Just saw the trailer for PoE2 on my ps5

Looking forward to playing it. Maybe even with friends who found my obsession with PoE 1 a little...weird.

But probably not. I suspect it'll still demand too much mental bandwidth for my non-ARPG friends.

I just hope this time it won't be too much for me. :)

Kinda ironic there -- I financially supported a game I never really "got" and may yet play its more polished, user-friendly sequel without putting in a cent.

Ironic or just super delayed investment payoff? Hm.

Either way, as a former whale, I am utterly thrilled at PoE 2 being a new game flexing all the muscles GGG have built in the past decade and a half. So much more exciting than the notion that said support went into a game that kinda went from a unicorn to a hydra and finally an ouroboros...

It's time for the phoenix, GGG. Even if that means self-immolation.

hoho well put.

you still have buyer's remorse after all these years?

The only buyers remorse i have with poe is the grandmaster pack because they reneged on it when they didn't snapshot our submissions.

That aside i dont regret a cent. Why would I? I experienced things you never will. Learned things you never will. Did I buy that? Half. The support opened the door but who was on the other side didn't hate me (I think!). Wouldnt take back any of it.

I mean I burned most of it but that was my choice as a means of saying farewell to a certain era of my life.

Name *any* pack I bought and I can tell you why I dont regret.

Except GM.

Honestly I am not that thrilled but for different reasons. While I'm very much looking forward to PoE"2" and am happy for my fellow console brothers, I draw the line at cross play. Console is now no longer an afterthought meaning the game was actively designed for consoles - in what ways the pc version "suffers" remains to be seen.

Perhaps ProjectPT was right all along. However, I'm willing to give GGG the benefit of doubt until we can actually play and then, once I had the chance, I'll be able to form an actual opinion on this. Fingers crossed.

Looks really good, I am glad for my console mates.

Crossplay in pve seems kind of a win for all to me. Especially if you can turn it off if things get too hectic in the open. I doubt PoE2 will have an open world component beyond hubs.

So I don't see why itd be an issue. Please enlighten me. (Totally not facetious.)

As for the design, weeeell....I am a controller convert. I much prefer to "control" my character than direct it. Some genres demand m+k (yet to see a good rts on controller) but most can be made very well with controller. I look at it this way: the very first dedicated games machines used some form of controller, whereas early pc games kind of winged it with keyboard directions and later mouse. Thinking stuff like commander keen, gauntlet, paratrooper. Sure, the adventure games like Sierra's line, zork, and later the LucasArts titles all demanded keyboard and then mouse but they were made to take advantage of that.

The first arpgs were without doubt console based -- Zelda and Ys. Well sorta: the famicom and the pc-88 were console enough but still referred to as "computers". So the genre started as a "driving" experience rather than directing.

A point and click gauntlet was insanely innovative. I hardly have to recount the marvel that was Diablo 1...

But here's a dirty secret: the ps1 port of d1 was actually pretty good. Shitty load times but the feeling of driving your character made it feel much more immediate than a point and click.

Then we had some weird hybrids like Darkstone and Dark Alliance. Both had elements of driving. Still, for a while it was m+k all the way: Nox, torchlight, titan quest, dungeon siege, sacred, etc.

THEN we had some real stinkers like Dungeon Siege 3. Omg what was that.

Diablo 3 had a lot of issues but I don't think its controller-centric design was one of them. Strip a skill or two. Oh well. The basic feel was still pure ARPG, although it definitely skewed closer to a brawler than any other arpg to date.

The console version of titan quest is terrible but the mobile versio with a controller is extremely fun. Mainly because the former was outsourced while the latter was done by dotemu, who I believe later became part of THQ Nordic.

Now I find the ps port of PoE1 unplayable. They tried and just couldn't do it. And fair enough -- not every port of a complex pc game can be as smooth as, say, Elite Dangerous or Stellaris.

But diablo 2 resurrected on console? Fucking chefs kiss.

