The grind was too much, I'm done

"

eragon1111 wrote:

Remember the days when such threads were clear and out loud laughed by not only you but all other supporters that now crive for changes.

I do. Well, you're exaggerating, but many of them.

But you might remember that I've always been an equal-opportunity debater.

I got totally bored of endgame too. Grinded the shyt out of it in every SC league since Domination (also got to mid maps in Nem & Inv), with several 90+ chars, playing solo self-found gear... so I guess it was bound to happen. Act4 will bring some freshness (in form of new maps, mobs, bosses), but I dout any radical redesign of the system will take place (=root cause will stay).

I love to grind, obviously. But I come to realize that for me (my playstyle) it's not actually the drop rates that are problematic (= uninspiring, boring), but the almost non-existent "loot system". There are no mechanics behind looting (outside of basics: higher maps drop higher tier items, some itmes are map only, 4 items drop from a specific boss). Mostly it's just total randomness, which means all you do is haul vendor trash and recycle it into crafting mats. Every now and then you'll find an item that interrupts the series of yaaawnnning... but only if you stack MF, else you can sincerely GTFO.

Funny (or depressing?) that GGG can come up with some brilliant mechanics, regarding looting: eg. the Mao Kun map, where the boss drops more stuff if you hit him harder, Windripper bow... but they are too shy / scared / unwilling to make real improvement of the ARPG genere. They just stick to a baseline implementation and let the "economy" take care of the gaping holes. At 80+ the game just doesnt deliver enough looting brain dope, to be interesting outside of grinding for the sake of grind (leveling the char, gems, masters,....)

Anyway, to combat endgame burnout, I:

* got a bit more serious into racing
* rerolled in Bloodlines (2H melee at that). Empty stash, fast leveling, you find upgrades on regular basis and HC delivers oh-shit moments. Level to 70 - 75, then retire the char and wait for Act4.

"

Xavderion wrote:

If you want engaging combat, play Ninja Gaiden :)

Shadows of Mordor quite interesting too, and I don't normally like those "God of War" style games. ^ ^

Same opinion here. The way I see it, PoE is about mapping; because everything before maps, you can just 1-click everything. As long as you know how to right click and do the +1 to level of gems and the % phys rustic sash recipes; you've essentially have beaten the pre-maps game. Ofc, there are some difficult bosses like Dominus and that Sewers surprise, but that's about it.

But I see a whole new Path of Exile when GGG turns difficulty knob: BLAMT race.

Right from the beginning of the game, you can actually die without player skill. You'll need to think about the right moves every second of game play. At twilight strand, you do not just ignore everything and run straight to Hillock anymore.

And there are some very interesting implications of this: early game gear.
I've observed an interesting phenomenon while playing BLAMT race; almost everything is actually very useful. Just getting an Iron Hat or not could mean life or death. Every single damage in that crude bow counted because you had to kill those naked crab before they can kill you; in other words, using whetstones now actually mattered a lot, big time!

You can imagine how useless uniques like Last Resort become very useful.

So I've made as suggestion a while ago:
1-Month Temp League as difficult as BLAMT

The idea is very raw (e.g. Blood magic mod might be bad since it limits builds, unbeatable bosses); But the idea is to make a temp league where you actually concentrate and have fun every second of game play. A temp league where you cannot just hold right click and sleep while leveling for 8 hours.

Also, my recently thought theory: GGG massive stash tab sales! Since Last Resort is actually useful and could sell for a few chaos (more if drop rate for it is nerfed), every player will wanna keep it, rather than give it to Tarkleigh. Hence, more items in stash, and more reason to get more tabs.

Note that this is a Temporary League. So new players (like I once was) should still be able to play the game as it is right now.

Interested to hear feedback about this, thanks!

The loots is extremely boring. It was for some reason way more fun doing mf runs in D2, but I just can't for the life of me realize why that is. When killing a boss in POE I'm not even thinking about the drop. Hmmm do you think its an issue with quantity or quality? (insert full screen of white/blue items here)

Anyways, cheers mate and gl

"

beefnuggy wrote:

The loots is extremely boring. It was for some reason way more fun doing mf runs in D2, but I just can't for the life of me realize why that is. When killing a boss in POE I'm not even thinking about the drop. Hmmm do you think its an issue with quantity or quality? (insert full screen of white/blue items here)

Anyways, cheers mate and gl

I think it was a combination of two factors: Uniques and Loot Tables.

1. Uniques were meaningful beyond just having something strange to build around because many were often strong enough stats-wise to stand on their own merits. There were far fewer "shit" uniques compared to this game (at least, relative to levels you may consider using them). Some of them carried VERY potent stats that most other gear could not. String of Ears (belt) for example, came with % physical damage reduction. This was HUGE. Even if another belt could offer a lot of meaningful stats, the ehp that %dr gives could still be better. They also didn't usually carry drawbacks that locked them out of all but niche builds.

2. Unique monsters and Bosses had loot tables--certain enemies always had a chance to drop certain loot. This made running specific bosses enticing, and certain zones with unique monsters meaningful. The loot system in poe may as well be the same as a screen-wide clear cutting saw that you swish across a grove of trees in almost every map. The loot they can drop is identical, excluding ilvl requirements. Only a few items require you to be in a specific place or do a specific thing to get that specific item. For most intents and purposes, you don't really need to run lvl 66-67 maps if you can just run Merc Catacombs, except that the maps can have additional mods on them. The ilvl is the same.

I think those two things need to be scrutinized if the loot system in poe is to have any revision.