1.0.0f Patch and Data about League Distributions and Map-only Uniques

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Aux wrote:

I've responded a couple times to this thread thus far. At first glance it sounded like the gating of these items was a good idea, as did most others--if you judge that by that fact that there was no outburst when it was first announced in the 1.0.0 patch notes that high end uniques would be found in maps only. People agree that maps should be the best place for the best loot.

After reading all the comments and discussing it with Hegemonica, here are some points I would like to put out.

Readability
I don't know how many times the subject of showing ilvl on the item tooltip has come up throughout closed/open betas. Each time it was met with GGG resistance that it was too confusing. The difference between required level to equip and item level was too confusing for players to understand, thus is hidden behind a /itemlevel command.

How is causing even more confusion that certain uniques can only be found at arbitrary item levels--that have no correlation to the level requirement--any more clear? Obviously a rhetorical question; it isn't. The items levels assigned besides the highest tier (78) seems rather rushed and not very well thought out. There is a startling lack of Soul Taker and Bringer of Rain, and the perplexing inclusion of Divinarius and Mon'tregul's Grasp.

The Wall
Everyone knows exactly what this is. I don't have to go into much detail as it's been laid out in black and white for the past months on end discussing how horrible the system of attaining and sustaining high level maps is, with many ideas of solutions to fix it.

Why then has seemingly nothing been done about it? This is a question I can't quite seem to come up with any reasonable, logical answers. It's baffling really. Party play is great, trading is great. So is playing alone. I've done both, for a very long time. I have multiple level 90s across many leagues and have given every penny I can scrounge in support of the vision GGG has had for the game. RNG is not fun when it is the only thing restricting my progression in the game when I am doing everything else right. I have found 2 77s in my entire time playing this game. The skill ceiling for PvE in this game is extremely low. The reliance on nothing other than blind luck is so absurd to the point that it is comical when I think about it.

I have no motivation at the moment to step into the Eternal Laboratory and insert another map. The amount of currency and time I have to spend just to have the chance of getting into a map that has a chance--if you can even call it that--of one of the top tier uniques dropping seems equivalent of winning the lottery, then buying lottery tickets with all of your winnings, and winning the lottery with each of those tickets. Chance is what motivates me to play this game. The chance that I am going to get something for my time spent. Right now, I feel like the chance is so slim it's non-existent.

The Future
Having spoken with many of the employees at Grinding Gear, even playing with some I am fairly confident that these numbers will change, and with a quickness. I think they are level headed enough to realize when they made a mistake this detrimental to the game.

But what if it doesn't? Well I don't really know what to say. I am teetering right now between a feeling of complete frustration and regret. It's hard to put into words what decisions like this came make on players' psyches. I can't really in good conscious recommend this game to any of my friends in real life as I know they will have no chance and quit in frustration when it comes time for what should really be fun (end-game). I really want to play this game, I have never played anything nearly as appealing to me as a gamer, and likely never will again, but if these changes are going to stick, I think I need to think about spending my precious time doing something more productive.

-Signed a Proud Diamond / Eternal Supporter

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Magnicon2 wrote:

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Aux wrote:

Readability
I don't know how many times the subject of showing ilvl on the item tooltip has come up throughout closed/open betas. Each time it was met with GGG resistance that it was too confusing. The difference between required level to equip and item level was too confusing for players to understand, thus is hidden behind a /itemlevel command.

I've never understood this. Just how stupid does GGG think gamers are these days?

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Wisdom wrote:

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Magnicon2 wrote:

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Aux wrote:

Readability
I don't know how many times the subject of showing ilvl on the item tooltip has come up throughout closed/open betas. Each time it was met with GGG resistance that it was too confusing. The difference between required level to equip and item level was too confusing for players to understand, thus is hidden behind a /itemlevel command.

I've never understood this. Just how stupid does GGG think gamers are these days?

This thread isn't the best place to make the case that gamers aren't stupid. With that being said, I think they should add an option to always show ilvl that is disabled by default. Informed players are capable of determining item level as it is though, so they might not view it as a high priority.

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SNORLAXIO wrote:

Got a response from Chris regarding these changes.