One month of POE and I'm done... here's why

Hi,

I started this game 4 weeks ago and now I leave the game after spending a HUGE amount of time grinding my way through.

Here is my experience of the game as a newbie through to someone who got it and decided to quit, in chronological order:


1) First experience is amazing. I was in awe when I first entered the realm and witnessed the great graphics and quality of gameplay.

2) I was also overly confused... the game seemed incredibly complex. Gems? Skill tree? Armour or Evasion? What's an energy shield? Chaos damage... what's that? With so many things to learn I was thinking whether it would be worth it... but at the same time I was keen to learn more.

3) I also felt that the gameplay was very slow (now that I'm used to it I don't think this, but I definitely remember feeling for the first 5-7 hours or so that it was 'so slloowww!'.

4) Quickly realised that 4 stash tabs was just not enough. After my first week I figured that the game was great, I've had some fun with it and I'm more than happy to support GGG so I purchased a few stash tabs.

5) I realised shortly after that that having 7 stash tabs was not enough... but I figured I'd try make do.

6) I completed the game on Normal with my first character, a Leap-Slam and Heavy Slam Marauder. I was overly dissapointed by the fact that there wasn't really anything exciting or rewarding for completing the game. I had spent hours and hours getting to this point and feel I wasn't rewarded.

7) I tried another class (Bow Ranger) and found it enjoyable. It was only about half-way through using this character that I realised that sockets needed to be linked for support gems to be used. I figured this is another way the game is a little confusing and didn't teach me well... but now that I know it it's awesome.

8) I went in my first races... 3x 12 minute races. They were enjoyable, but I didn't get rewarded well so I figured I wouldn't waste my time doing races any more. Rather, I'd try complete the game fully on Merciless and build a massive character.

9) I chose the Duelist and wanted to get a super-fast, fun melee combat character and went down the Blender Build path.

10) Again, completed Normal using 'Dual Strike' as a main weapon as suggested in Blender Build and it was just totally boring... the dual strike was just way too slow and not like what I was expecting from all the awesome end-game videos that builds show you... this is where I started to get a little pissed-off by build guides out there as they only show you 'end-game' builds and not what it's like throughout the game.

11) I figured I'd push through and continue with the Duelist and try complete on Merciless as I really wanted a super-fast melee character and I had seen a few others around level 30-40 that were doing just that.

12) I started using Cyclone as main attack as it was just a lot more fun than the slow Dual Strike. Unfortunately, this is where I started experiencing a lot of desync and started dying a lot because of it. It started getting me really angry.

13) I got through Cruel ok because I partied with others. But during Act 1 on Merciless I reached a road block. It was taking me ages to kill one monster and there were times I was dying in one hit... again I was just getting pissed off.

14) So I decided to go back to my original Marauder character and it was doing well until Act 3 on Cruel. Again, it seemed to reach a wall where killing monsters just sucked and I was dying in one hit by mobs or big bosses. I figured, fuck that, I've just wasted some hours I'll go back to my Duelist and stick him out.

15) I realised I needed to level up my Duelist more to be effective. So I spent hours on The Ledge just gaining experience and trying to level up. After 3 hours of solid ledging, I leveled up about 3 times from level 51 to level 54. It was totally boring and unrewarding.

16) I progressed and made it to Act 2. Again, I realised that I needed to get experience and so I spent hours and hours going over the Fellshrine Ruins. Again, totally boring and unrewarding.

17) Again, I was dying in 1 sec from bosses or mobs... this time, I realised I was losing experience every time I died... ohh FUCCKKK THAT. What a WASTE of time... spending 30 minutes progressing and then dying and taking it all away is just oh so piss me off factor I hate you game.

18) I realised that I needed good gear to progress further. I had farmed for a while and I seemed to get one good drop in a million (if that)... so unfortunately, this meant I had to trade. I researched how to trade and then had no idea how much anything was worth but managed to get my hands on a couple of Chaos Orbs.

19) I saw some dude who was attacking like how I wanted to attack (super-fast melee as opposed to my super slow Dual Strike) and he told me he had a Multristrike gem. I was like 'sweet, I need to get one of those'. I then read that the Multistrike gem is not given to you until you have pretty much completed the game (Library on Merciless). So I figured fuck that, I'll see if I can get it earlier.

20) I posted on these forums I needed a multistrike gem and a few people got in contact with me in game (pretty fast might I add.. which I liked). I had no idea what a gem was worth so I asked how much and it ranged from 3-6 chaos. I didn't have 3 chaos but one guy was nice enough to give me a Multistrike gem for 2 chaos and a few of something else.

21) BAM! The gem was a ripper! Loved it! The attacks were awesome! FINALLY! After what seemed like an eternity, my character was starting to look something like the build in the videos I was watching.

22) My other gear still sucked though. I didn't have armour with a 5L or 6L. Again, I think it was the same guy that gave me the Multistrike gem, he was kind enough to give me a 5L armour. BAM!!! Again, it took my character to another whole level.

23) The game started to get fun again... at least for the rest of Act 2.

24) Again, I hit a roadblock. I was instantly dying by big mobs or badass bosses. I realised I had to level up more. Even worse, at this stage I was losing MASSIVE experience every time I died.. again, I'm like FUCCCKKKK OFFF... and started just thinking I'm wasting my life... to spend 30 minutes getting somewhere and then having it taken away from you is just a time-waster and made me start questioning the value of the game.