Diablo IV? Shit I wouldnt play it on PC. Ever. But on console? Amazing low-effort timekiller and braincleanser.

PoE 2 shouldn't be that, though. That doesn't mean they can't take all the best parts of PoE 1 and make them work with a controller. As long as it's made from the ground up with controller in mind. NOW if that results in a "dumbed down" PoE, well hate to say it but there is every chance a dumbed down PoE is still too much for many gamers. So to me the issue won't be GGG dumbing it down too much but indeed not enough. They need to really dig deep and figure out how to distill the magic of PoE into a form that doesn't require a keyboard. Doesn't demand usage of two or three web based tools. All that.

And if they can't then PoE 1 will always be a one hit wonder.

I feel GGG are more than capable of making their Diablo 2. Don't they deserve the chance to show us?

I am a man of my word. I said if they ever made a true sequel and not the Fauxverwatch style 1.5, I would play it. No matter what. I know for a fact that some of the ideas planned for that 1.5 were on Chris' sequel wishlist, and I knew they deserved a game of their own. That 1.5 would have been a logistical nightmare and I think any PoE vet who thought it was viable wasn't really paying attention to just how messy PoE 1 is. Which I find odd because no vet would call the game elegant or streamlined or even well built for new ideas that shift the paradigm too hard.

PoE 2 had to be a new game. And I think it's looking pretty good. Also it'll be free at some point so shit, what do we players have to lose here?

Oh, PoE 1 I guess. But at this point it's so worn and stressed I think the naysayers are just afraid. And frankly being quite selfish.

Who are they to deny GGG a chance to prove PoE 1 wasn't a fluke?

Ridiculous. Like saying you don't want a new chair from your favourite craftsman for free because you like your current one even though it is fucking falling apart and said craftsman was a bloody apprentice then.

No one gets it right the first time. They just sometimes only get it as close to right as they can once.

And no one with even a shred of pride in their skill wants to be a one hit wonder.

One hit is a fluke. Two is proof of mastery.

I might not put a cent into it but my hope for PoE 2 as a solution to PoE1's many problems is probably as high as what I felt for PoE 1 as a solution to the deeply problematic D3.

This may well be a kiss of death given my track record of backing bad game horses but GG(G) should be able to survive even my largely unfounded faith.

Just seeing the couch co-op news.

Thats good. Not surprised, because, well, D4 on the PS5 is nothing short of absolutely phenomenal. It's stands to reason Tencent wants some bandwidth extended in their now 100% intellectual property. And they are smart to think so.

That said I hope it ends up translating and playing well, because PoE1 on Playstation is slightly above an abomination. FFS there isn't even a PS5 upgraded version! How?! That is unacceptable. Seriously, flat out unacceptable. Go to Daddy Tencent and get the resource funding to get it out of the PS4 version hell its in. It's not even GGG's money anymore. Simply tell them you don't want to spoil the PS market and show some goodwill ahead of the PoE2 console release.

Ugh, just fucking get it done already. There are no excuses anymore. I don't know what's worse, the lying to PC players during console development that they were not funding it because it was a different "team" (which lmfao), or to then essentially Exile it in a performance ridden nightmare ever since.

I just hope its a different-enough game.

I get that a lot of work is being done behind the scenes, but if it plays/feels PoE1 but slower with semi-ruthless style loot and a few visual upgrades... it's just going to feel like a weak character playing in a nerfed PoE1.

We can find examples where a sequel done right overshadowed the original like Supreme Commander (and Forged Alliance expansion) following Total Annihilation. In this case both were masterpiece in their own right. And then we had Supreme Commander 2, less said the better.

Warcraft I, II and III (Getting better every time).

Starcraft (Brood War) and Starcraft 2.

Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2.

Diablo I and Diablo II. And then D3 and D4 (rofl!)

We'll have to see whether PoE2 is a Supreme Commander 2 to Supcom:FA or Supcom:FA to Total Annihilation.

Nobody will compare PoE2 to anything other than PoE1.