Another typical day in PoE2... (Help me find the fun...)

"

Swizu91#2892 wrote:

Best idea on top of my head is why not make two modes of the standard path, one be really sweaty core for the big brains people and one for the semi players who just want to play and explore the content on its peace without stress out.. game is beautiful and more will come but don't lock it down to only try hard players.

From the feedback I come across, there already are two modes: the campaign and then the maps. The former has had 5 years of development to carefully tune. Assuming the player gets past Act 1 (can't guarantee they understand how to build - tutorials don't go far enough), they have plenty of runway with the main friction being respec costs and gem drops.

Maps has had 6 months of development with the whole company being brought in. You bring in PoE 1 devs to help out and of course the result looks more like PoE 1 than the original acts. Now, badly tuned endgame is a much better alternative to having no endgame. Much easier to convince a playerbase that an existing endgame will be fixed than for nothing to be turned into something good. The uncertainty of the envisioned endgame difficulty is the subject of much posting. I suspect GGG needs to find that answer themselves before they give us an announcement.

On pragmatic matters, even PoE 1 lets high-skill players tune the content to their liking while casual players can explore at their own pace. The key is letting maps drop at a good rate. If maps with minimal affixes drop enough maps that you can keep progressing, you've achieved "the two modes".

OP, you make some good points.

I understand the development decision to start out conservatively with the game as it is, with the likelihood that things would be opened up and made less punishing over time, rather than as a more candyland type of experience...In part, it's the difference between listening to frustrated grumbling now for what is lacking, versus screaming tantrums later over That Which Was Taken away.

I, too, have much confidence that the lacking will subside. At the same time, I wonder if there will be a significant contingent of early testers who simply won't give the game another try later as a result of their experiences now.

We know what EA means logically, but when a game is made available and there is a price attached to entry, there will likely be a lot of people who expect more...whether they know it or not and whether or not those expectations make rational sense. Feelings and emotions are things, and they play a pretty big part in our decisions and our lives...Premature judgments are things too, and i won't get started on confirmation bias based on those premature judgments.

There are also PoE 1 vets who came, saw the incredible graphics updates, and whose growing hopes were dashed for one reason or another. I am confident that the vast majority of those will be back when 2 has been fleshed out, massaged, and has more polish.

Still, there are about half of the number of players online...6 digits...(in the middle of a work/school day in some places) as there were on Day 1 in December, and that's a very good sign.

"

_HolyOne_#2217 wrote:

If you want to retain a healthy player base you've got to pick one or the other: Hard or Punishing (not both).

I got to completely agree with this, In Elden Ring, I would get annihilated by a boss, but I didn't have to farm anything to get back into that boss, I didn't lose my keys to the boss room, and I actually got to pick my XP back up and give him another stab, even KEEPING that xp when I beat him.

I am a fan of risk / reward but this game feels all risk no reward, I don't think I have looted a single item I have ever used, I got everything from other players

In this game you will rarely or never "deterministically" make an item better. Aside from the Omens you'll be pulling the slot machine lever as you've described. If GGG were to provide a deterministic way to improve your gear incrementally it means they are providing you with a 'finish line' or at least a reasonable way to determine the distance to the finish line. That is fundamentally bad for them because when you reach the finish line, or know how far away it is, you get bored and stop playing. You could 'craft' a god tier item today and it's possible you might never craft a god tier item. It's totally random and that's exactly what keeps you hooked and sinking your time into the game - "I could get lucky today!". You must continue to exchange your time for slot machine lever pulls (gambling with currency, item drops). The sooner you realize this game, and many other ARPGs, are a gambling addiction simulator the sooner you'll restore your sanity. I've personally had a ton of a fun with this game but you please recognize it for what it is.

"

_HolyOne_#2217 wrote:

Map gone.
Exp gone.
Drops gone.
Fun gone.

Log Off.

The game currently has plenty of risk, but where are the rewards?

Loot is beyond bad
Most uniques are bad
Crafting is a misnomer
Progression is painful at best

I hope this isn't truly your vision for PoE2, because it is ruthless—and it's not that fun.

Read your whole post but I strongly agree with these points, as they perfectly reflect both my practical experience, and my sentiment.