A Response to Talkative Tri's "The Massive Path of Exile 2 Hate is Ridiculous"
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This is just cope and damage control from a fanboy. Let’s cut the nonsense and get to the core of the issue: the market responds the way it responds. If Grinding Gear Games (GGG) genuinely cares about the long-term success of Path of Exile 2, they need to listen to the feedback pouring in from players—not dismiss it as noise or complaints from an uninformed minority.
Talkative Tri’s video suggests that the criticism surrounding Path of Exile 2 is coming from a vocal but insignificant group of players, but that completely ignores the reality. Many of the people expressing frustration are die-hard fans who’ve invested years and hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars into the game. These are the people with multiple supporter packs to their names, the ones who’ve kept the lights on for GGG, and their feedback is rooted in a deep desire to see PoE2 succeed. This isn’t some bandwagon hate train; it’s a genuine outpouring from fans who are disappointed in what they’re experiencing. The "it’s good that it’s hard" crowd represents a tiny fraction of players. This subset—often composed of sweaty gamers who enjoy punishing mechanics—isn't even the core of PoE’s fanbase. Catering exclusively to this niche risks alienating the much larger audience that has sustained PoE1 for years. It’s not about wanting an easier game; it’s about wanting a better experience. Accessibility, clarity, and fairness don’t mean “dumbing things down”—they mean designing systems that respect players’ time and efforts while still being challenging and engaging. Early Access exists for a reason: to gather feedback and refine the game. Yet the dismissive stance taken in Tri’s video implies that GGG shouldn’t adapt or evolve based on this feedback. That’s dangerous thinking. Even if PoE2 is a new game with a fresh vision, it still has to appeal to a wide enough audience to thrive. Ignoring feedback from those who are unhappy—especially when it’s coming from the very audience that has supported GGG financially for years—only guarantees the loss of potential revenue and goodwill. Tri’s arguments sound eerily similar to the defenses you hear from game journalists when they’re running interference for corporations and attacking gamers. But that line of thinking dismisses the realities of the market. If GGG wants PoE2 to be successful, they need to take feedback seriously—not just from the hardcore or new players who enjoy sweaty games, but from the full spectrum of their audience. Otherwise, they risk turning this into a product that only appeals to a small subset of players while driving away a large portion of their core community. GGG, please don’t fall into the trap of listening only to those who unconditionally praise the game. If you care about Path of Exile 2’s success, listen to all your players, especially the ones who’ve supported you the longest. Ignoring them isn’t just a gamble—it’s a mistake. Last edited by egervari#7076 on Dec 10, 2024, 6:06:01 PM Last bumped on Dec 11, 2024, 3:36:09 PM
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I hope GGG doesn't listen to you or Tri yet. No one has quantative numbers on who exactly does and doesn't like the game and what the specific ratio is of those that find it too easy or hard. The Steam numbers are still really strong though, so it can't be that bad.
I hope GGG is just taking notes for the first month or three, because in an ARPG the experience on day 1 is going to be quite different to that after a few months when everyone has built a stockpile of resources and gear. In the meantime, people can share their opinions and it's all data to GGG. I personally think for the very first playthrough, monster HP is just a bit high in general, but I think by my third character it likely won't be the same hard experience. GGG have to play the long game, and make sure PoE2 stays distinct to PoE1. I trust GGG's judgement, the changes they've made in the last few days say they're not reacting to hyperbolic complaining and doing as little change as possible to bring QoL. |
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A significant portion of the feedback I've seen so far is people complaining that the game isn't as boring and easy as POE1. As a dedicated casual gamer who's never even played a Souls game, it's very good that it's hard. I sure hope you aren't using click to move and complaining that the game is too difficult.
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" Blah blah blah, if you're concerned about GGG's bottom line, get hired as one of their accountants. You don't care about that. You just don't like the game and your only argument is vague doomsaying about speculative finance. Instead of writing coping walls of text, put some effort into learning the game and you won't get stuck on bosses. |
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" the fact that you are on an internet forum giving your opinion about a video game is proof that you are not a "dedicated casual gamer" lol. and no, playing an hour a day is not casual. |
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I was in the original beta of PoE 1 and for the most part have not found the difficulty to hard. There is "some" wiggle room though where making it easier wouldn't ruin the fun, especially initially. The game (much like PoE 1) gets much easier the more you play it and the better eq you get. If you use PoE trade especially you can power yourself up super fast.
The trials though are not really fun for many and I can see them toned down and especially given choices on which one to do even initially. I would def rush that change and not worry about upsetting people who like difficulty. If they want it in that case,they can choose the more difficult trial. As far as bosses though, I really, REALLY suggest holding off on making them any easier till people have a chance to get used to the game. I don't think they need to be toned down myself, and I think doing so will take away from the point/fun of building a strong character. You can already destroy most of them with good equipment often before they can even hit you (and that is with all the classes). So take some from both sides, make the game fun, but PLEASE keep some challenge in it. I love PoE, even now over a decade after it came out there is still challenge there. D4 I struggled to play at all and never enjoyed. I woulda refunded it as I would literally fall asleep playing it. I never want PoE or especially PoE 2 to become like that. Please keep difficulty in the game. There are things you can fix, reduce etc that helps people struggling without taking any fun away from many other players. Thank you. |
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I'm prefacing this by stating that I watch most all of Talkative Tri's videos, and I like the majority of them.
With that said, the video you are referring to annoyed me as well. It sounded elitist. Having said that, I will state that he put a video out soon after stating he was wrong, he admitted he was wrong, and the items that the first patch addressed were the correct choices. He did state, however, his defense on the one change to dodge rolling, but he understands why they did it. Tri is good for the community with his positive vibe and high energy. I respect him more for the video admitting he was wrong. We can all take a valuable lesson from him and be patient and see what GGG is working on. Tri is passionate that the game doesn't fall to easy-mode people's complaints, and he takes it personally when he feels people are trying to get GGG to veer from the vision and direction it is taking. I'm with Tri on not allowing this game to go down the road of casual easy mode. That is one of my biggest frustrations with Diablo 4. Blizzard intended from day 1 to be casual from what I've read about massive numbers of people being ignored trying to get them not to go full-casual mode. Last edited by DragonBreaker#2632 on Dec 11, 2024, 3:42:32 PM
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