POE2 disrespecting our time (Post-0.4.0)
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So after comming back to POE2 (I last played in 0.1) I can add the following. Initially I was like "I have to do the Campaign again ... man I really don't want to" which is what has kept me in fact from comming back before now.
Then when I did come back and started a new character got in the campaign it was a slog until I remember everything. Then I figured ... if I'm gonna play POE2 I got to learn the Campaign if not at a speedrun level at least you know Act 1 in 1h 15 mins and such. So I started rolling characters and doing Act 1 only and after a few runs got where I needed to be. I actually enjoyed that to be honest and I think overall I will enjoy learning the campaign to the point where I can finish it in 6-8 hours comfortably on a character, which when you think about it is not a huge time-sink all things considered. However, this is really not how a casual person would approach the game as the investment/patiance you need to get to the point where you can do it so efficiently that it is "not a big deal" is at least 2-3 seasons or multiple characters in one season consistent running, timing etc. This is a huge detriment to new players comming in and staying or someone who just wants to come in and blast. POE2 is really nice for blasting once you have your stuff diled in. So the Devs really have a tough choice. 100% if they don't allow Campaign Skip they will have hard time getting more casual players or returning players in. If they do open the skip then it defeats the time and effort they put in the campaign to some extent. Also risk for it to become largely irrelevant. I'd be very surprised if they don't allow the skip at some point to be honest or for a second character or something in a season given the competitive pressures from other games they are under. Yet, I'd actually think keepign the campaign is probably for the best. You have to level your character somehow anyway. You will be blasting maps starting with 1-to-15 and beyond anyway. If leveling becomes also map blasting then all is pretty shallow, which is obviously what some people want, but I think overall the game will be less fun in this way. So in short ... the more I play the more I don't mind the Campaign and actually get to enjoy it. It is a decent and different (from mapping) way to level a character, get used to a build etc. Now, the economy/crafting tho is a pure mess and is the biggest issue for me in the game right now. I have to say LE has been by far the most enjoyable crafting I have ever done in an ARPG. I see POE2 slowly getting there, but still very early days. Trade tho ... such a mess. If inflation is not solved (to a managable level) any casual player who plays on the weekends basically gets deleted by the next weekend when he comes back as anything he farmed has lost value by 75% or more so it is like starting over and destroys the progress. SSF is not the solution, trade league must be playable by normal people. |
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" That is 6 to 8 hours now with 3 acts missing. When the full game is out, you might be looking at 10+ hours. Per league so every 4 months. PER CHARACTER. I am not a casual person but even I don't want to be doing that. Unless they add campaign skip after your first character, I don't see myself playing any alts and even skipping leagues. You also hit the nail on the head regarding trade/economy. There is a kind of "pressure" for you to keep up and coupled with the fact that casuals think you are suppose to play maps end game which give like no loot and you have most of them leaving. I think POE2 caters to a certain hardcore audience I am slowly figuring out I am also not in this batch. The game is punishing and unrewarding past the campaign and not a repeatable experience if you have to sit through the campaign on each new character. Such a shame because it has high visual fidelity and good bones to make something great. |
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The game I've been most excited about in recent years, and the one that disappointed me the most.
The devs ignore feedback and delete negative comments. Even in 0.5, I'll spend empty hours grinding to Lv90 before quitting in frustration. This will likely continue every season, even after the official release. A game that can't even gather 1,000 players in a stream is a dud. See you again in 0.5. | |
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1. Sprint dash
2. The thing about campaign skip is, endgame is literally the same as campaign. Like if you want to play endgame maps before level 60 you know how it would feel? It would be exactly like playing the campaign. Endgame maps are just campaign maps repeated. Sure you could juice things up with waystone mods, but at low level are you even going to be able to do that? Is it the linearity? After act 3 the campaign becomes a lot less linear so that's not really a big deal. And Endgame is so massive (time-wise) that the campaign remains a small percentage of what you' ll do. I don't think this is a big issue as long as each league mixes things up and makes the campaign a different experience. 3. It's self found. If you want it to be easy, just play a trade league. " If only. |
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While i would be ok with campaign skip for alts I`m not entirely sure if it would work in favor of casual players.
I`m talking about natural build progression. It`s completely different to go through whole journey learning power spikes and doing some respec tweaks than enter ~65lvl char right of the bat and set everything up even if you copypaste some build. |
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Spoiler
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Spoiler
" This is exactly how I came to feel about PoE 1 campaign and still feel in PoE 2. Truth of the matter is I only play a league maybe two a year. My beating the game is trashing bosses that I either haven't done, or haven't done in a while. I get to about lvl 92-95 and that's GG. Maybe an alt for a build idea next league. |
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" +1 Facts, just had a bunch of mine deleted, being rage baited after having solid points and stats to back up I show actual stats showing other ARPG's are doing far better for all the ones claiming POE2 is the most played and is totally not losing majority of its player base, Only responses I get are arrogant rude responses and it always comes down to "Oh show me your build its a build and skill issue show me so I can fix" Brothers I have 2k+ hours I know how to build, I come here to share my thoughts on my experiences playing and its always just skill issue, F right off Then come back on to see all those posts deleted, Like its sickening Last edited by Jobama#9902 on Feb 20, 2026, 5:00:22 PM
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" OK then show us the stats? |
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Double bump
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Bump it
Game is designed to keep you chasing defenses and never actually feel strong. After like 1700 hours I have finally learned my lesson and I am getting off the hamster wheel. GGG (and you guys) can have this. Hard pass for me. I leveled FOUR characters to 97 this league because ppl keep telling me "oh no, you need this" or "oh no you cant stack THAT" and of course "SkIlL iSsUE" kids are abundant. The game is designed to keep you chasing the carrot that is "unkillable" and you never actually get there. What you DO get is a never-ending cycle of "BS mechanics that bleed thru your "mirror tier" defenses faster than you can even react... and I'm not talking about boss mechanics... I am talking about OVERCAPPED resistances to 90+ with 80% Evasion, 80% Deflection AND a 12k Sorcery Ward shield and "guess what, you're dead, back to hideout for you. Try again!!" then even with 156% rarity, the loot STILL DOESN'T DROP unless you are full party stacking, paying a rarity bot to follow you and also ONLY running temple... like wtf? I am over it completely and I do not think I will be coming back next season. At this point the devs are taking advantage of my trust, honestly. Any other game that exists would be a better use of my time and energy. POE NINJA LINK: https://poe.ninja/poe2/profile/MissMaven-4939/character/Galfanrhys (check build if you don't believe me xD) Last edited by MissMaven#4939 on Feb 21, 2026, 11:07:27 AM
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