ZIZARAN INTERVIEW - ZIZ your claims are FALSE. (evidence inside)

"

It's RNG and that means there will be people who are really royally flucked by RNG, whether you believe it or not.

THIS! this this and this.

in standard i played a bow character to level 90, and not ONCE did i find a bow drop that was an upgrade to whatever my current bow was. i blew all of my currency trying to craft upgrades and got f'd over and over. for every single upgrade i was forced to buy from trade.

"

ZionHalcyon#1867 wrote:

Not only is this flailing about pointless, but the devs felt there was enough validity to Ziz's claims that they've already either made or announced changes based off them.

I actually suspect they’ll end up rolling back the wolf speed changes, especially now that level 1 players are just running through the act without engaging with any of the monsters—exactly the issue Jonathan warned about.

As for the supposed changes to socketing and currency, nothing has been confirmed at all. That’s why this kind of feedback is still valuable—so the devs get a broader picture that goes beyond isolated experiences.

"

I actually suspect they’ll end up rolling back the wolf speed changes, especially now that level 1 players are just running through the act without engaging with any of the monsters—exactly the issue Jonathan warned about.

experienced players would still be doing that in act 1 even if that change was not made.

"

JODYHiGHR0LLER#6171 wrote:

omg 3 whole exalts dont spend it all on one piece lmfao

It might be worth considering that much of the gear I'm wearing is rare (yellow), and some pieces have six affixes—those required Exalts to craft. The Exalts I have in the bank aren’t just sitting there for show; they’re being held for careful, strategic use. It's not about hoarding—it's about judicious use.

"

dmc9014#4875 wrote:

"

It's RNG and that means there will be people who are really royally flucked by RNG, whether you believe it or not.

THIS! this this and this.

in standard i played a bow character to level 90, and not ONCE did i find a bow drop that was an upgrade to whatever my current bow was. i blew all of my currency trying to craft upgrades and got f'd over and over. for every single upgrade i was forced to buy from trade.

I totally get where you're coming from, and we've all had those runs where RNG felt absolutely brutal—it’s part of what gives ARPGs their tension and replayability. But it’s also really easy to remember and focus on the worst experiences when making a point, especially if you're frustrated.

In reality, truly awful RNG runs are the exception, not the rule. Most of the time, things tend to average out over multiple playthroughs, especially if you're progressing steadily and using your resources wisely. It’s important we acknowledge the rough moments, but also not let them define the whole experience.

"

Ragestorm26#0930 wrote:

"

This is why you always have people complaining loot is bad. It's because it is bad for them. Saying you had it good doesn't mean anything, because that's just part of the RNG.

Both Zizaran and I have logged an enormous amount of time in the campaign—well over 500 hours each—so we're not just tossing around anecdotes based on a handful of runs. When you’ve played that much, you develop a solid feel for how the RNG behaves over time.

The reality is, RNG does average out. Over hundreds of hours, patterns emerge. Sure, sometimes you get a rough start, but that just makes the early game feel more tense and rewarding. You play a bit more cautiously until upgrades drop, and they do drop.

Even in my worst runs, I’ve found that by mid Act 3 I’m typically in all yellow gear, with most pieces properly socketed. No farming loops—just straight progression from Act 1 onward. That’s not “getting lucky,” that’s just how the system generally plays out over time when you're engaging with the game well.

So when people say "loot is bad," what they really mean is loot felt bad that time. And that’s fair—bad runs happen. But if it’s consistently bad over hundreds of hours, it might be more about how the game is being approached than the loot system itself.

Here's the thing - it all comes down to 2 questions:

* Is the game fun?
* Does the game feel rewarding?

If the answer to that is "sorry RNG hosed you - deal with it suckers", then you aren't making or promoting a good, fun game. Period.


Making this argument also isn't the same as arguing for players to be handed everything. That trivializes rewards and the game will become boring, thus killing the first point. And it also kills the second because if it is too rewarding, then the rewards don't feel like rewards.


My point is - if people are undergeared and not having fun, they have a point that SHOULD be addressed so that we can find a balance, and no one should feel undergeared for very long at any point in the game.

At the same time, there should be rarer chase items that keep people invested and that can allow for fun and different builds.

It's a balancing act. And I believe things are not balanced well right now.



In short "Its RNG, deal with it scrubs" is never the right answer.

"

ZionHalcyon#1867 wrote:

"

Ragestorm26#0930 wrote:

"

This is why you always have people complaining loot is bad. It's because it is bad for them. Saying you had it good doesn't mean anything, because that's just part of the RNG.

Both Zizaran and I have logged an enormous amount of time in the campaign—well over 500 hours each—so we're not just tossing around anecdotes based on a handful of runs. When you’ve played that much, you develop a solid feel for how the RNG behaves over time.

