Absolutely disapointed -- This game is hard, and not in a fun way.

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Hexcaliber#6318 wrote:

I would suggest before anyone says the game is easy, and admonishing others, they should try some of the other classes, particularly melee builds. It's the same old problem, melee sucks, the survivability face tanking, V player dmg output is way off with many skills.

Of course the game is going to be easier if you stay out of range throwing magic lightning, fireballs, arrows et al, that’s just common sense. That’s why most of the try hards only play ranged classes; POE was always easier with ranged/magic and this is no different.

I really hoped POE 2 could move away from the FOTM meta treadmill of poe where everyone and their mother is playing a handful of the available builds, while everything else sits unused. I know its a huge task, and it's clear POE 2 is miles from being able to offer that.

It's early days, and the devs will rely on data collection rather than listening to the vocal minority in the forums to tweak their game. But here we are 12 years on, a new game, and melee focused builds are off to a poor start, once again.

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Djuval#0179 wrote:

+1 OP.

The game in its current state is just too hard - slugfest 2024 for early access. I feel like GGG used a one-size-fits-all approach, with professional streamers as play testers. Might want to consider different difficulty levels, with the more difficult mechanics (and better rewards) reserved for the harder settings or something similar.

Previous comments were also accurate about the minions so far - apparently Chris Wilson still hates minion builds. It felt like they were made of paper mache, they didn't tank or even attempt to hold agro. Definitely needs some work here.

The only way I could hold off waves of agro (which go straight for me, ignoring my minions) was to use a narrow hall, which still didn't work b/c eventually as the game progressed (thru Act 1), it got harder and harder to keep them alive. I pumped minion damage and stats, used AOE, DOTs, etc to assist, just felt overly very hard as the first act progressed. I really had to be on my toes to kill the bosses, with a few deaths here and there. With the wolf at the end of Act 1, I completely hit the wall, got him down to roughly 75% while lasting for about 5-6 mins.

As far as dodge rolling constantly, it's just not as enjoyable being dry-humped up and down the field in a small enclosed space. Mostly my strategy consisted of me running in circles using dots on the boss while praying my minions would kill it, didn't really feel large or in charge. It's really not that much fun. Add in one-shots and it gets even worse. My friends in discord conveyed similar thoughts about this, too.

Here's what I'd rate it so far. I understand it's early access, but here goes:

-Graphics: 9.5/10 - Very nice rendering, beautiful scenery, was impressed.
-Sound: 9/10 - Good music, enjoyable, felt like the appropriate mood on each map.
-Story: 9/10 - GGG has always done a good job regarding their story, especially with their voice actors, top notch (especially Heist).
Gameplay: 3.5/10 - With the dodge rolling being necessary for bosses and staying alive as a major factor. I enjoyed the fact that you had to use space efficiently, like avoiding running into teammates, etc (reminded me of the Maggot Lair in D2). And I did like some of the improvements I noticed (Rez downed teammates, skill variety setup, etc), these were good ideas.

I'm hoping that early access is more akin to beta, meaning they're still somewhat testing/adjusting and it's not completely set in stone. I only tried the witch today, and intend to check out some of the other classes tomorrow. Anywho, it's a good first attempt (and tall order) at creating a successor to POE itself, but I appreciate the efforts thus far. Thank you!