Zizaran: “Worst patch ever” — then promotes Last Epoch race days later

You can spin it however you want, but you can’t convince me it wasn’t in Ziz’s best interest (and probably a few other creators’ too) for patch 0.2.0 to flop. I’m not saying PoE2 is perfect—far from it—but the level of negativity we’re seeing feels way beyond honest critique.

It’s hard not to see the pattern: throw PoE2 into turmoil, stir up frustration, and then steer attention toward Last Epoch’s launch. That’s the play right now. And it’s working.

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thistofu#8644 wrote:

yea i alsot hink ggg is doing just fine ruining their own game. no issues anyone commenting on that

Tofu I know ur over there secretly playing off stream!

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N3vangel#0037 wrote:

I’m not saying PoE2 is perfect—far from it—but the level of negativity we’re seeing feels way beyond honest critique.

They absolutely review brigaded 0.2. You can look at the negative reviews in Steam and see that at least 50% are from accounts with 0.0 hours played this patch.

Last time I said this someone tried to correct me that "some people don't use the Steam client but are still entitled to review the game" so let me just clarify that all of the reviews I saw with 0.0 hours played in this patch had logged hours in 0.1.

I'd wager my house a huge percentage of the negative reviews in 0.2 are from diehard PoE1 players who were pissed off by GGG's decision to focus resources on PoE2 and delay PoE1 content and they were just biding their time until 0.2 to retaliate. It's the best explanation for the % of reviews from people who have double- or triple-digit hours logged in 0.1 and zero hours in 0.2 yet made it a point to leave a negative review in Steam for 0.2 -- and most of them parrot the same talking points.

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N3vangel#0037 wrote:

You can spin it however you want, but you can’t convince me it wasn’t in Ziz’s best interest (and probably a few other creators’ too) for patch 0.2.0 to flop. I’m not saying PoE2 is perfect—far from it—but the level of negativity we’re seeing feels way beyond honest critique.

It’s hard not to see the pattern: throw PoE2 into turmoil, stir up frustration, and then steer attention toward Last Epoch’s launch. That’s the play right now. And it’s working.

He didn’t throw anything into turmoil—they did that all on their own. It wasn’t his fault for calling out the flaws that a majority of players recognize in the game. I’m not even one of his viewers.

Arguing whether it’s in his best interest seems a bit pointless—he’s a content creator, and I’d bet most of them will be trying Last Epoch. I will too, though I’ll more than likely stick with this game instead. People play more than one ARPG, and it’s completely normal to branch out—a lot of the community already does. There's a lot of overlap and it seems like you don't recognize this.

It’s not surprising that people were upset about GGG releasing something on the same date or close to it as the Last Epoch upcoming update. It’s a valid critique. I don’t think review bombing by people with little to no playtime is ever okay, but I do think GGG has been doing some damage control ahead of LE's upcoming launch.

It feels a little conspiracy-theory-ish to claim that he’s stirring up frustration when, at the end of the day, he’s just a content creator like the rest of them. Honestly, if you think most of the major streamers in this genre won’t be trying LE on launch day—regardless of all the PoE2 patches and updates—you’re kidding yourself. Sure, not all of them will, but it’s definitely not some evil plan like you're making it out to be. There's a reason most of the things he addressed have been changed.

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Kerchunk#7797 wrote:

They absolutely review brigaded 0.2. You can look at the negative reviews in Steam and see that at least 50% are from accounts with 0.0 hours played this patch.

Last time I said this someone tried to correct me that "some people don't use the Steam client but are still entitled to review the game" so let me just clarify that all of the reviews I saw with 0.0 hours played in this patch had logged hours in 0.1.

I'd wager my house a huge percentage of the negative reviews in 0.2 are from diehard PoE1 players who were pissed off by GGG's decision to focus resources on PoE2 and delay PoE1 content and they were just biding their time until 0.2 to retaliate. It's the best explanation for the % of reviews from people who have double- or triple-digit hours logged in 0.1 and zero hours in 0.2 yet made it a point to leave a negative review in Steam for 0.2 -- and most of them parrot the same talking points.

ah yes another tin foil hat enjoyer. remember guys - the first stage is denial!

No one’s saying Ziz created the problems in PoE2. What’s being questioned is how he capitalized on them—and whether the intensity of his response was proportionate, or strategic. Calling the patch “the worst ever” in a public-facing rant right before promoting a sponsored Last Epoch event isn’t just bad optics—it’s a play. Period.

And yeah, content creators branch out. No one’s upset that people try different ARPGs. But when someone profits off driving negative sentiment around one game and immediately pivots to monetizing another, that’s not “normal overlap”—that’s textbook narrative steering. Stop being so naive.

I just bought Last Epoch to try it. Honestly, this patch is just an advertisement for Last Epoch at this point.

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N3vangel#0037 wrote:

No one’s saying Ziz created the problems in PoE2. What’s being questioned is how he capitalized on them—and whether the intensity of his response was proportionate, or strategic. Calling the patch “the worst ever” in a public-facing rant right before promoting a sponsored Last Epoch event isn’t just bad optics—it’s a play. Period.

And yeah, content creators branch out. No one’s upset that people try different ARPGs. But when someone profits off driving negative sentiment around one game and immediately pivots to monetizing another, that’s not “normal overlap”—that’s textbook narrative steering. Stop being so naive.

Hear me out - maybe.. just maybe.. the boogeyman is real! ahhhh!!

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N3vangel#0037 wrote:

Ziz publicly slammed 0.2.0, calling it “the worst patch ever.” Then just days later, he announces he’s sponsoring a major cash race for Last Epoch.

Here’s the video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gMhgjZGaT8s

The timing feels coordinated: stir discontent in one game, then pivot to a monetized event in its direct competitor. Welcome to the new meta: outrage, then monetize.

Ironicly you just promoted this game as well. That looks amazing and I can't wait to be a part of that race. Thank you n3vangel!!!!

I'm calling it "the worst ever". How about that.

It's uncanny content creators try to make a living, AND actually playing the best games available in their genre. Holy shit, shame on Ziz for playing and creating shit for anything else than poe. Touch grass my man.

Anyways, thanks for promoting LE, see you there.