Developer Questions and Answers

With the game growing in complexity, both in the form of character-customization and gameplay, does GGG have a plan to address agency in the game?

Each league the game grows in both content and complexity — have there been any internal discussions on how to make the full experience more accessible to all players? What are your thoughts on the progression in the game currently with regards to different segments of players?

Could systems such as positive modifiers on private leagues/SSF be employed to make the game more appealing to gamers with limited time or who are looking for a more relaxed experience?

Hi GGG!

Firstly, thank you for all your hard work and efforts to push this genre further than it's ever been. Your contributions to the ARPG community at large is monumental.

Question: I know that this has been touched upon in the past and I know you don't want to spoil your plans for 4.0 too much but could you elaborate on your plans to "smooth out" the leveling process? I know myself, for one, is loath to see more content added to the story line as I already think it's too long. Acts 6-10 seem much too long and Acts 6-8 heavily skewed as to the quest load. Acts 9 and 10 seem much too quick while 6-8 feel much too long (particularly Act 6)

In conjunction with this, masters feel better than they did before but honestly, unveiling items is legitimately awful. It's so bad that I'm actually contemplating standard for the first time ever. Are there going to be continuous improvements to Betrayal mechanics?

Thanks!

My Idea for a new Gem

The "Mighty Connection" ...

This Gem will allow you to connect a group of maximal 3 gems to an other group of maximal 3 gems on a sepperate item who linked to a mighty connection too.

So, for example, you can connect your gloves with your boots or helmet to get a six gem combo.
This maybe interessting when you dont have a regular six-socket-item because your wear a kaom's heart and 2 weapons or a weapen and shield set.


Level / max.supported lvl. / max. supported quali.
1 / 1 / 1
2 / 2 / 2
3 / 3 / 3
4 / 4 / 4
5 / 5 / 5
... / ... / ...

This gem can connect only socket gem an do ignor all mod-skills on the Items.
(So it's impossible to create a 8 or 10 gem combo by using elder- or shaper-mods on item.)

-----

I think it's a nice idea and will be a big opportunity for new interessting builds.
Please tell me what you think about.

Regards, Smoke

1. when will u fix 100000 bugs of this league?
2. why every betrayal fix made 2 new bugs with them?
3. why dont you add some possible to accept at map trade?
4. why all new skills added in this league are op? (fe onehit guardians?) how about some testers? did u pay them 1$/week or havent any?
5. when will You "fix" bots problem?
6. how about balance where 90% of players on league wont play with 1 skill (worb ftw)?

What IDE's You use in studio when u write new stuff for game? Regular VS or something different? What programming language is used in developing PoE? C#, C++ or maybe something different?

Is there any language that you're planning to add soon? When could this happen? I'm mostly interested what's your opinion about Polish language (because I'm from Poland)? Will it be added to the game?
What will happen to Cavas and Synthesis League?
When I defeated Uber Elder I was a little bit disappointed that Cavas didn't appear. Would add more Cavas' activities to the gameplay?
Big part of my friends which is playing PoE says that it lacks optimization. What's your opinnion about it? Will you make the game more playable for lower quality computers? Will you give some advices to players that have problems running the game?

What bug/issue have been the most difficult/frustrating to solve?

I think almost all players would agree that mapping is the core of PoE. Since the addition of delve and especially the master rework, what was called side content before has been becominh more and more an alternative to mapping. In that you dont map and occasionally do the side content to fuel mapping but can actually do it the other way around.

The problem is twofold; with the addition of more leagues into the core, this alternative content is being diluted more and more and more importantly rewards from these content are not linear; with delve you farm sulphite then you delve and when you hit a biome or a juicy node you reap the rewards. With incursion, you build up the temple, with betrayel there is a heavy planning phase, with nexus the same. With mapping, even if you take 10mins per map, one can devote a 2 hour session on a weekend and get a statistically good estimate of the rewards in terms of currency and map drops, excluding big rewards like div cards or chase uniques. So when a player only plays an hour a day with maybe a bump on the weekends, it feels a lot like you get no returns for quite a time and then it all hits. In my anectodal experience and of friends i play with, this constant chase of big returns rather than slow and steady linear rewards of mapping took a lot of motivation for progressing the atlas away.

I'd like know what is your approach and philosophy on this going forward with 4.0 and further. Or if you think this is an issue at all. Are there plans to expand the alternatives to mapping even further regularly? Will there be a rework to mapping in terms of atlas progression rates?

Also i'd like to ask your opinion on gating of the mapping. I find that a significant portion of my playtime is spent doing content that is not challenging my character but i cant progress further either, due to the availability of the content. PoE was always this way but after the master rework, i feel like this approach on player retention is becoming a bit too apparent. Any opinions or plans on this?

Can you give us an additional inventory row?