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

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MrSanten#5541 wrote:

+1 op. The game is just dodge or die

there is some waiting in there too cmon

I died three times to the A1 final boss but didnt find him unfair at all but I am also someone who has played the dark souls series so dodge rolling just comes second nature.

If you're struggling after 5 deaths back to town and buy a frost charm and any gear that has cold resist. This will make the fight much easier.

+1 as well. This feels like it wants to be a Souls game. Hopeful this will get balanced in the future. I'll stick with this season of POE for now.

I agree so far, act1 was boring and soooo slow, minimal crafting, dogshit drops, wolf boss worst boss i ever did in any game.

absolutely hate the dodge roll, the gem system and the fact they want you to use 15 damage skills

i dont mind it being hard, but this is just bad... poe 1 login tomorrow i guess <3

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GenialGed#4768 wrote:

I agree so far, act1 was boring and soooo slow, minimal crafting, dogshit drops, wolf boss worst boss i ever did in any game.

absolutely hate the dodge roll, the gem system and the fact they want you to use 15 damage skills

i dont mind it being hard, but this is just bad... poe 1 login tomorrow i guess <3

im act 2 im using one skill. get better gear

+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!

nah, typical case of skill issue

I can't speak for much other thank monk in act 1, but it's a mess. Your skills are terrible for aoe unless you do setup, but a lot of the time mobs just push you around, surround you or have you constantly backtracking before you can do any setup, and in bossfights, you deal no damage unless you have level 5 gems, and then you either erase them instantly, or still have no chance cus they send tough adds at you that you don't have the aoe to deal with unless you magically kill a single one fast. This combined with having to do bosss on a single life flask and having to dodge mechanics with the mobility of act 1 and no quicksilver makes most of the game a freaking chore. And btw, I have no idea how you beat the final boss of a1 on a quarterstaff, the skills are just not usable in its add phase unless you have a busted weapon, and your life flask will not last you long enough if you can't do that phase well.

Yeah this is so boring. Balancing around dodge roll really sucks, and it is never going to unsuck because players are so slow in the beginning. Making a dark souls-ARPG does not work when action speed scales up by a factor of 10 through the game.

I think anyone who played POE expect this kind of result. Some will find it hard and the other half find it easy. If you know very well how to supplement your build with what's available to you then you'll have an easier time. I personally find it really fun and as much as I want to say, I want POE 2 to stay this way, I know that I'm not the only one playing it.