[Suggestion] A System That Keeps PoE Alive Forever

Introduce a Combat Simulator Tower: a permanent, infinite endgame system focused on combat mastery, build validation, and education, rather than economy or mapping efficiency.

This system would exist alongside maps — not replace them — and serve as a space where players can practice, prove, and understand builds and mechanics in a controlled environment.

Core Structure

The Tower is infinite, divided into Ascension Tiers

Each Tier consists of 10 Floors

Clearing a Tier permanently unlocks the next

Every 5 floors, the Tower applies a Corruption Layer that persists for the rest of the run

Floors escalate from basic combat encounters into:

Boss fights

Pinnacle-tier bosses

Uber-tier bosses

An ultimate “Uber Uber” tier

Floor Design

Floors are combat scenarios, not maps

Fixed arenas and encounter rules

No Atlas passives

No juice stacking

No scarabs

Just:

Your build vs the game


Rewards Philosophy (Non-Economic)

Rewards are intentionally non-tradeable to avoid economy impact.

Examples:

Ascension-themed MTX

Character-bound auras or footprints

Tower-exclusive skill skins

Profile badges showing highest floor cleared

The Tower is about prestige, mastery, and proof.


Ladder & Build Snapshots

high level successful runs records a snapshot containing:

Class and Ascendancy

Passive tree

Skills and support gems

Gear and gem links

Highest floor cleared


These snapshots form a searchable library:

Filter by floor

Class

Skill

Ascendancy

This creates:

Proof of concept for off-meta builds

A teaching tool (“This beat Floor 30”)

A living archive of viable builds at different power levels


The “Recursive Echo” (Player-AI Boss)

At the highest tier (“Uber Uber”):

A player’s build and playstyle are snapshotted

Their character becomes a Tower Boss for everyone

The AI mimics:

Skill rotations

Movement patterns

Timing and positioning

This creates a rotating King-of-the-Hill meta where the community must figure out how to defeat the current strongest build.


Build Gauntlet Mode

An optional mode featuring:

Randomly generated floor sequences

Community Challenges

Players can design custom floors using limited creator tools:

Enemy packs
Arena rules
Combat modifiers

Submitted floors:

Are curated and rotated

Can appear as weekly challenges

Allow GGG to discover strong encounter ideas organically


Tutorial & Education Integration

The Combat Simulator Tower can also serve as the home for updated tutorials:

Dedicated tutorial floors explaining:

Combat mechanics

Crafting systems

Gem changes

Defensive layers

Past league mechanics can be toggled into tutorial floors

Short in-game videos or guided encounters explain changes as the game evolves

This turns the Tower into a “University of Combat”, addressing feature creep and onboarding challenges for new and returning players.


Why This Matters

Creates infinite replayability without infinite content cost

Provides real balance data

Preserves knowledge inside the game

Gives PoE a permanent mastery-focused endgame

A system like this is a tool to evolve Path of Exile forever.

thanks for your consideration