The worst ARPG of them all

Yes the title is hyperbolic.

However now that i have tried for a second time to play PoE 2 , first time in 0.1 got to maps all the way to end maps > loot uninspired , crafting trash , endgame map system abysmal and tedious and punishing for no reward.

This time , this time i cant even force myself to slog out the campaign , i even made sure to pick a viable meta build but moving is so slow , and i just dont see how the zoomer dark souls crowd can think that moving like you have lead weights on your feet plus dodge roll every other second is engaging gameplay.

None of these skills feel good either , i dont enjoy any of the combat , it feels tedious even on trash packs. The gear is better now than in 0.1 for the campaign but its still boring and none of it feels good to ID even if it is a slight upgrade.

I just think PoE 2 is complete garbage and no amount of ohh the campaign is so good ( it isnt after the first playthrough ) makes up for it.

In 15 years i never quit a PoE 1 league , this is now the4 second PoE 2 league im quitting and i dont think i will be playing another one , this one left such a bad taste i dont think i will be buying anything in PoE 1 anymore either , since its obvious they arte no longer valuing the PoE players anyhow.

At the end of the day times change , this is apparently what the new zoomer gamers want and i realize im just old man yelling at the sky here but its disappointing to have something you love turn into such a trash product.

Just wanted to give you a +1, before the "git gud" mouth breathers arrive

"

Artaniz#4006 wrote:

Yes the title is hyperbolic.

However now that i have tried for a second time to play PoE 2 , first time in 0.1 got to maps all the way to end maps > loot uninspired , crafting trash , endgame map system abysmal and tedious and punishing for no reward.

This time , this time i cant even force myself to slog out the campaign , i even made sure to pick a viable meta build but moving is so slow , and i just dont see how the zoomer dark souls crowd can think that moving like you have lead weights on your feet plus dodge roll every other second is engaging gameplay.

None of these skills feel good either , i dont enjoy any of the combat , it feels tedious even on trash packs. The gear is better now than in 0.1 for the campaign but its still boring and none of it feels good to ID even if it is a slight upgrade.

I just think PoE 2 is complete garbage and no amount of ohh the campaign is so good ( it isnt after the first playthrough ) makes up for it.

In 15 years i never quit a PoE 1 league , this is now the4 second PoE 2 league im quitting and i dont think i will be playing another one , this one left such a bad taste i dont think i will be buying anything in PoE 1 anymore either , since its obvious they arte no longer valuing the PoE players anyhow.

At the end of the day times change , this is apparently what the new zoomer gamers want and i realize im just old man yelling at the sky here but its disappointing to have something you love turn into such a trash product.

Sounds like the game isn’t for you. Keep playing PoE1. It still exists. You are indeed an old man just yelling at the sky lol. And this game isn’t being taken over by zoomers, it still feels like it’s core audience is still a bunch of 30 year olds, but I guess keep blaming other generations for you not accepting any change.

I wouldn't put it that harshly, but I agree in that I will quit this league before actually finishing the campaign. Now, I'm a casual player. Usually I can play a few hours in the evening and not every day - this week by sheer luck I could invest more. And as a casual player, the game feels really exhausting.

In PoE1, when faced with difficulties, I know how to fix my builds. That's because it leaves enough room for adaptation without feeling too easy. Therefore what I loved there was trying out different builds and seeing them come together. On the other hand in PoE2.... without a meta build guide I can't make it past Act2 and the campaign in total takes me 20+ hours, which is basically the opposite of what makes an ARPG fun for me.

So I thought: Hey, let's get better at that and I tried to basically league-start 3 different builds in an SSF-style environment. With all of them it felt like a slog. Worst one for me was probably the Warrior - not even because the skills didn't feel powerful enough, but because every boss mechanic told me: "Don't use melee here!". So I was just leap slamming around until after 5 hits I got a stun again and actually could do something.

