Reddit can cry over AN & loot, but the game heavily lacks in other parts

To address the current most popular criticism of the game (Archnemesis monster & loot): The game's overall state as an mostly-SSF average Alch&Go enjoyer is pretty good in my opinion. Archnemesis monsters are fun to fight, their loot can be interesting (finding fractured items is amazing), but certainly should be more consistent with the length some of those fights take (tanky monster, that takes as long as the rest of the map = no loot = feels bad (no shit)). I don't feel an overall reduction loot. I don't see Archnemesis or the loot rework as issues but rather improvements to the core game (although should still be further refined) as someone who doesn't engage in optimisied endgame farming strategies.

The main gripes I have with the game are still the ripples of 3.15 nerfs. Where are slammers? Where is melee? Where is CoC? etc etc. Too many build choices which are irrelevant in a game whose skill tree is arguably the most iconic thing about it. The 6-link too. Isn't it the main thing they print on t-shirts?
Anyways where are the good old times of slaying T16 maps on a 6-link and not much else with basically any build. The new power curve is frustrating. Off-meta builds need double digit exalts worth of investment to simply do T16 maps or fight basic endgame bosses. After that it of course gets even worse. Have fun fighting Uber Elder or Maven on less than mirror investment with off-meta stuff.

Which leads me into still my other main frustration with the current Atlas. Fighting Uber Elder is required to have all maps be T14+ (which for obvious reasons you want for even casual endgame farming). Just in case it's not obvious - many things like Elder Maps, Exarch Altars etc can only drop/spawn there. The less obvious but equally important reason for me personally - variety. More than a hundred maps on the Atlas and you end map running like 15 considering you mostly drop the same connected maps over and over and some layouts you just won't like. (Connected drops buffed by the Atlas tree small passives exacerbates this problem imo)
Anyways Uber Elder is a fight wayyyyyy more difficult than A8 Sirus (which was the requirement for all T14+ maps in the old Atlas) especially on the over and over and over nerfed characters. For me at least it's being stuck with two voidstones running those like 15 maps over and over and getting bored.

Being stuck with a shitty character doesn't help my motivation to play. Further upgrades seem out of reach and even then you would still end up with a character that can only do one thing - either mapping or bossing.

The thing that was so amazing about 3.13 Ritual/3.14 Ultimatum (yes I don't care about the harvest nerfs) balance is that you can actually make any character amazing with enough investment and even beginners could feel like they were accomplishing something with just a 6L and some unique maybe. You actually felt accomplished on completing a character. Nowadays it just feels like a useless grind to barely make the character playable for some content. I sink a lot of time into this game, just not super efficiently and feel like a total afterthought. Experimenting with fun builds and mechanics (imo the heart of the game) just isn't fun anymore. This kills it for me.

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ekOhgsdDUQ wrote:

I don't see Archnemesis or the loot rework as issues but rather improvements to the core game (although should still be further refined) as someone who doesn't engage in optimisied endgame farming strategies.

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Experimenting with fun builds and mechanics (imo the heart of the game) just isn't fun anymore. This kills it for me.

This is probably why people, in general, don't play SSF. You may find the experience of picking up garbage and making it work to be enjoyable, and good for you that you can, but it immensely stifles your ability to experiment and see what does and doesn't work. Need a certain specific item to make the build work? Good luck finding it. Not putting out enough DPS? Good luck finding gear to improve damage. On-death 1shots keeping you down? Good luck finding better defenses.

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The main gripes I have with the game are still the ripples of 3.15 nerfs. Where are slammers? Where is melee? Where is CoC? etc etc. Too many build choices which are irrelevant in a game whose skill tree is arguably the most iconic thing about it. The 6-link too. Isn't it the main thing they print on t-shirts?

Everyone and their dog got nerfed in 3.19 for the most part. In 3.18, GGG shoehorning in Archnemesis nerfed everything including the weak builds by putting up a greater gear check far worse than the two times they buffed mob HP and damage across the board. Do you really think GGG cares about expanding build diversity right now? They're knocking everything down right now, but doing absolutely nothing about the sheer difficulty of the game and the fucking timers in league encounters.

actually those older problems are being discussed a lot more now on reddit. since the sentiment towards GGG flipped, criticism is no longer downvoted and buried including criticism about past leagues.

Hello sir, well writen!

I personaly disagree just but heavy with the archnemesis monters. Fortunately the solution to make both your and my experience better is to shape them optional in the maps with atlas passives.

Also the new memorizing maps looks fun (in videos)
I hope i can experience this in the next season with atlas shaping too, cause archnemesis (and the points you make) make me quitt this league.

So the good stuff implemented this season will stay unseen by many frustrated leaving players,

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I honestly feel the heavy nerfing of the Defense, like Determination, was unwarranted. That alone would have been bad enough, but the combination of the defense layers nerfed, mana cost increases, mana reservation nerfs, flask automation nerf, have once again gutted so many builds. Most builds simply can not do AN mobs, as things are now, and they have not mentioned anything about toning down AN damage.

So yeah, that is my main gripe, aside from the obvious that everyone is complaining about. The unnecessary nerf of defense layers.