Just When The Game Had Roped Me Back In, I Think I’m Done Again

I’ve left feedback previously about things I liked and disliked about Path of Exile, but this latest patch has brought both good and bad to my personal experience. This thread is not a unique thread by any means, there are plenty of other threads detailing their dislike for traps and the labyrinth, and I’m unfortunately categorized into that.

Initially I didn’t have any issues with the traps being introduced. It was a good way to add another layer of challenge to the game that was deadly at all levels of play. And they still are, unfortunately it wore out its luster pretty fast for me personally. Even when I was first going through the labyrinth, all I wanted to do was complete it as fast as possible to not deal with the traps. They’re often put in clever spots and they force you to think as opposed to just “go” like most of the game, but that’s what’s inherently wrong with them for me personally.

I don’t play Path of Exile to dodge traps; I do it to kill mobs and make creative builds. This is easier to do when you have Ascendancy points, which are locked away by the labyrinth. Common things that are pointed out to people who complain about it are that the labyrinth isn’t very long. This is mostly true, some days it goes by very fast, other days you get 3 golden doors that you have to go through mazes of traps. But regardless of how many traps there are, if they aren’t fun to get around for the player, it really diminishes the experience the labyrinth can provide.

Beyond me personally not enjoying it, my wife who typically co-ops with me in Path of Exile is so turned off by the traps she refuses to play. This puts a hamper in my want to play the game. This is also highlighted if I make new characters; I have to deal with it, 3 times, every time. It’s simply not fun for me and it’s a shame it’s necessary to really unlock fun build potential.

Now ignoring traps for a moment, the labyrinth has some of the most perplexing balance I’ve seen in Path of Exile, which is really saying something. Izaro is always far harder than the area level, you either have to twink your gear incredibly hard or be about 10+ levels above the zone to really stand an actual fighting chance. On top of this, the fact that he gets bonuses to his fight that you have to deal with while fighting him are so back and forth between being too strong and too weak that it just feels like I’m playing a slot machine in order to get passed the boss fights. Sometimes he has a mod I can’t handle, sometimes he doesn’t. That unfortunately makes it impossible for me to complete on certain days.

This game is no stranger to RNG, but this can ruin a labyrinth run, sometimes the gold keys are too hard for you to risk for your character at the level you’re attempting the labyrinth at. Sometimes you won’t know if you can kill Izaro on his final form because the labyrinth decided to choose mods your character can’t handle. This becomes less of an issue as you level, but I don’t derive any fun from overleveling content to a point where it becomes meaningless. This is ignoring the fact that all of the mobs are just fodder. Seriously, what is with the crazy yo-yo balance?

And so, beyond the normal faults of Path of Exile that I don’t care for (sellers not online or prices are too high to get gear upgrades to progress, map-gating, lack of drops/dry spells, server issues, frame lag) that haven’t been addressed or aren’t fixed yet, I’m just left bored with the game, which is a real shame, because of the hype surrounding the expansion and my initial levels of joy with the game during it. Many won’t care and most will probably troll the thread, but this is my attempt to document why I didn’t care for the new content.

Thanks for reading.

each trap has a pattern, if you are CI/LL and can't just flask through them (which i do, only trap death is when i lagged in magma) then you need to take it slow. it sucks, yeah, but it is what it is.

mobility skills help, life regen/flasks completely trivialize it, and in the worst case scenario you only have to do it 3x and can even pay people chaos to carry you thru (ie know how to speed-run it, anything barred behind traps such as gold keys, they can get for you)

You can literally avoid traps with movement skills <.< or run past through them if you're flask lol

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alexvsevil wrote:

each trap has a pattern, if you are CI/LL and can't just flask through them (which i do, only trap death is when i lagged in magma) then you need to take it slow. it sucks, yeah, but it is what it is.

mobility skills help, life regen/flasks completely trivialize it, and in the worst case scenario you only have to do it 3x and can even pay people chaos to carry you thru (ie know how to speed-run it, anything barred behind traps such as gold keys, they can get for you)

Yeah I've ran 4 characters in the Hardcore league so far. You can bypass a fair amount by having mobility skills and 4 instant life flasks, but it's still...not fun, which is my main issue with it among the weird balance of the labyrinth. I appreciate the reply though, thank you.

Lab has been a mixed bag for me. On one hand, there is is new game mode where there are shiny rewards that await in the end. Ascending for the first time feels great, seeing your old portrait from 2012 replaced with awesome art. Enchantments add another layer of optimization. Cool, awesome.

On the other hand, it feels like rushed content. The overall layout isn't much different day to day. Certain Izaro mechanics are much easier than others. Certain traps, like the fire floors, take up too much resources and turn my game into a slideshow. I can't kill Izaro in slideshow mode, at least not in merciless.