The influence of souls-likes is plain to see - not only in PoE2, but everywhere. But whenever I encounter its influence (e.g. also in games like Horizon:FW or Space Marine 2), I feel the combat has been changed for the worse and a fun combat turns into minutes of dodge-rolling. Compared to the first iterations of said games, playing the sequels (at least the combat part) didn't feel "fun" and more like "work". And unfortunately that's my current experience in PoE2.

That said... I don't mind GGG going that route with PoE2 at all. If that's what they want to do, good luck to them. It just might not be for me. It happens. And who knows... maybe the next updates/leagues will make things a bit less tough. :)


[Edit]
(oh... I wanted to mention: The campaign itself, i.e. the build up of the acts, the story, the voice acting, the quests, it all is absolutely stellar! Brilliant job with Act 4)

One of the worst for sure. But there are some real bad ones out there too. Probably an unpopular opinion but Titan Quest 1 is just not that good 20 years later.

"

Erebus1800#6364 wrote:

Just wanted to give you a +1, before the "git gud" mouth breathers arrive

+1 to GET GOOD.

I don't think this is sustainable with the campaign the way it is.
It will take half the time for this to have the same numbers as it did before 0.3.
Maybe less. I could be wrong but I don't think I am. Once the new people start to experiment or try and create new and whacky builds, the numbers will plummet.
The game doesn't have build variety, it has archetypes. It does have the illusion of variety though.

"But, that's just how seasonal games work".
BS. If a game is good, people will play it regardless of any "season".
Look at the passive tree. You'd think people would be coming up with all kinds of weird things all through the season.
lol
No.

Now add in the flat out miserable aspects.
XP loss
The trials
The map size
etc.
Regardless if you think these systems are fair, the average joe trying to sit and chill do not.
It's not sustainable to a mass audience.

"

Artaniz#4006 wrote:

Yes the title is hyperbolic.

However now that i have tried for a second time to play PoE 2 , first time in 0.1 got to maps all the way to end maps > loot uninspired , crafting trash , endgame map system abysmal and tedious and punishing for no reward.

This time , this time i cant even force myself to slog out the campaign , i even made sure to pick a viable meta build but moving is so slow , and i just dont see how the zoomer dark souls crowd can think that moving like you have lead weights on your feet plus dodge roll every other second is engaging gameplay.

None of these skills feel good either , i dont enjoy any of the combat , it feels tedious even on trash packs. The gear is better now than in 0.1 for the campaign but its still boring and none of it feels good to ID even if it is a slight upgrade.

I just think PoE 2 is complete garbage and no amount of ohh the campaign is so good ( it isnt after the first playthrough ) makes up for it.

In 15 years i never quit a PoE 1 league , this is now the4 second PoE 2 league im quitting and i dont think i will be playing another one , this one left such a bad taste i dont think i will be buying anything in PoE 1 anymore either , since its obvious they arte no longer valuing the PoE players anyhow.

At the end of the day times change , this is apparently what the new zoomer gamers want and i realize im just old man yelling at the sky here but its disappointing to have something you love turn into such a trash product.

So please.. if you hate the game so much.. stop playing and go play a game you love. Some of us LOVE POE2 ! I do consider it the best ARPG I ever played..

"

Artaniz#4006 wrote:

At the end of the day times change , this is apparently what the new zoomer gamers want and i realize im just old man yelling at the sky

You feel you represent the older generation?
I grew up with a 25mhz processor and a NES with a golden cartridge.

You just have particular stubborn tastes, that's fine and you've explained very little in your post to explain precisely why you're so easily bored of PoE2 besides briefly talk about movement speed, which is corrected very easily by unique boots that you can then wear on a new character at a very low level later.

I grew up with the NES in the early 90s. You do not represent the older gamers, I feel POE2 is amazing as it is and already better in every aspect than POE1. Sure it still need some work and it is unfinished, but it's a great game already and maybe just MAYYYYYYYYBE it's not for you. You can always go back to POE1 if you prefer it.

There are reasons why I stopped playing POE1 years ago and never looked back, the game felt like an entire pointless zoom. I don't want POE2 to feel like this.