build, aiming to test the very limits of the action RPG. His setup involved gear so expensive it surpassed the total earnings of many seasoned players, allowing him to create multiple sets to maximize his minion summoning capabilities.
A typical minion build in Path of Exile 2 usually involves a modest retinue of 10 to 15 skeletons. Empyriangaming, however, along with his team, meticulously calculated how to drastically increase this number. Their strategy focused on minimizing the resource cost of each minion and accumulating an immense amount of that resource. The game, however, had an internal cap, preventing more than 255 of any single minion type from being summoned simultaneously. Exceeding this limit caused all existing minions to despawn, resetting the count. To circumvent this, Empyriangaming enlisted his friends, each bringing their own skeletal armies to the fray.
The initial challenge they encountered was an immediate and severe drop in frame rate. When Empyriangaming alone summoned 255 Skeletal Priests, Path of Exile 2's performance plummeted, resembling a stop-motion animation. Even simple actions, like a dodge roll, took nearly a minute to register on screen. Despite the unplayability, the group was determined to explore how much further they could destabilize the game.
Venturing into the roguelike Trial of the Sekhemas mode, where powerful temporary buffs are available, the team discovered a bonus that effectively doubled their minion summoning capacity. This led to a staggering total of 2,000 minions, causing the frame rate graph to fluctuate wildly like a heart monitor. The lag was so intense that navigating the game world became a painstaking process, rendering combat against bosses nearly impossible.
Recognizing the impracticality of fighting bosses in such a state, Empyriangaming devised a final, more mischievous experiment. He gathered his team in his hideout and instructed them to continuously summon skeletons. Concurrently, he listed an exceptionally valuable item on the game's trade website at an unrealistically low price. This bait successfully drew in automated bot accounts and unsuspecting players, who, upon entering the hideout, found themselves trapped in a room teeming with hundreds of skeletons. While one fortunate player managed to snatch the item amidst the chaos, the experience of being immersed in a skeletal horde, reminiscent of a horror game, undoubtedly left a lasting impression.
