Take on "Ben's" feedback

I am sorry, but is Ben bought by Blizzard? What are these L takes? It's like someone without understanding PoE (GGG) is talking about it. And yes, I said that about Ben.

The feedback in question is here: https://youtu.be/nA1MzS2l_rw?si=wXjlPwsfA9_wP6fO

He says the only good thing is the campaign, but then lists points that are present in the campaign but are system changes - not the campaign itself.
The changed vendors where we pay gold instead of other currencies? Has nothing to do with the campaign itself.
The new "Uncut Skill" system? Same.
An easier time to get into the game? Again.
These are all system-related changes you could easily transfer to PoE1 and that would impact how ppl play through the campaign and learn the game if they are new, but would not change the quality (design) of the campaign itself.

The campaign is so good because the structure is better. The area design is rich and differs from zone to zone while keeping the theme of the Act in mind. Most zones have a unique boss to defeat and sometimes smaller tasks to complete for additional rewards that matter. The story is integrated in a way that you get a basic understanding even without reading all the dialogue/texts. The layouts are procedural, but not as annoying as PoE1 - IF you know them.

That he often has to search for the "last rare - hiding in a corner of a map" is weird. With decent pathing, you rarely miss a rare "hiding" somewhere. And the few maps with a shitty layout should be known to him and how he should explore them to avoid backtracking. Hell, that he says the worst layout in PoE is S+ compared to PoE2 is crazy. I could list more maps from PoE1 with trash layouts than PoE2 has maps in total, is he only running "Strand/Atoll"!?
What are the bad layouts in PoE2? Mire? Vaal Factory? Sure.
Augury? Nah, the levers are the problem there.
Now compare that to every "Channel" or "Prison" related layout (map) in PoE1 and run them without "Dash" skills... yeah.

The same with map bosses. Yes, not every map has a boss, but going for an hour without finding one sometimes is... what!? I probably don't have a single place on my entire atlas, and it's massive, where I could progress and not encounter a boss every few maps. And an hour without one? Yeah, no. If you really don't find one - tablets exist.

Obviously the loot from "Rare Monsters" is better compared to "Magic" and "Normal" ones, but they drop loot. Especially mid-tier currency and waystones drop from them and bases you could use for crafting.
That "Breach" is more rewarding atm is a balance issue, but it's not like you won't get loot without "Breach". It's because the number of rares you get from it is through the roof. Lower rares in "Breaches" or higher them in the other mechanics and they balance out.

That he thinks a "Beta" means the game constantly changes is weird. It's not in "Alpha" status. The fundament is established, the core mechanics are laid out and we now test these things - give feedback and GGG changes stuff or not. Hell, Over half of the game is missing. We still get 3 Acts, 6 classes, 24 Ascendancies, half the weapon types, uniques and so on.
What? We haven't had many changes in the last two months? The 0.1.1 patch notes would disagree with him and holidays ma dood.
The big balance changes don't happen because we are too deep into this "league" (economy) and they don't want to screw over all the ppl who are still playing - like they did with the rapid "Cast On x" changes.

The combat is meaningless because "all the builds are one-button builds and explode the entire screen"? Well, then don't play a one-button build that explodes the entire screen. I played them all, multi-screen-wide explosion builds and the ethical-Quin-builds (but with damage). They exist. Him not playing these builds doesn't mean they don't exist or are bad.
I can clear the entire content with these builds while still having to engage in the boss mechanics.

At least I think he is on the "pushing - no phasing" point right, that's really frustrating for melee characters. Next.

Why he has a problem with waystones wasn't clear to me. Sustaining T15/16 is easy, and preparing them is not complicated - just filter all "burning ground" maps out (if you don't like it) and go. There are rarely mods that are so strong that you cannot run the map anymore. In PoE1 you could "brick" your maps with "reflect/no regen/no leech" etc. and in PoE2... what's the worst!? Burning Ground, increase Stun/Freeze? Mkay. Get a charm and avoid burn.

I am sorry, but this video is L after L for me... some dude got a "+7 super duper weapon" so his "Hammer of the Gods" cost more mana than the character had!? Wow... really!? Could that be because the power increase from SEVEN additional levels over the max soft cap provides insane damage, so the cost has to make relative sense?
New hidden tech - get more mana.
If he clears maps with HotG for some reason and can't sustain it - use another weapon without the +X for clearing, the moment you encounter a boss and hit him with the +7 HotG - the boss is dead anyway. Power in PoE2 is not free... getting a huge amount of levels on top comes with a cost, that simple.

Well, at least one win at the end. The "linking system" is actually not optimal. Sure, we can trade a 6-link away, but we are really limited in changing what we use as a 6-link. Personally, I would prefer the linking of a slot instead of the skill, but GGG could increase the "Perfect Jeweller's" drop rate and adjust this way. That's a thing they will figure out in Early Access.

It's weird to say it, but most things he said are like "Redditor" stuff you get from ppl without a clue about mechanics and understanding of systems, who are hard-stuck in yellow maps and only can play for a few hours a week because of the 12 wives and 69 kids.

I also don't understand searching for the last rare. If you use the right strategy for each map (some are slightly different), you will explore it 100% on your first go. Skill issue.

I agree with him there should be more map bosses though.