I welcome a challenge and something different, but this is crossing the line. I know they said they are working on improving optimization but words are one thing, actions are another.

I know where you're coming from I just told a buddy of mine the other day the novelty of the lab has wore off and now it just seems like a necessary tedium.

If anything using it as motivation to rip less. :D

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sinfoniantuba11 wrote:

Lab has been a mixed bag for me. On one hand, there is is new game mode where there are shiny rewards that await in the end. Ascending for the first time feels great, seeing your old portrait from 2012 replaced with awesome art. Enchantments add another layer of optimization. Cool, awesome.

On the other hand, it feels like rushed content. The overall layout isn't much different day to day. Certain Izaro mechanics are much easier than others. Certain traps, like the fire floors, take up too much resources and turn my game into a slideshow. I can't kill Izaro in slideshow mode, at least not in merciless.

I welcome a challenge and something different, but this is crossing the line. I know they said they are working on improving optimization but words are one thing, actions are another.

Sorry to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way, I whole heartily agree with you.

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sinfoniantuba11 wrote:

Lab has been a mixed bag for me. On one hand, there is is new game mode where there are shiny rewards that await in the end. Ascending for the first time feels great, seeing your old portrait from 2012 replaced with awesome art. Enchantments add another layer of optimization. Cool, awesome.

On the other hand, it feels like rushed content. The overall layout isn't much different day to day. Certain Izaro mechanics are much easier than others. Certain traps, like the fire floors, take up too much resources and turn my game into a slideshow. I can't kill Izaro in slideshow mode, at least not in merciless.

I welcome a challenge and something different, but this is crossing the line. I know they said they are working on improving optimization but words are one thing, actions are another.

Sorry to hear I'm not the only one who feels this way, I whole heartily agree with you.

Join the club

About the balance i believe GGG had right intentions but it seems that this kind of thing also doesnt work. Its just not fair. People with less hp having easier time in the lab, traps negate defensive skill choices in the tree as well as life and armour from gear, but movement speed and player's dmg remain the same, unaffected completely. Not very well thought after all. Despite what most people think, labyrinth actually promotes fast paced glass cannon builds.

I like izaro fights to be honest, but totally dislike the rest of the playstyle. He might be overtuned for his lvl but thats easily countered. All in all i would totally dig it if AC where not linked to the lab. It will also encourage players to reroll more often.

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Jaxxxson wrote:

Now ignoring traps for a moment, the labyrinth has some of the most perplexing balance I’ve seen in Path of Exile, which is really saying something. Izaro is always far harder than the area level, you either have to twink your gear incredibly hard or be about 10+ levels above the zone to really stand an actual fighting chance. On top of this, the fact that he gets bonuses to his fight that you have to deal with while fighting him are so back and forth between being too strong and too weak that it just feels like I’m playing a slot machine in order to get passed the boss fights. Sometimes he has a mod I can’t handle, sometimes he doesn’t. That unfortunately makes it impossible for me to complete on certain days.

i think that what you meant here is that Lab forces you to make less powerful builds by making sure you at least give a serious damn about your defences/sustain/gameplay mechanics

Izaro is perfectly doable when one has a Build, not a Dps-dealer. With sorted out flasks, balanced defence/offence ratio, understanding of what flasks are for etc etc. i did his as melee at lvl 64 without serious twink gear (wings of entropy duelist.. so not a cookie cutter)

Izaro fight is predictable and most probably THE best fight mechanics-wise in the entire game. It does not punish melee players, it removes EXTREME kiting from ranged (yet rewards good movement speed etc ranged perks), the attacks are all telegraphed and auxiliary mechanics are challenging yet possible to 'solve' without calling them extreme

You do not need to be +10 levels or whatever, you just need to have a decent build (as in offence/defence ratio, though-out sustain etc). Several characters that can speed run Gorge despite having 3.2k hp simply cannot pass Izy (and lab, as their users are pretty much used to right-click to victory) because he is a nice roadblock. It is also impossible to zerg him - most probably a sign of things to come. POE will never be a serious 'hardcore' game when you can logout-to-safety..

This fight alone should curb extreme power creep (also called as 'fun') caused by low-mid-skilled players copying builds and faceroling everything without understanding a tiny bit about this game. Lab does the same - traps are mere decoration when you know what you are doing. For new/bad players they can be impossible to pass. They can learn or leave.

I understand people do not like the lab - everyone has a right to like whatever he chooses to. But great feats bring great rewards. If one cannot 'cope' with traps for 5 combined minutes across 3 difficulties - then maybe the rewards have to wait (yes, 5 minutes MAX of traps content - almost entire lab is trap-free and is nothing else than small maps with a theme - esp when done on-level)