Why POE2’s Direction Is Worrying for Veterans and Newcomers Alike

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I Want to Love POE2, But It’s Hard
As a veteran, I want to see POE2 succeed. I want it to be different, but it also needs to respect the core systems

Donno, reading your post you just want exact copy of POE1 with updated graphics.

This is something I do not want at all, for example. Hence I'm here in POE2 and haven't touched POE 1 for like 5+ years.

Actually ARPGS can be slow. This is not something impossible and not something that "does not fit the genre". Rewards just must be balanced appropriately, in a different way if compared with classic speedy arpg zoomzooms, where only speed (of both movement and killing) is the only option to progress. Problem with POE 2 is that it made just a shy step towards that and then threw in all old systems and mechanics, most of which simply don't fit the new vision. But this is a question though, if this ever WAS a vision. Maybe not and GGG doesn't really want to change something fundamentally. If that's the case, then we'll get POE1 copypaste in the end and you will be happy (perhaps).

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Azimuthus#1135 wrote:

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I Want to Love POE2, But It’s Hard
As a veteran, I want to see POE2 succeed. I want it to be different, but it also needs to respect the core systems

Donno, reading your post you just want exact copy of POE1 with updated graphics.

This is something I do not want at all, for example. Hence I'm here in POE2 and haven't touched POE 1 for like 5+ years.

Actually ARPGS can be slow. This is not something impossible and not something that "does not fit the genre". Rewards just must be balanced appropriately, in a different way if compared with classic speedy arpg zoomzooms, where only speed (of both movement and killing) is the only option to progress. Problem with POE 2 is that it made just a shy step towards that and then threw in all old systems and mechanics, most of which simply don't fit the new vision. But this is a question though, if this ever WAS a vision. Maybe not and GGG doesn't really want to change something fundamentally. If that's the case, then we'll get POE1 copypaste in the end and you will be happy (perhaps).

I would be genuinely shocked if a single Poe player wants poe2 to be a ‘copy’ of Poe.
What we want and afaik were promised was an equally fun and rewarding experience with a more mechanical set of bosses and less speed.
What we got is far too close to Poe, as fast, mechanics n bosses you barely see due to dmg output, and honestly less fun and nearly no reward.
Still playing? Yes…know why I am bothering? Not a clue.

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jollydiablo#0370 wrote:

You want a bigger skill tree, faster combat, a shorter campaigns, easier bosses and an easier game. You have that essentially, its POE1. You do realize that's what you're asking for, right?

And new players can't express themselves because ...we're contributing to a bad design?

No, that doesn't mean that new players can't have an opinion.
It means that old players have already experienced all these ‘flaws’ in POE1 and know that the players who stay, don't stay for Ruthless.
It means that players who haven't played POE1 can't make a comparison at all, how could they?

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jollydiablo#0370 wrote:

You want a bigger skill tree

This sentence alone shows me that new players like you don't understand comparisons.
Nobody wants a ‘bigger tree’.
Read my text again.
I'm talking about the quality of the nodes. Lack of creative possibilities.
Read again

[Removed by Support]

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Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

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jollydiablo#0370 wrote:

You want a bigger skill tree, faster combat, a shorter campaigns, easier bosses and an easier game. You have that essentially, its POE1. You do realize that's what you're asking for, right?

And new players can't express themselves because ...we're contributing to a bad design?

No, that doesn't mean that new players can't have an opinion.
It means that old players have already experienced all these ‘flaws’ in POE1 and know that the players who stay, don't stay for Ruthless.
It means that players who haven't played POE1 can't make a comparison at all, how could they?

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jollydiablo#0370 wrote:

You want a bigger skill tree

This sentence alone shows me that new players like you don't understand comparisons.
Nobody wants a ‘bigger tree’.
Read my text again.
I'm talking about the quality of the nodes. Lack of creative possibilities.
Read again


It is mostly people with such accounts who shoot against and hate POE1

Truly baffles me that players (from that profile it’s clear, never even finished act 1 in 12 years) that disliked Poe that much would have even tried poe2 tbh
“Hate sci-fi so much I never finished original star wars but I’ll give phantom menace a go” lol

I think that in your post there is my whole experience in PoE.
I'm not a huge Arpg fan, and I've tried out PoE1 only recently as I always felt that it was "too much." There were too many mechanics, events, and stats, and there was no way for me to play without having to watch hours of guides or tens of threads about "how to do X, how to do Y".

With PoE 2 instead, there is much more handholding and far fewer mechanics so as a new player I'm not overwhelmed. But the price for introducing simplicity shouldn't be removing depth from everything.

1 - I'm absolutely in favor of adding Ms as an implicit to boots. You can have the most perfectly rolled boots, but without the MS they are just trash. GL having to run around maps without 30% MS, you'll spend much more backtracking than fighting.

2 - This I think is very much related to optimization and "crafting". How can you personalize your build if the itemization is basically gacha-gambling ever since act 1?

3 - The charms mechanic IMO has 2 problems: 1) is that +2 charms is a relatively rare fix that needs to be gambled, so most people won't ever have more than the initial slot (unlike Poe1 where you had all 5 slots unlocked by the time you reached endgame) 2) that it's a way for apologists to forgive the constant freezes/stuns in endgame. There is basically no other charm to use besides stun/freeze/rarity atm.

4 - There is no crafting atm in PoE 2, it's just gambling. Rolling a great piece of gear doesn't reward your knowledge of the game, it's just "oh yes, I pulled the Exalted/chaos lever enough times so that this slot machine rewarded me a good piece". In Poe1, you had to envision what a particular piece of equipment could become after crafting, giving you a lot of satisfaction when you fully realized it.

5 - Nothing more to add.

6 - The skill tree is basically as wide as the sea, but as deep as a pond. Out of the hundreds of nodes, there are about 15 build-defining ones. Everything else is just either +10 damage/+10 resist or the better +20 damage -5 atk speed.

7 - I don't mind the gem system in PoE2, I just wish there were ways to upgrade gems (like a recipe, similar to maps) or ways to revert them to uncut gems to incentivize trying out new skills even in the earlygame.

8 - I don't mind a moderate-length campaign, but I also don't have the experience of replaying it over and over again with each league.

9 - I laugh whenever I see that 80% of the trade chat messages are "pay me 1/2 divines so you can skip the trials and get all 8 ascension points". I firmly believe that your main build shouldn't be locked behind a boss that certain people will burst with their 2 billion dps builds. I'm more than ok with it being part of the game and having unique drops behind it - but being a stepping stone you need to surpass to finish your build? Feels like having to kill Alduin to unlock your shouts in Skyrim.

+1

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Timbo Zero#8289 wrote:

Truly baffles me that players (from that profile it’s clear, never even finished act 1 in 12 years) that disliked Poe that much would have even tried poe2 tbh
“Hate sci-fi so much I never finished original star wars but I’ll give phantom menace a go” lol

This was billed as a different game with a different design philosophy.

1000% correct

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Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

1. Slow Doesn’t Mean Better
2. Difficulty Isn’t About Tedium

GGG simply doesn't know how to do slow or difficult.

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