A Message to Path of Exile 1 Players

Good. PoE 2 should be prioritized because PoE 1 can never become as good as PoE 2.

I hope they keep it this way.

Im actually quite mad about this.
In my mind its really bad to not work on the old game when its so popular as it is.
Ive been playing poe sence open beta, but now i dont know if i even wanna play anymore, and it goes for poe 2 aswell,
as i feel like GGG shits on the poe 1 players.
Someone said they felt betrayed, and i must admit that i feel that way to.
They really need to throw us a bone about the new league and some plans
they are thinking about, and it better be something BIG and not
some some small shit as boring league.

Ive spent alot of money on poe, cuz GGG deserved it with poe 1,
even if some things really bother me, its still a great fcking game!
But this just feels like shit, and i feel betrayed :(

As i said, they really gotta give us a bone here.
And i pray the next season is a Banger, or i think im out...

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Deltaspirit#0738 wrote:

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aefoa#3559 wrote:

If PoE2's biggest threat is PoE, just make the sequel much better than the original to outcompete it in player numbers.
Please don't focus on digging PoE down just because you're afraid of having a new project less popular than it is now (PoE1 not having a new league is a big factor) >_<

Anyway, it's EA of PoE2 - literally no need to put all resources into it, there are no deadlines. Let people enjoy what's a complete game in the meantime.

There are deadlines though. Now that it's out, Tencent has a fiduciary obligation to their shareholders to generate as much value as possible. Obviously this is seen to be done with poe 2 rather than 1. There was obviously a deadline to put early access out, because it was very clearly not even ready for that (as evidence by this latest message)

In the world of public corporations, each quarter there is a deadline. Weather that means releasing new product or services, or laying of employees, whatever the case may be, trust me, in this world, everything is a deadline.

Nonsense. We can openly see GGG's public financial statements and so far PoE1 is printing them money. They have ~90 million USD PROFIT for the 2020-23 period. Chris and the other founder are obviously out of the picture for more than a year and I'm just surprised Jonathan is still here.

Time to spin PoE1 into a new studio and give it proper support. Let the console players enjoy the mediocrity of PoE2 design and it's floaty auto targeting controls. Hope there are GGG designers that still want to make PC ARPGs left, if not wrap up an offline version and sunset the game.

Certainly! Here’s a more distinct version with a fresh structure and tone:

To Grinding Gear Games,

It’s disappointing to see how Path of Exile 1 and its most dedicated players are being treated. For over a decade, we’ve supported this game—investing time, money, and passion—helping it grow into the success that made PoE2 even possible. And yet, it feels like that loyalty is being cast aside.

Not everyone wants PoE2. Many of us love PoE1 for what it is, and it’s frustrating to watch it be left behind instead of being nurtured alongside its successor. If full development support isn’t feasible, then at the very least, a special event—such as an economy reset with a returning league mechanic like Crucible, Affliction, or Sentinel—would be an easy and meaningful way to keep PoE1 alive. The code already exists, and such an event would require minimal effort while showing some level of appreciation for the fanbase that made all of this possible.

Instead, it feels like PoE1 is being pushed aside intentionally. Is there concern that a fresh PoE1 league might draw too much attention away from PoE2? That players might realize they still prefer the original experience?

If this truly marks the end of PoE1, I hope you believe the trade-off was worth it. But for many of us, it feels like a mistake that could have been avoided.

— A Loyal PoE1 Player

Just bring an end to the ongoing league or let me export my character to normal league.

wow, even Diablo Immortal felt less like a backstab to the loyal fanbase than this lol

So, I’m guessing we all feel like this is rather shitty.

Good thing is, a lot of people were apparently disappointed and wanted a fresh PoE 1 SC trade experience. So when Pohx created a private league to serve this purpose last night it absolutely exploded in terms of people signing up. It’s already closer to 9000 people within less than a day.

