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

I wanted poe 2, I got a new genre. Now fix and rebalance poe 1.

"

LaraDorren#2828 wrote:

learning boss patterns, dodging telegraphs, thinking about how to build my character is fun.

Realising my character is built wrong and being completely unable to:
a) change skills (especially spirit skills)
b) respec

These are not fun.

I've been hesitant to pile on here as I haven't played the game although I have watched various streamers over the weekend. I do think though that my non-participation does have some value, so here are my thoughts and perspectives.

Why did I choose not to play?
Nothing I saw during the lead up to launch made me feel excited, or rather, seemed to align with what I find enjoyable in a game. In a nutshell, I watched various clips and observed a lot of slow and tedious game play, rolling or backing away and strafing enemies. Additionally, the palette felt very "realistic" which is code for dull and dark.

All the 'testing the market' over the last couple of years.
I was apprehensive of what this game would feel like considering that in the last few years there has seemed a concerted effort to jam non-ARPG mechanics into the game. Many of these leagues have been divisive with some players loving them, and some really hating them. Sanctum and Ancestor being two particularly polarising leagues.

There was the poorly implemented "let's make the campaign more difficult" which was rapidly abandoned and not completed, but never reversed and it was obvious it was a bad idea. Yet, the idea persisted. There was the balance at the top end of everything is juiced, while starving the base game for drops and crafting materials.

GG doubling down on disliked game elements because someone on the Dev team really likes them and they've already invested in the assets. Lab is the stand out here. Often derided by large portions of the player base but players are forced to interact with it. Good game design incentivises players to try new things that are optional, poor game design forces players to interact with game elements even when it's clear there are problems with it.

I've actually been aware for some time that PoE 2 was not going to be for me. It contains so many of the elements that I dislike in games that I don't see the point in even trying it when I know I'm not going to enjoy it. I already eschew builds that require multiple button presses (like anything melee with mandatory warcries) in PoE 1, so why would I force myself into that gameplay with PoE 2?

Obviously the game is in early access and feedback is important to tune the game to play well and no doubt there will be a lot of changes to come. There are however some obvious fundamental design choices that will be near impossible to alter, including the character movement with rolling and the awkward WASD mouse and keyboard combo among others.

Where's the fun?
I really hope PoE 2 gets some urgent updates to address some of the recurring player concerns for everyone's benefit. I also hope that the Devs keep all their hardcore ideas for PoE 2 and leave PoE 1 alone for people like me that enjoy a less tedious style of gameplay. I enjoy finding ways to make my character work and then testing them in the game. If I enjoyed rogue like games, I'd go play one. If I enjoyed precision platformers, there's plenty out there to enjoy, if I wanted a resource starvation survival game there's some good ones to play, and if I wanted the challenge of a bullet-hell game then I'd go find one of those too.

What I come to PoE for though is that D2 style Action game of being a bad-ass demi-God taking on the evil of the world. I don't get that feeling watching any of the PoE 2 gameplay to date though and I'm really just gaming for the fun element.

Lack of gear drops and tedium of crafting/buying the gear you need make this a real grind-fest. A part of me wants to press on for that "one more loot," but having gone through 2 acts with "really bad loot" my heart is telling me what I already know.

This game is not fun for me in its current state. It does not respect my time.

"

MakaveliPT#7753 wrote:

Or maybe you´re playing a class with a broken skill, or maybe you got really lucky with your loot wich made the game acceptable for you

Lucky loot?...I've finished Act 2 with half the slot blue gear and rares where half of the stats are useles for my char.

LVL30 and no unique so far.

But the difference is instead of flooding the forums with tears that the game is "to hard" after failing a boss once I've searched for solutions to beat it.

Either going back 1 area to farm gear, to farm gold for respecc, farm 1-2 levels, try new skill combinations, etc....

Seems you've never played ARPGs before but thats the purpose of this game genre...grinding gear to beat the next challange.

Stop crying and start farming than you'll see that the game is way easier than all the whiners here try to tell us.

And skill vise some are always better during leveling and others start to shine with certain gear....If you're not willing to experiment and find a decent skill for early progress it's not the games fault. ;)

Tbh i'm bored and back and forth annoyed at this game.
is it just me ?
is it the pacing ? i cant really put my finger on it but something feels off when i play.

i have np dying on bosses or grinding when my def/dps laggs behind but i dont get that rush when i go back with new shiny gear that i grinded up to be able to kill a boss that usually comes in other arpgs/rpg etc

Also both ascension trials are pure cancer i hated both mech´s in PoE1 :(

What it boils down to is that i'm simply not having fun in PoE2 and thats sad.

GGG unfortunately i cannot continue support u guys.

They should rename the game to Path of Hallway.
Every single zone is basically a hallway anyway.

Woods hallway.
Desert hallway.
Tomb hallway.
Cave hallway.
...

Every few meters there's 10 mobs bodyblocking the way through.

And at the end there's an arena with a boss where you run in circles for 5 minutes.

So incredibly dull.

"

nyderic#3817 wrote:

They should rename the game to Path of Hallway.
Every single zone is basically a hallway anyway.

Woods hallway.
Desert hallway.
Tomb hallway.
Cave hallway.
...

Every few meters there's 10 mobs bodyblocking the way through.

And at the end there's an arena with a boss where you run in circles for 5 minutes.

So incredibly dull.

+1

I finished Act 1 with my wife. To be honest, we didn't need to craft until the final boss of Act 1; it cost us all our currency and died for 2 hours, from 0 am to 2 am.

I used to play Dark Souls and quit after losing to the first boss about five times. I never played it again.  Indeed, the mechanics of Dark Souls are quite similar, particularly the dodge system. However, it's not overly challenging; over time, I adapted to it.

My wife complained a bit about the slow attack speed and slow movement (my wife only played D4 before), but she gradually got used to it.

We both agreed that the boss fights were challenging, indicating a significant investment in these battles; in contrast to D4 or POE1, the bosses were relatively easy, with the only differences being in their skins and drops. I am genuinely disinterested in the boss fights in POE1 or D4; they are merely for display. I'm uncertain about the endgame's quality, but at the moment, it's significantly superior to D4. All I need to do is download the game, set the maximum settings, and start playing (for D4, I need to optimize the driver and all slow settings, as it continues to disconnect and lag).

I'm glad that POE2 isn't like POE1 or D4; right now, it doesn't throw items at me like a pile of trash. Slow gameplay isn't a problem if you balance the drops. Right now, I am in a good mood; I do not require to grind in order to acquire sufficient equipment to confront the bosses of Act 1.

"

fkNb0ss#6868 wrote:

I'm totally fine with going in a different direction for POE2, but this level of difficulty is going to appeal to a much smaller audience, which is a weird business decision.

I have to imagine that GGG is looking at their metrics showing how well the whole population of players is progressing through the acts. I'm guessing you'll see player retention fall off too quickly, and too soon. The DAU numbers are still good right now, because the game is new and still bringing in new downloads.

POE1 = long term cash cow
POE2 in current state = short term cash cow

I think the numbers will be good for a bit - but I don't think many people are going to stick around long term. I want to beat the campaign at least just to see it all, but there's no way I'm taking several alts through this slogfest.