Labs should not be mandatory.

In order to unlock the full potential of your characters you need to go through labs. Labs for me are the most tedious, boring, annoying, momentum crushing experience I've had in videogames in a while. Even when I'm not almost dying to traps, just to have to wade through them, even with movement abilities, is extremely annoying. It's destroyed my experience of the game. I've practiced doing labs but getting better at doing them doesn't make them any more fun. They are just a drag on an otherwise good game. It's like all the fun screeches to a halt as we are forced to endure this mandatory, boring, frustrating gameplay.

I don't think labs should be removed all together because I know other people enjoy them or even tolerate them. But there should be a way to bypass them. Maybe I could spend some currency to unlock my ascendancy instead of having to run a lab that is completely different from every other type of gameplay in POE. Or maybe after completing a certain portion of the story I can unlock ascendancy in a different way. Something that involves killing mobs and bosses, you know, what we do 95% of the game!? Labs are such a drag that every time I do them I just want to uninstall. It stops me from making new characters because I know I'll have to run through labs again with that character. I really don't need this aggravation in a videogame and I hope someone from GGG hears this and at least thinks about giving us the option to get ascendancy in another way that is consistent with how we play the game 95 percent of our time. Unlike with bosses, I can't pay someone to complete labs for me because I still have to run through the traps. I can pay someone to beat a difficult boss for me if I'm not comfortable with it. I should be able to get my asdenencies in another way besides wading through a bunch of boring and annoying traps.

Regardless of the response I won't be playing this game anymore. There are too many options out there for me to deal with such heightened frustration that should be OPTIONAL, not mandatory in order to unlock the full potential of our characters.

Hi ProfessorGanymede, sorry that you need to go. I've added your name to the list that have voiced similar opinions, now at 943 names long. I also added this thread to the threads with a similar opening post as yours, now at 353 threads long. Over 350 threads discussing labyrinth problems with over 940 posters in support

GGG is aware that many people consider the labyrinth loathsome content. They stated that was the reason that release 3.0 significantly reduced the labyrinth content. That was stated in this thread they started that is packed full of people hating on the loathsome labyrinth. Changes to the Labyrinth

Check back occasionally in case GGG decides to take your wise advice. Also, some things I do to minimize loathsome labyrinth I have to play is play more standard league instead of the new leagues. This reduces labyrinth content by eliminating trials. Something else I occasionally do is to play old characters that have already been through labyrinth. I just use the passive skill tree reset to create new builds.

It's not "mandatory", it's desirable but you can crush the game without doing the lab (as per the years of doing so before it was added)

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lagwin1980 wrote:

It's not "mandatory", it's desirable but you can crush the game without doing the lab (as per the years of doing so before it was added)

Sure, you can jump on one leg but with two you can run!
Labs are mandatory.
It does not matter whether you like it or not GGG forces you to do them if you do not want to be handicapped.

Labs are not mandatory, if you want to challenge yourself, you can play without them.
It's part of the game, deal with it. It's like complaining you can't enter maps because you are unable to deal with Kitava .. tough life.

Progressing the game "story" is mandatory, Lab is optional, but highly rewarding.

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Marxone wrote:

It's like complaining you can't enter maps because you are unable to deal with Kitava ..

To be fair... a lot of people do this, too.

Well Chitus cheated his way through the lab so maybe Cadiro could sell a location of a secret passage right to the ascendancy chamber. While i love the lab, i can see how some people dislike the fact that it's so mandatory - especially when some builds are just not well suited for it.

To get to labyrinth also requires trials... ugh, but can be done fast if you're willing to go to global :P you only have to do them once though that is good :D

Doing the labs is probably less then 1% of time invested in a single character when considering running maps and going for lvl 90 or higher.

Even if it's not a fun experience it's a minimal time investment in the grand scheme of things.

And if you overlevel and get some movement going you can pretty much do all of them in like 30 minutes depending on lay-out and never bother with them again.
I don't understand the fuss about something that requires so little time investment for the power it gives.

Peace,

-Boem-

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Boem wrote:

I don't understand the fuss about something that requires so little time investment for the power it gives.

Because we hate the platform twich trap crap... HATE IT!
If that would have been 5% of the play time I wouldn't play this game at all.

Thats why :)