So if you want to play a fresh PoE 1 trade economy, you can starting tonight! Simply join the league here:

https://www.pathofexile.com/private-leagues/league/Settlers+Restart+xdd+Thanks+GGG

If you want to make your voice heard to make a case for PoE 1,I’d suggest copying this information and putting it out there on these boards to let people know that hey can play a fresh PoE 1 league. More effective and much more tasteful than hurling insults around!

There’s an inside joke that the single hiring requirements for a product owner is an exaggerated level of enthusiasm and willingness to over promise. Such jokes are not born out of nothing - to some extent I understand what happened. In some ways, it kind of is Jonathan’s job to put himself in a position where he has to make this apology.

The real question is what the counter factual would have been if he delayed PoE 2 yet again and set out to develop 3.26 instead. I’d assume that would not even be feasible for internal reasons, but it’s a guessing game for any of us on the outside. As a customer I’m disappointed with these actions, but realistically they don’t owe me shit. I paid supporter packs for what they achieved in past leagues, and what they decide to use that money for is none of my concern. Decisions that I disagree with will dissuade me from buying future supporter packs, but that may be a good call if it attracts two new customers who enjoy the new product.

Going all pitch forks with personal insults is childish, meaningless and a showcase of poor taste and judgement. Expressing disappointment as a customer and taking your money elsewhere is the rational response if feeling strongly about this prioritization.

Nah guys, transparency is good and all, but delaying release for more is clownshow we did't exepected from you. With all respect, being unable to allocate small skeleton team to rehash some legacy league and put it in online in 6+ months is ridiculous and put to question wtf happening with your management. Even if it were small league people would understand. And you have damn sudo f2p community reliant model, never forget it.

THo it's funny to look at childish tantrums "people hate X in poe2". Guys, look at damn numbers and shut up, people value that EA more than Poe1 ever and it isn't even matter of discussion. It's natural that company redirects resources on more profitable product with bigger potential. Just because you addicted to epilepsy extravaganza of Poe1 formula doesn't mean it's design anywhere better than Poe2, lmao.

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Socc13#3531 wrote:

I feel bad for PoE1 fans, but from my perspective PoE1 was terse, slow, complicated and mostly unfun. I am thrilled that you are focusing on the superior game (in my opinion). I hope you are able to jump back and push out content for the old game, but I am all but certain that it has nothing approaching the playerbase PoE2 has garnered in its early access period. I am sure it is hard for GGG to justify putting resources towards a small but dedicated audience. THis isnt remotely uncommon. D3 is now recycling old seasons, while D4 is in active development.

There are no people who put $60-120 quarterly on top of $480 yearly into D3. Night and day, no comparison.

Also, did you ever finish 1st act? Or just missed flame dash/ dash/ blink/ shield charge/ whatever there in skills.

I really don’t understand people who support or defend this approach.
Whether or not someone likes PoE 2 right now isn’t the real issue. What matters to me is that a lot of us, myself included, invested significant money and time into PoE 1, with the promise that the development of PoE 1 would in no way be affected by PoE 2. I bought Supporter Packs specifically for PoE 1—not PoE 2. Now I feel like I’ve been robbed, and I really don’t appreciate that.

If there were an option to get a full refund for everything I’ve spent on the game (and have my account deleted), I’d do it in a heartbeat. I don’t want to keep supporting an attitude toward us players—the very community that finances this project—that ultimately doesn’t deliver on its promises.

I understand that finding developers isn’t necessarily quick or easy, but come on—how long has it been since we got a new league in PoE 1? How long has GGG known they wouldn’t be able to handle the workload on PoE 2 and would have a huge problem catching up for PoE 1 players?

Is this how they thank the players who’ve put thousands of hours and thousands of dollars into something that’s now taking a backseat? Let’s not forget that PoE 1 basically funded PoE 2’s development—most of us helped pay for it—and now we’re not getting a good product in PoE 1, let alone in PoE 2 (even if it’s still in beta).

I don’t like this stance, and until I see GGG keep their word and deliver a proper league for PoE 1—while maintaining it as a fully-fledged game—I refuse to support GGG financially or invest any more of my time.