The last couple of weeks in Path of Exile have been a celebration of an awesome community. From a fan art competition to a community showcase to two more episodes of Build of the Week, it's YOU, faithful Exile, who shines at centerstage. Check out this week's Exiled Tribune to learn more.

A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY

Nothing says love of community more than Grinding Gear's last couple of weeks celebrating its players. Cultivating its player community and shining the spotlight on their in- and out-of-game accomplishments is something that GGG has been especially adept at. The past two weeks alone have seen some pretty awesome examples of that, starting with the recent Fan Art Contest and Community Showcase.

The latter is a glorious tour of fan creations featuring player characters, both hand drawn and digitally produced. Artwork runs the gamut from traditional high fantasy to 8-bit pixel characters to chibi to an anime reinterpretation to a Tension Meta Rework of the Fall of Oriath Theme to jewelry -- even as far as a themed tattoo! The breadth of talent is amazing and GGG wants to ensure that these folks are recognized for their devotion.

To further allow players to express themselves creatively, GGG is sponsoring an Art Competition that will earn a number of rewards including the top three entries having their art turned into forum avatars! The theme of the competition is, of course, The Fall of Oriath. You can check out all the details here including the full list of prizes for up to twenty participants.

GGG further tapped into its community for the latest "Build of the Week" videos. This time, you can learn how to create "Baldersh's Chin Sol Trapnel Shot" and a "Dark Pact Necromancer".

SHOWCASTING CONCEPT ART

Not to be totally outdone by the community (but not really minding either....), Grinding Gear devs weighed in on the artwork side of game development this week. For those who've ever experienced a block when creating, concept artist "George" has a thought-provoking piece about how to overcome it. Of course, he was speaking specifically about creating game artwork, however, the points he mentions can be extrapolated to other creative pursuits:

When you work as a concept artist, it's typical that you would experience a creativity block at some point. This is especially true in situations where you are fulfilling many of the same types of tasks or working on a design that has limited room for creative freedom. A perfect example of this within Path of Exile is the sword; relatively simple objects in that they must have both a handle and a blade, but Path of Exile requires dozens of variations. Even in instances where you're working on something entirely new with fewer limits, like boss design, it can still sometimes feel difficult to create something that feels fresh and interesting. This is where creativity blocks tend to set in.

For those who love concept art and comparing it to how items eventually end up in the game, the Microtransaction Concept Art article may be of interest. The piece shows off some of the concept art behind recently added Fall of Oriath-themed microtransactions including the Pitch Black Armor Set, the Stormcaller Shield, the Feather Plume Back Attachment and more. When you see them, do you think they hit the mark when implementing the items in game? Be sure to head over here to see all of the included pieces. 

Lastly, for those who are more on the analytical or statistical side of Path of Exile, the latest Harbinger League Area Statistics have been published including the top ten deadliest areas, the top ten deadliest high-level areas, the top ten most popular zones and the top five instance duration in minutes. Check it out here!