Is there like-- any way to skip the early game in PoE?

I get some people enjoy starting over from scratch. I understand that.

I really don't.

The new Ascendance options look interesting, I had something in mind I wanted to try, but getting through the start of the game is such a damn slog I just am completely losing interest in it completely.

I don't find the game fun when you can't -do- anything, and I've already gone through the entire story several times at this point, that it's not engaging. There's nothing new to learn, it's all the same lore, the same enemies, the same linear path over and over again, using the same dull boring abilities that you have no interest in actually using. Spending hours and hours just to be able to start trying out the stuff I am actually interested in playing.

Again, I get that some people like that fresh start feeling, but I just personally don't get it, but if you want to actually try new stuff you are forced into this fresh start monotony.

So, is there any way to just skip all this nonsense? It's not challenging, it's not rewarding, it's just simply a slog you're forced to endure before you're allowed to actually do things and have fun.

no

They have a firm stance on not giving out any campaign skips at this time. Personally I think once you go thru the story the first time in a league then your following characters should have a way to skip it but that's just me. I wouldn't expect that to change in either game.

The only winning move is not to play. Seasonal/league gameplay design is horrible for ARPGs and all of them have adopted it. They could have just as well dumped all of these new ascendancies into the existing Settlers leagues.

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mnieradko#6070 wrote:

The only winning move is not to play. Seasonal/league gameplay design is horrible for ARPGs and all of them have adopted it. They could have just as well dumped all of these new ascendancies into the existing Settlers leagues.

It is literally the only reason to play ARPGs, why would you play an ARPG more than once if it doesn't have seasonal content?

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mnieradko#6070 wrote:

The only winning move is not to play. Seasonal/league gameplay design is horrible for ARPGs and all of them have adopted it. They could have just as well dumped all of these new ascendancies into the existing Settlers leagues.

ARPGs invented seasons they didn't adopt it, I have been playing ARPGs with seasons since around 1999

Yes, don't log in. That's the only sure fire way.

Eternal Standard league =]

First Character of season, no but there are strategies to speed it up. Once you have 1 character rolling, zooming through campaign with twink gear takes barely any time at all.

I just don't understand this mindset.

Nothing about any of this changes. you're consistently locked into the same low level abilities you are likely going to be abandoning anyways.

It's not challenging, it's not difficult. it's Tedious, it's what you have already done over and over and over again.

Especially when there's no additional new content being added to interact with throughout the game, you can't even interact with the Ascendance until later on in the game, and you don't actually get full access to the ascendancy until end game anyways.