We NEED to talk about SSF.

"

SpaceFoxyFū#3839 wrote:

Almost all loot across the board is lacking except for maybe runes (lol)

I disagree when you say SSF should be focused on at this point in development. Normal mode needs priority and will fix many of the problems the other modes have when changed. 0.1.0 was fine for it being launch season, 0.2.0 is horrible even compared to 0.1.0

I agree with everything else though. Loot left the building, and so have I

I agree with that, I really think the main focus should always be on Standard mode, since that’s where the majority of players are. By improving Standard, you naturally improve SSF as well to some extent. But I also don’t think SSF should be completely ignored either, there are plenty of players who just have no interest in playing a trade-based progression system at all.

With that in mind, I think starting with small changes would already be a big step, like making SSF a truly separate mode with no option to migrate to Standard, and bringing back the exclusive chat channels based on the mode you’re playing. That alone would already make a meaningful difference and would give the devs a chance to improve that system too whenever possible, instead of leaving it off to the side and forgotten.

SSF right now is a total dogshit, there's basically no way to craft anything, and it all comes down to gambling and hoping you get decent gear. I think it will be good once we have more resources to craft gear, and increased rates of quality/quantity of loot drop.

I disagree with the initial post.

I only played SSF in both PoE1 and 2. Thousands of hours aswell.

Back in 2014 on PoE1 then later in 2018-2020, I used to play SSF and how awful it was !!! Looting thousands of blue items to have 5000 alt to have a chance to have 2 good affixes to try to make it a good rare item !!!


Right now in PoE2, I still loot every blue items but to have a chance finding some good affixes and regal then exalted it hundreds of currencies looted.
And if almost all blue items suck, its okay cause I can just sell it and then, gamble to find a good item to craft around.

In every of my 3 characters in PoE2, I always find a better items than what I carry every few hours. By gambling, looting, using essences and ofc crafting.

Maybe right now, in 2025, PoE 1 is in a better state for SSF players than back in 2020, but game (PoE2) is still in EA, foundations are really strong in my opinion and I already enjoy crafting.

"

luizdoc#0279 wrote:

I agree with that, I really think the main focus should always be on Standard mode, since that’s where the majority of players are. By improving Standard, you naturally improve SSF as well to some extent. But I also don’t think SSF should be completely ignored either, there are plenty of players who just have no interest in playing a trade-based progression system at all.

With that in mind, I think starting with small changes would already be a big step, like making SSF a truly separate mode with no option to migrate to Standard, and bringing back the exclusive chat channels based on the mode you’re playing. That alone would already make a meaningful difference and would give the devs a chance to improve that system too whenever possible, instead of leaving it off to the side and forgotten.

Completely agree.

SSF is for those that don't care for the trade system, right? If so, it would make complete sense for loot to be easily noticeably better there compared to standard.

There are issues with 0.2, but they are not SSF.

I only play SSF, and I had zero trouble facerolling a twister huntress through the campaign. Every boss was a 1-try fight except Act2-Jamanra (2), Act6-Molten-dude (2), Act6-Viper (4). Then I respeccted lightning spear and facerolled to T4 maps in 3 runs...then I stopped because it was too OP and 1-button boredom.

I rerolled an HCSSF rake-stomp huntress, and pratically speedran through the campaign until a big server lag/warping event got him at level 30 in late Act 2.

I just can't bring myself to finish the campaign with no league event on my main class (Monk). (the wispy thing is just not enough to make it feel fresh for me)

"

Flowneppets#0528 wrote:

"

Kerchunk#7797 wrote:

The game is not designed for SSF. Drop rates are not balanced for SSF and they never will be. By choosing to play SSF, you are deliberately electing to play the game on a more difficult, punishing game mode in which you do not have access to trade but are subject to drop rates which assume trade is present.

It is unreasonable bordering on irrational for you to choose to play SSF, deliberately denying yourself access to trade, and then turn around and demand GGG balance drop rates to compensate for that lack of access.

If SSF is not fun because you don't have access to gear, the solution is right there in front of you. Don't play SSF.

This is the equivalent of stuffing hot coals down your pants and then loudly demanding GGG immediately deploy a squad to dump ice water on you to relieve your suffering when instead you could have just not stuffed those coals down your pants in the first place guy.