The reality is, RNG does average out. Over hundreds of hours, patterns emerge. Sure, sometimes you get a rough start, but that just makes the early game feel more tense and rewarding. You play a bit more cautiously until upgrades drop, and they do drop.

Even in my worst runs, I’ve found that by mid Act 3 I’m typically in all yellow gear, with most pieces properly socketed. No farming loops—just straight progression from Act 1 onward. That’s not “getting lucky,” that’s just how the system generally plays out over time when you're engaging with the game well.

So when people say "loot is bad," what they really mean is loot felt bad that time. And that’s fair—bad runs happen. But if it’s consistently bad over hundreds of hours, it might be more about how the game is being approached than the loot system itself.

Here's the thing - it all comes down to 2 questions:

* Is the game fun?
* Does the game feel rewarding?

If the answer to that is "sorry RNG hosed you - deal with it suckers", then you aren't making or promoting a good, fun game. Period.


Making this argument also isn't the same as arguing for players to be handed everything. That trivializes rewards and the game will become boring, thus killing the first point. And it also kills the second because if it is too rewarding, then the rewards don't feel like rewards.


My point is - if people are undergeared and not having fun, they have a point that SHOULD be addressed so that we can find a balance, and no one should feel undergeared for very long at any point in the game.

At the same time, there should be rarer chase items that keep people invested and that can allow for fun and different builds.

It's a balancing act. And I believe things are not balanced well right now.



In short "Its RNG, deal with it scrubs" is never the right answer.

Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful reply—genuinely appreciate the balance you're advocating for. You're absolutely right that fun and a sense of reward are critical, and no one wants a game that feels punishing or unrewarding for extended periods.

Just to clarify my own position though, I’m not saying “It’s RNG, deal with it scrubs”—that kind of response helps no one and comes off as elitist. What I’m getting at is this: when even someone as experienced as Zizaran appears to be struggling because of choices like not dismantling rares, not buying quality items or socketing gear to recover currency, then blaming the loot system... that’s not really an RNG issue—it’s a gameplay and resource management issue.

If we’re going to talk about improving the balance of the game, it’s important we distinguish between true mechanical imbalances and suboptimal playstyles that lead to frustration. Otherwise, we risk pushing for changes that hurt the depth and challenge of the game for everyone.

I appreciate the attempt to be informative and evidence based in your approach, but this is not a situation that can be solved by game knowledge alone.

Something I think that is lost in the conversation here, is how bad RNG affects how players have to use their resources.

For instance, from my personal experience, my RNG has been terrible from the start. Through my initial Normal playthrough (Acts 1-3), I think I got around 3 raw regal orbs, a couple exalts, couple chaos, and MAYBE a couple handfuls of rares. Of those rares, I equipped the ones I could for stats, but others I couldn't use because of attributes (Warrior focusing STR/INT). Now, I have an option with what I do with these rares that I can't use: sell or disenchant. Both have upsides and downsides. What is my best option to ensure I have resources to progress later?

Well, in my case, the times I have tried to gamba slam a regal on a good base have been met with resounding failure and loss of currency. My RNG there is atrocious. Good phys roll on a mace? Too bad, here's a dead stat that makes it worse than my already under level mace. That has happened enough times to where I am no longer feeling like it is a good use of my limited currency.

So that means it would be more beneficial to sell it right? Except now I have the gold, and I am still beholden to bad RNG. Shops selling zero upgrades is common for someone with bad RNG. Sometimes, ill go check a vendor, only to see that vendor has rolled to only have a couple of bases I could use on my build, and of those bases, all of them have terrible rolls. Solution SHOULD be to grind another level to refresh inventory, but alas, RNG can (and has) struck again, and the options aren't any better.

Which leaves gambling. My least favorite way of getting gear because it is the ultimate RNG s**show. I've gambled approximately 15 times, spending about 50k gold combined, and EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. was a blue item with bad rolls. Not a single rare.

All of this is to say, bad RNG can lead to a situation where your resources get so constrained that progress feels impossible. Is it a super common issue? Obviously not SUPER common, but it does happen consistently. And it is somewhat insulting to dismiss those players concerns by claiming that they just aren't approaching the game correctly. For some people, the RNG is just THAT bad.

I ended up having to borrow 10ex from a friend so I could BUY a weapon upgrade from the trade site just I could finish Act 3.

ultimately i think ziz was just a messenger. the devs returned to the office and evaluated the concerns ziz brought up. where they found issues in agreement with ziz's claims they made adjustments.

not sure we should be overestimating the power one streamer holds over an entire team of developers.

lol this post is peak "It works on my pc". Bro Ziz is one of the largest poe streamers, his community overwhelmingly supports his point with their feedback. Their thousands of data points absolutely crushes your "it works on my pc" feedback. Please just stop you're an embarassment.