Path of Exile 2 player willingly deletes level 100 character to become world first martyr, buffing everyone in the game: 'That was the coolest thing I've seen in a videogame in a very long time'

Late last week, one of the highest level Path of Exile 2 players found something they've never seen before: a mysterious chamber in an empty room. Grinding Gear Games added a lot of new stuff in the recent Return of the Ancients update, like hidden rooms and powerful secret items, but it took one courageous player to figure out what happens when you enter this ominous chamber.

That player was Carn, a PoE 2 streamer who had spent most of the league, or season, grinding for hours on end to reach level 100—a feat that few players have the time or patience to reach. As if that wasn't enough of an achievement already, Carn decided to take the plunge and see what would happen if he walked into the chamber.

"Your strength is unquestioned. Your resolve, unbreakable. Are you ready, Martyr?" the popup asked as Carn pondered the entrance. Below it, in red, it said that entering it would permanently destroy his character.

After considering the implications for a few minutes with his chat, Carn clicked enter and watched his character squeeze into the chamber. As the game's UI faded away and his character was lowered into the ground, the screen flashed white before kicking him out into the character selection screen. His warrior was in the list, but grayed out and inaccessible.

Confused, Carn checked the PoE 2 leaderboards to find his character immortalized at the top as the "Martyr of the First Edict".

"You shall now refer to me as the Martyr of the First Edict. I saved you all," he said jokingly, still trying to figure out what it all meant.

Later, when Carn took a second character back into that same room, he discovered what he'd done.

Right where the chamber used to be was a glowing orb beckoning him to "Claim a mote of the Martyr's Power," and when he did he received a free extra skill tree point. It wasn't until he tried it on a third character that everyone realized his sacrifice had granted not just him, but all players an extra skill tree point.

The only caveat is that Carn plays on the solo self-found (no multiplayer allowed) version of the current league, which means players on the others had to wait for their own max level character to be sacrificed before they could get their reward.

They didn't have to wait long, though, as a player named ResurrectGodAura sacrificed themselves for everyone on the regular version of the league a few hours later. Thanks to them, I was able to go and pick up my free point a few days ago.

"That was the coolest thing I've seen in a videogame in a very long time," Carn wrote on X. "Can't wait to see what else is hidden."

GGG promised there would be secrets to find in Return of the Ancients, but they didn't say they would be as cool as this. I fully expect the race to level 100 will now be a race to become the first martyr in future leagues. This is the kind of thing I'd expect an MMO to do, not a singleplayer-focused action RPG. Add it to the list of reasons why I think PoE 2 is raising the bar for all other games in the genre. And it still has more to come before it leaves early access later this year.