What really baffles me is if the game is indeed designed around trading then why is the trade mechanic one of the worst things a game designer has ever conceived and GGG straight up refusing to even talk about improving it. It makes NO SENSE!

Well, why should you make a market place, if the real deals are made on the docks anyway. And if you still make a market place, guess who is not comming. Market places need to be policed. Remember the web sites with all the p2p? We just deliver a service. We are not involved with pirates, they said.

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KuroSF#6521 wrote:

There are issues with 0.2, but they are not SSF.

I only play SSF, and I had zero trouble facerolling a twister huntress through the campaign. Every boss was a 1-try fight except Act2-Jamanra (2), Act6-Molten-dude (2), Act6-Viper (4). Then I respeccted lightning spear and facerolled to T4 maps in 3 runs...then I stopped because it was too OP and 1-button boredom.

I rerolled an HCSSF rake-stomp huntress, and pratically speedran through the campaign until a big server lag/warping event got him at level 30 in late Act 2.

I just can't bring myself to finish the campaign with no league event on my main class (Monk). (the wispy thing is just not enough to make it feel fresh for me)

I mean, just because the class is overtuned doesn’t mean there aren’t serious problems. I’m also playing Huntress with Lightning Spear and having no issues clearing T15 maps, but the real issue lies in the lack of meaningful crafting. It’s honestly a pain having to pick up every single base item from every map, wasting a ton of time, just to have 99% of them get completely bricked due to terrible RNG when trying to craft something decent.

And every crafting attempt burns resources, which are now absurdly scarce. Loot was nerfed hard, fewer rares with fewer modifiers, rarity stats were nerfed down, and tablets with item quantity was massively reduced compared to 0.1.0. All of that adds up to a situation where you’re spending multiple exalts just to roll maps with 6 mod to get nowhere near worth it.

This is a huge issue for game progression. Players in Standard already feel it, but in SSF it’s even more brutal, everything is amplified tenfold. The crafting system feels more like gambling than ever, and that makes long-term progression feel frustrating rather than rewarding.

"

Legoury#0138 wrote:

I disagree with the initial post.

I only played SSF in both PoE1 and 2. Thousands of hours aswell.

Back in 2014 on PoE1 then later in 2018-2020, I used to play SSF and how awful it was !!! Looting thousands of blue items to have 5000 alt to have a chance to have 2 good affixes to try to make it a good rare item !!!


Right now in PoE2, I still loot every blue items but to have a chance finding some good affixes and regal then exalted it hundreds of currencies looted.
And if almost all blue items suck, its okay cause I can just sell it and then, gamble to find a good item to craft around.

In every of my 3 characters in PoE2, I always find a better items than what I carry every few hours. By gambling, looting, using essences and ofc crafting.

Maybe right now, in 2025, PoE 1 is in a better state for SSF players than back in 2020, but game (PoE2) is still in EA, foundations are really strong in my opinion and I already enjoy crafting.

That's actually a great point, and you’re probably 100% right, I didn’t play during that early PoE1 era, and I can imagine it was way worse back then compared to what we have now in PoE2, lol.

But I think the way you felt back then, when PoE1 was just getting started, is exactly how I’m feeling now with PoE2. I started playing PoE1 when it was already super polished, so this is my first time really experiencing that raw, early-stage scarcity and lack of resources and honestly, it’s been pretty frustrating.

It’s not just me either, a lot of newer PoE2 players seem to feel the same. Just look at all the non-stop forum posts about LOOT and CRAFTING. There’s definitely a shared sentiment going around that progression feels rough right now.

And yeah, we all know the game’s still in Early Access and probably has at least a year to go before full release, that’s exactly why we’re here giving feedback. We love this game and just want to see it keep getting better and eventually become something truly amazing.

The first time I played poe2 with release, I may have heared about some orbs people use for something in poe.
Never would have imagined, they made an item mandatory for trade, the only possible option in an otherwhise uterly impossible gamble. Now, to really have results with crafting you need like 10 more impossible currency items.
So, there is crafting. Kind of. But a lot of still. Its just, that only 1% of all player do all the crafting. And I dont think that number is exaturated. Not like forging your plate. Nope. You pay. Currency.

Some other games have a more graceful solution of increasing drop rates in SSF vs. trade. What a novel idea GGG will never adopt.