Why would anyone play in the challenge leagues?

The problem, as I see it, is that it is a waste of time to play in the 3 month (formerly 4 month) temporary leagues.

This problem stems from the fact that when these leagues end, everything that you've acquired in the league ends up in the basic Standard or Hardcore Leagues.

Lets look at the supposed benefits of playing in the temporary leagues: 1. experimental rules like Invasion, Rampage etc.; 2. challenge accomplishments; 3. legacy uniques; and 4. a fresh economy.

Taking them in turn, with respect to #1, the experimental rules are often imbalanced, buggy, annoying, or pointless. Invasion was idiotic for most of the time. Beyond is annoying. Rampage is pointless. Of course these are just opinions, but even if you love all the weird and wacky gameplay changes they throw in just for the hell of it, wait until the league ends, and they add a balanced version of the nonsense to Standard. If you are addicted to new content every 3 months, you still get that fix in Standard, you just get it in a balanced form 3 months after it makes its way through beta testing the challenge leagues.

With respect to #2, unless you are one of the 15 no-life streamers who have a chance at getting a free t-shirt for spending 10,000 hours, why bother?

With respect to #3, this may be the single greatest (only?) reason to play in the challenge leagues. If you can acquire enough legacy unique items early in the challenge leagues you can sit on them like any good resource speculator and make massive profits when their prices artificially inflate when the league dumps everyone into standard.

That brings us to #4. The economy. I am convinced that Path of Exile players aren't very smart, on the whole. Part of my reasoning is that the economy for the challenge leagues change over time. There is no reason the challenge leagues economy should EVER function differently than their parent leagues (Standard and Hardcore respectively). Yet every league we see the same thing, artificially deflated prices at the start of the league, that gradually inflate to match their parent leagues by the end.

I'm convinced that this is evidence that the majority of players are stupid, because the challenge leagues are merged with the parent leagues at the end of their duration. The period of artificially deflated prices at the start of a league is literally nothing more than an opportunity for the smarter players to perform a sort of arbitrage and take advantage of the idiots. That Mjolner will be worth 100ex in 2 months. Your Pledge of Hands will be worth 10 at the same time. Why the fuck would anyone with 2 brain cells be willing to part with it now for 1/4 to 1/2 the price? They wouldn't. As the price rises over the 3 months of the league, the smart players are making the equivalent of 300-400% annual RoI on the items they buy from the idiots. This shows a fundamental lack of understanding of economics.

Players often wonder how some players are so rich while everyone else is so poor, I bet the function of the temporary league economies is one of the biggest factors in perpetuating that.

By the way, even if you want legacy uniques from the challenge leagues, the best way to get them is to keep grinding on standard with your MF build and just buy them at their inflated price later. It's more efficient than trying to actually obtain them in the 3 challenge league.

Because they are fun.

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ViRuS171 wrote:

Because they are fun.

They are more fun and we play games to have fun.

What is more fun about playing in Rampage, which is almost totally useless, compared to playing in Standard?

What is more fun about playing in Beyond, which is just slower, compared to playing in HC?

Are you trying to convince people they are not having a good time? Gl with that.

#4) Prices "artificially" deflated in the beginning of a new league? Standard has YEARS of currency floating around in it built up by players. A league starts and you expect everyone to have that kind of currency?

The ecomony changes in challenge leagues because the amount of currency in the league steadily increases as time goes on. Standard league is "steady state" economy and as a challenge league ages it approaches this "steady state" value of currency.

#3) almost no one in challenge leagues gives a flying F- about legacy uniques... because they play challenge leagues. good lord

#2) I assume you aren't the CEO of a company, why bother trying to get promoted? If you aren't the best gamer in the world, why bother gaming? If only the best ever bothered trying then no one would ever try anything. I know it's a mysterious concept, but some people find challenges FUN even if they know they will never complete ALL the challenges.

#1) even if they are "often imbalanced, buggy, annoying, or pointless" it's still different, and better than nothing... endless grinding hell of standard league


None of your points hold up to scrutiny. Come back with some real arguments

I don't play standard because I have a shit load of "remove only" stash tabs and it's annoying as hell trying to get rid of them. I like playing in the new leagues mostly so I can have a fresh start.

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RickyDMMontoya wrote:

What is more fun about playing in Rampage, which is almost totally useless, compared to playing in Standard?

What is more fun about playing in Beyond, which is just slower, compared to playing in HC?

I find it fun to start fresh in a new league and climb the ladder (both the item/power ladder and the actual ladder). I don't care about my toys in Standard, GGG could delete everything I have there and I couldn't care less.

How can one not understand the simple idea of wipe/reset/ladder being fun? It's a freaking fresh start. Anyways, I r8 u 8/8, m8.