Grinding Gear Games has announced that its free-to-play online action-RPG Path of Exile will begin closed beta testing on August 10th.

Members of the game’s community who have registered at www.PathOfExile.com will be selected at random and more will be added continuously to stress test the game’s servers.

The beta will launch with the first two “Acts” of gameplay and five character classes. More content will be added as the beta continues.

Grinding Gear has also outlined Path of Exile’s PvP system. Like the PvE experience, PvP arenas will be randomised and include “dangerous threats and hostile opponents of their own,” says the developer. PvP modes include one-on-one duels and large-scale team combat across a range of level caps and in a variety of scenarios.

Tournaments are planned in the future.

A “cut-throat” mode has also been announced, which will allow players to enter into traditional “Player Killing” and item looting.

“Your character’s build really matters in Path of Exile. The game’s deep itemisation, innovative flask system and emphasis on skill combos will encourage players to plan character builds carefully so they can compete with the realm’s best players,” says producer Chris Wilson. “We won’t be selling any form of power in the game, only aesthetic improvements, so if you’re fighting someone you know they earned their place the hard way.”

Gameplanet went hands-on with Path of Exile at the start of this year. We also interviewed Grinding Gear Games as a part of our Kiwi Game Development series.