The game is a mess!

Complicated, cluttered and clunky are the three words that first comes to mind when I think about POE:


-The crafting system feels impossible to get into. So many various recipes and components you have to learn and know, and there is no built in "beginners guide" or tutorial either that could allow newer players to ease their way into it.

Instead you have to rely on external resources and it almost feels like you are back in school where you have to study some boring and complicated topics that you aren't really that interested in but you still have to do it. Guess what, its not fun.


-The Atlas is, just like crafting, unnecessary complicated, and just like crafting, there is no real in-game guide that points you in the right direction, perhaps like highlighting the next map you should do etc. Then we have all the consumable currency items that you can use on maps and watch stones with various effects that is not clearly explained in the game either. Why?


-Useless items that drop everywhere and clogs up the screen, even with item filters. The fact alone that you HAVE TO use external item filters to be able to play the game without the clutter literally filling up the whole screen is insane. What is the point of this clutter? In what way does all this clutter help? What would be the downside of improving the quality and reducing the quantity of drops be? I would be perfectly happy with just one good rare dropping in a map instead of 1000 shitty ones wherein one might be good. Sifting through useless items is not fun gameplay.


-Unfair vs Challenging, its not the same thing. Dodging well telegraphed mechanics, being well prepared with good defenses and resistances, feeling that you are in an actual FIGHT where you have to rely on skill to succeed, is challenging.

Suddenly getting oneshotted from a projectile that you could not see, fired from a monster 2 screens away, is unfair.

Guess which one makes for fun and rewarding gameplay?


-Outdated UI and netcode has plagued PoE for years. How about an expansion that adds no content, but instead updates the UI to modern standards and makes lockstep something that actually works for everyone, not just the lucky few? I bet it would be the most well received expansion in the history of PoE.


-Trading is abysmal in every way possible, but for a relatively new player that does not want to study for hours to learn how to do basic crafting, or does not want to run hundreds of maps and sift through thousands of useless rares, its the only straightforward way to get gear upgrades.

But now you have to figure out how to use the search function on the website, like what the difference between "total resistance", "total elemental resistance", "%total elemental resistance" and "%total resistances" is, how to define how many small passives you want on a cluster jewel, prefixes, suffixes, implicits, fractures etc etc. Its all great fun.

But dont forget, even though you've spent 10 minutes just finding the item you were looking for does not mean that the person selling the item will answer to your whisper.



Honestly I've had more fun writing this than playing the game. I think I will start playing Path of Forums instead.

Yes it is right now.

I like PoE's complexity. If you dumb an AARPG down too much you're left with Diablo 3, where you're just stacking a few stats.

All of the wonderful build options, cool gear and tree interactions, these are only possible with a really deep pool to draw from. That does come at the cost of making it harder to get started.

But, for those that invest the energy, the rewards are very great:

- If you learn how to scale damage and build characters, you can forge your own builds and buy gear at off-meta prices.

- If you learn the market, you can take advantage of predictable economic trends and fluctuations to make massive sums of currency.

- If you spend the time figuring out how to optimize your currency rolls, you can essentially print money through crafting.

In many ways, PoE is the ultimate meritocracy. You get out what you put into it. And the more organized, the more time and the more effort you invest, the more you reap.

__________________________________________________

That said, I am all for more detailed primers and instructions.

Some folks have suggested a limited version of Guff's bench being made available at certain points during the main campaign as a quest reward. Combine that with a bit of exposition, and you could introduce crafting to new players. Bring it back a few times for various things, so they can understand you do it to maps and watch stones - not just equipment.

"

Sabranic_SilverDeth wrote:

I like PoE's complexity. If you dumb an AARPG down too much you're left with Diablo 3, where you're just stacking a few stats.

There is complexity to facilitate player choice and freedom, and then there is having 11 different definitions for "Nearby" for different skills and items.

I don't want to make anyone feel bad, I understand there was a lot of time pressure and I don't expect developers to be flawless. But even the poor person in charge of the 3.15 patchnotes had to reference the Wiki and got things wrong.

We all like the core philosophy of PoE, it's why we're here. I don't really think that needs defending.

D3 may be a lazily developed game with next to zero depth or build freedom, ridiculous mega numbers (My damage went from B to T!), boss health in the hundreds of quadrillions, and all kinds of lazy repeating infinite scaling content. But during the weekend of enjoyment you can get out of it in a new season.

-You know exactly what killed you and why. And you have a clear path to making your character more resilient or avoiding those situations in the future.

-Rare monsters last for more than 0.9 seconds. And they can provide a fair and consistent level of challenge.

-You always have ways to increase your odds of finding the specific upgrades you're looking for that don't rely on other players.

-Your progression and upgrade hunting in the endgame is never completely stalled by other players ignoring whispers.

PoE is undoubtedly the better game, but that doesn't mean it's anywhere near perfect. I think its important to hammer on the areas that need work, GGG seems to agree with most of the points if the recent interviews with Chris are anything to go by.

Yep.
Forums are more fun, than playin game for sure ATM, thanks to GGG. Also..

I just spent some time checking fresh Steam reviews. Its full of diamonds!
Had a lot of fun, see a lil part

"

Crafting: Every time a player finds a way to craft something in even a semi-deterministic way, Chris Wilson takes to their forums and screams "NO!", removing it from the game the following league. You have to gamble and cross your fingers for a decent-good result, to "craft." Closing your eyes to slam an Exalted Orb is equivalent to playing Russian Roulette with a minigun, with only one bullet missing from the ammo belt.

)))) and its kinda full of such a stuff there now, really enjoyed time spent reading.

You have pointed the minority issues.

I do believe that the biggest mess is called "nerfing now and then".

Just wait until they nerf skills and builds even further.

/lulz

"

Rippster wrote:

Just wait until they nerf skills and builds even further.

/lulz

No need to wait - the future is now fellow. ;)
50% of the population left already.