About mana, sounds like he's just stuck in his ways of poe1 where mana = useless on 99% of builds. [Removed by Support]

Watched the video. Great summary and I can’t really argue with anything he said. Tedious is a good word to summarize.

everyone to their own, i started enjoying this game in slow builds after lvl 94 in hardcore (i like to grind, and rng drops). I play minions and i kill maps very slow, currently at lvl 97 with about 700 hours since release. I havent played any other builds (thats how slow this one is). but i enjoy that very much, that is how it should be in my opinion, slow, methodical and MAYBE you can reach max level in 1 season.
I dont do trade and mechanics almost as i just enjoy grinding. :). more to come indeed! i wish for more lore.
Content for me is Lore and Grinding (rng drops). I dont need to micromanage 50 other things.

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b_ko#7756 wrote:

I also don't understand searching for the last rare. If you use the right strategy for each map (some are slightly different), you will explore it 100% on your first go. Skill issue.

I agree with him there should be more map bosses though.

About mana, sounds like he's just stuck in his ways of poe1 where mana = useless on 99% of builds. [Removed by Support]

Exactly, some maps need specific pathing, but I rarely have to backtrack or search for some hidden rare. And with rarely I mean... puh... every 25th map or even less.

Idk, I have map bosses on many of my maps and if I want more I use a tablet. When you keep in mind how rewarding these bosses are, it makes sense not to throw them on every single map. The solution (on every map) would end up in worse loot.

Yeah, PoE1 had mana "issues" too, but in a different way. Some builds were unplayable if you don't lower the mana cost to 0.

It's almost like Ben plays the game for a living... OH WAIT!

Do you play the game for a living, OP? Do you invest your entire fucking day every day to playing this game?

If you did, you'd see all the shitty parts about it too. Gtfo with your rose-colored glasses, my dude.

And btw, D4 is so trash tier and irrelevant that I can't understand how you'd allege a diehard PoE streamer was bought by Blizzard. It's clear that Mr. 40 challenges wants to talk some mad shit. Grats, bro.. you did it.

[Removed by Support]

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HwtChirino#2462 wrote:

It's almost like Ben plays the game for a living... OH WAIT!

Do you play the game for a living, OP? Do you invest your entire fucking day every day to playing this game?

If you did, you'd see all the shitty parts about it too. Gtfo with your rose-colored glasses, my dude.

And btw, D4 is so trash tier and irrelevant that I can't understand how you'd allege a diehard PoE streamer was bought by Blizzard. It's clear that Mr. 40 challenges wants to talk some mad shit. Grats, bro.. you did it.

Had to write an entire essay to debate a streamer that will never bother to listen to your silly opinion. Good 1.

Is this some contest where we measure who has the longest? Ok.
- Level 94 Blood Mage
- Level 92 Gemling
- Level 91 Infernalist
- Level 90 Pathfinder
- Level 88 Warbringer
- Level 71 Stormweaver
- Level 69 Pathfinder
- Level 66 Invoker
and a few deleted chars because I don't like scrolling through them.

Darling, the "bought by Blizzard" isn't meant seriously, it's an exaggeration.

Wha? I am not allowed to talk "mad shit"? Why? Because you think my opinion is silly while you are unable to state why? Mkay.

I see you Blizzard Ben rant and raise you Dayana Sky:

https://youtu.be/QSbSUeZXcv8?si=X6Si3JYWZdBn89mp

I disagree with him on some of the stuff, but some of it I chalk up to GGG spending like 3 months on the endgame... its kinda neat for 3 months but yeah its got lots of balance and tweaking issues and some dud ideas.

I just don't think its final form so I don't take it as seriously. 3 rare hunt is dumb, and I expect GGG to abandon that one soon.

I agree that hard commit on skill gems feels bad.

I think there's an easy fix: make the "links" character bound not skill bound, and certainly not gear bound.

This way you have a 5 support skill "slot" but the skill gem itself can be changed out.

I also think they need massive iteration on skills and supports. It worth giving feedback on, but its not worth acting like they are all permanent unchanging disasters.

I also need GGG to sack up and make the endgame more like the campaign. But this doesn't just mean slowing the player down and making 1button mobile game combat go away.

It means slowing the monsters down

It means improving drop rates and crafting outcomes for the SLOWER PACE.

It means abandoning the stupid idea of "RNG game over due to a dice roll" or what I call "confluence of bullshit" designs. You can't have exponentially boosted monsters if you want combat not to be a space ship shooter clown fiesta like POE1.

That design idea is terrible and always has been, it FORCES a viable build to be a screen clearing 1 button masher mobile game combat paradigm. You have no choice in the matter, anything less is a lose condition.

You can't have worse than POE1 loot while having slower than POE1 combat. Its not going to fucking work because POE1 drop rates (of good outcomes) are already stupid as fuck. Having Ruthless but even worse outcomes at a slower pace already feels terrible.

That said I really enjoy the campaign and I expect the endgame to get worked into something fun FOR THE PACE. If they fail this its tragic and I'll have to forever wonder what might have been.

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alhazred70#2994 wrote:

You can't have worse than POE1 loot while having slower than POE1 combat. Its not going to fucking work because POE1 drop rates (of good outcomes) are already stupid as fuck. Having Ruthless but even worse outcomes at a slower pace already feels terrible.

That said I really enjoy the campaign and I expect the endgame to get worked into something fun FOR THE PACE. If they fail this its tragic and I'll have to forever wonder what might have been.

I bet that the end game will be great on release. I mean, look how great the first 3 Acts are. They definitely know how to make something cool. Most of their work went into the campaign so far. When they get the right feedback and spend more time developing the end game too, it will be good. It wouldn't make sense for GGG to f' up the end game when they are known for the end game.

So by now I only have one fear - no AH for years.