25) Spent hours AGAIN leveling up the character on Docks / Marketplace / Library. FUCK THIS PISSED ME OFF THE MOST. Spending hours and hours just trying to level up a character.

26) Eventually, I got to level 68 or 69, joined a party and we killed Dominus. I DID IT! I completed the game on Merciless! Now, SURELY I'm going to be rewarded with something more awesome now... nup. Nothing. I just respawned in town and had a few maps to use and that was it.

27) Oh man I was annoyed again. But I figured everyone keeps talking about 'maps' so I better try them out... perhaps this is really awesome and why everyone spends hours and hours trying to get there.

28) I did some maps and was like 'wtf?' It's like completing levels without a point... again, it was all just for experience gain and not much else. But, the bigger problem was, by this stage, it takes about 2 hours just to level up ONCE. Oh my... at this stage, I simply asked myself what's the point.


In Summary?

So, after all of that, I would summarise by saying I LOVE this game... up until about character level 40. At this stage, it just takes WAAAYYYYYYY too long to level up. Running the Ledge, Fellshrine Ruins, Library etc is good maybe once... but to do it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again is just so boring... particularly when there is NOTHING dropping either... well, there is actually 1,000s of things dropping but 99.99% of them are all rubbish and just take up space on my screen.

I realise that the game is designed to keep you in as long as possible, that's how they get their money so I can't be too against the way things are designed. For a free-to-get-started game, it's unbelievable... the best there is out there.

It just get's ultimately frustrating for 3 main reasons:
1) Slow leveling up (deaths on Cruel/Merc make this even worse and a huge piss-off factor)
2) One hit or super-fast deaths from mobs or bosses (even with 75% resistances)
3) No good quality items dropping (1 in a bazillion)

Yes, desync was an issue but I figured the above three are far more important to the actual game. Unfortunately, the exciting and addictive game became frustrating and boring (when trying to level up).

With the instant deaths, slow leveling up, loss of experience and lack of quality items, it made progressing SO SLOW and really made me question whether I would continue playing or not.

For now? I won't continue playing. The slow progressing makes me feel like I"m wasting time/my life.

In the future? I'm sure I'll definitely be back in the realm at some point to muck around... but to spend hours and hours farming and trying to level up? Fuck that.

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Desync and map cockblock, is why I don't play.

While you have some valid complaints, I think your problem is more that of arpgs in general, not Path of Exile specifically, because the issues you're having seem to be very generalized (long grinds, seemingly unrewarding end game, etc etc). Every arpg I have ever played (and I've played quite a few) seem to exhibit similar qualities. I have a more difficult time with the endless grind as time goes on, but this game has provided me with the most enjoyment of any since Diablo II. Perhaps you should try an mmorpg instead? Elder Scrolls Online is supposed to be a good up and coming game, although from what I've learned about PvP (the only real reason I would bother with the game)is that it is just a big cluster fuck of nonsense, hence I won't be paying for a subscription to it any time soon, but the PvE is supposed to be pretty amazing.

"

brunowa wrote:

It just get's ultimately frustrating for 3 main reasons:
1) Slow leveling up (deaths on Cruel/Merc make this even worse and a huge piss-off factor)
2) One hit or super-fast deaths from mobs or bosses (even with 75% resistances)
3) No good quality items dropping (1 in a bazillion)

this

Mind posting your build and gear? If you needed a 5L before maps, somethings amiss.

agree with op for the most part, and idk why ppl always claim its an arpg so play an mmo instead, no reason for an arpg to be unable to be endlessly replayed either although i think the solution includes a combination of crafting improvements, alternate leveling and magic find progression options, and content with gate after gate to reach and extreme challenge and reward

I have to agree with the slow leveling. I'd like to try a larger variety of different builds, but I simply don't have the time nor interest replay normal-cruel-merci again and again.

"

SL4Y3R wrote:

Mind posting your build and gear? If you needed a 5L before maps, somethings amiss.

Way to miss a point, Slayer.

OP is right on the money with his feedback - but It's a waste of server space because GGG don't pay serious attention to such feedback anyway.

And as a side note, yes some builds require 5-links in later stages of the game. Especially melee.

Post his gear and build? For what? So you can mock him and tell him he's "doing it wrong"?

And is there any actual guarantee he'll have a 5-link if he keeps playing and gets to maps? A top tier unique or rare? A build-enabler? Just one?
Fuck I've been playing this game for almost 1.5 years constantly, absurd amount of hours (should be close to 1800 by now), saw most of the content - new and old - and I have no idea what a fucking 6-link or top rare or better-than-middle-tier unique looks like.

And don't get me started on maps.
He should feel lucky he did get to those. Didn't get to feel the full might of RNG, combined with the worst gear checks.

Maybe they could just make it so that when you defeat a boss (maybe for the first time) or when you finish a difficulty or reach some other milestone you get rewarded by being able to take 1 out of X (5, 10, 20) different randomly-generated items. This way you get to pick something that is actually useful to your character instead of praying to the RNG gods that the bosses/mobs drop something useful. This would make it much more worthwhile since you could just take whatever you specifically needed.