Why did you or your friend quit playing POE?

The #1 challenge in this game, for me, is gear. Getting the gear you want with the number of sockets you want with the right colors and the right links (we all want a 6L). Yes I know about the Orbs but I'll never get the hundreds (thousands?) it would take.

So I'm just going to play this game for what it's worth, using whatever drops I get. Masters? PFTT. Ain't got time to level them to get the all the uber-awesome gear, even if I could afford it. (I work 55 hrs a week). I'd rather play the game than spend my time doing their silly-ass repetitive missions. Whether I can play to completion (doubtful) or not is a non-issue. I'll just go as far as I can then try a different class or build. Rinse 'n repeat.

After all, it IS a free game. And it's loads of fun.

Quitting the game? Yeah I quit once. Deleted both my characters, emptied my stash. Two hours later I was back in. Lol.

Happy Hunting

Friends all left because of desync, boring combat, having to RMT/3rd party website to trade.

I left: I didn't like the direction the game is going considering there are two other fantastic ARPG games that are doing the things GGG refuses to do out of some arbitrary principle.

Im not sure if desync is fixed, I typically come back every time theres new content and do a ladder run then walk away, last time it wasn't, that might keep me around for more than just one death.


Honestly, for all the "foaming at the mouth hatred" directed towards that other game, its turned around in such a manner that a game like this, one that I want to like because of the skill tree and its unforgiving nature, just doesn't fit into my gaming schedule, considering there are several other ARPG games that are just more fun, have a more vibrant playerbase that isn't nearly as toxic, and has a developer that gets what makes these games fun.

POE had its moment in the lime light, its faded, and will continue down the path of obscure APRG with a fanatical and narrow minded community. I partially blame the big spenders for squashing the evolution of the game, as they tend to have the ear of the dev. This game had huge potential but they listed to the wrong crowd when evolving it....basically the game never evolved, unless you consider playing house in an ARPG a proper evolution.


Same issues that were with this games birth still exist, only now we know the developers wont make any effort to resolving them in a creative way, the community only sees black and white solutions, and...well...self proclaimed hardcore egocentric supporters seem to want everyone else to gtfo and go back to those other games, which most have.

As the money from those dirty, foul, hideous "casuals" drys up, so the content roll outs slow...how long has this act been in some goofy pay me beta? Its only going to get worse.

Im not saying the game is dead or will die, just that due to development and community this games going to settle down population wise to a very niche game, and the budget and content and development is going to suffer moving forward...it already has.

I actually popped in hoping since its been like a month since I last came here that the new content would be out to warrant another ladder run, its not, so im off to the other games.

I have a good friend who quit because she felt like she accomplished everything she wanted. She wasn't into making multiple characters, only wanting to optimize the few she had. She traded for a while, got the gear she wanted for her build, then there was nothing left to accomplish.

I knew several people who played beta and quit. All of them cited the RNG as reasons for quitting. Not all random is equal, and they felt this game was TOO random. Both drops and crafting were mentioned.

The party system was also cited. They felt the game was too party based, with a disadvantage to solo play. They didn't like partying with random people, and thought it too hard to arrange a time when friends could all play at the same time.

Some thought it was a grind, with serious diminishing returns on their time. Grinding for hours or days to get a +5% passive node, Yeehaw! There is a soft cap in this game and it doesn't take long to get there.

Most of those guys actually liked the game, but the negatives kept them away.



As for myself, I haven't quit playing, but it's fading away. I used to play several hours a day. Now I can go several days without playing. Basically I've gotten tired of it. POE doesn't have enough to offer to play regularly for years. I don't think Act 4 will change that. It will still be the same game.

Maps = grind, and I hate grinding. I rarely do more than 2-3 maps in a row. I'd rather start a new character.

Racing is fun, but the last two seasons I was burned out midway through the season. Temp leagues can be fun, but after I see what they're about and rip a few characters I lose interest.

Ripping to outrageous damage sucks bad. That in itself won't make me quit. But when added to losing interest anyway, it really demotivates me. I used to get over a rip in ten minutes. Now I shut the game down and don't come back for several days. I could easily see that becoming permanent.

Trading sucks bad. It really seriously needs a click and buy system. The current system is convoluted as hell.

Bottom line for me is that I could see playing this game for a long time yet. But it's already become one of the 15-20 games that I cycle through, without playing any of them for more than a few hours or a few days at a time.

To be fair, I've played games for so long that it's extremely rare for a game to keep my interest for long. So 18 months of POE is a pretty good run.

i quit soon because my pc cant handle it bearable anymore

"

Wittgenstein wrote:

1. I'd rather play a loot based game that is focused on a fun loot system rather than a punishing RNG system which is required to maintain a so-called "economy".

fun loot system? fun lot system! how long do you think the majority would keep that playing?

you surely did notice the community reactions on the massive power creep ggg introduces in v2.0 to keep players motivated to play and trade in standard leagues...

fuck the economy? oh yes. sure.

"

Wittgenstein wrote:

My friends quit for the same reasons I quit.

1. I'd rather play a loot based game that is focused on a fun loot system rather than a punishing RNG system which is required to maintain a so-called "economy".
2. The web being streamlined to such a degree that its basically eliminated the point of the web altogether - aside from builds based around particular item(s) all builds can be accomplished with a 'standard' progression system (that is, level up and gain some attribute points, level again and pick a perk - repeat)
3. The orb system, initially meant to eliminate gold, has itself become worse than any gold based system I've experienced.
4. The use of the orbs is not exciting but instead, generally, tedious. This means that finding orbs isn't a thrill at all - unless you're just going to use it as if it were gold, in which case, see (3).


TL/DR - I think the loot system is bad.

A lot of what you say rings true for me. Even though I still enjoy playing PoE, it's only the leveling, realizing the build, and slaying mobs. The loot is just a steady stream of disappointment. Also disappointing is my upgrade path is dictated by what I can buy from someone else, not what I can find on my own. That even if I buy an upgrade, I still need to mod it to be usable. If I don't have enough jewelers, fusings, chromes, I can't even use my upgrade item. Or I have to convert currency, usually at a loss, unless I'm willing to wait hours, maybe a day, just to find a fair currency exchange. So I sit, spamming chat, not playing, not using an upgrade that is sitting in my stash, unusable.

It takes good balance and design to make the hoops players jump through, enjoyable. Sadly, the entire trading/orb upgrading hoops one has to jump through just to buy and use an upgrade are far from enjoyable.

"

Druga1757 wrote:

"

Wittgenstein wrote:

My friends quit for the same reasons I quit.

1. I'd rather play a loot based game that is focused on a fun loot system rather than a punishing RNG system which is required to maintain a so-called "economy".
2. The web being streamlined to such a degree that its basically eliminated the point of the web altogether - aside from builds based around particular item(s) all builds can be accomplished with a 'standard' progression system (that is, level up and gain some attribute points, level again and pick a perk - repeat)
3. The orb system, initially meant to eliminate gold, has itself become worse than any gold based system I've experienced.
4. The use of the orbs is not exciting but instead, generally, tedious. This means that finding orbs isn't a thrill at all - unless you're just going to use it as if it were gold, in which case, see (3).


TL/DR - I think the loot system is bad.

A lot of what you say rings true for me. Even though I still enjoy playing PoE, it's only the leveling, realizing the build, and slaying mobs. The loot is just a steady stream of disappointment. Also disappointing is my upgrade path is dictated by what I can buy from someone else, not what I can find on my own. That even if I buy an upgrade, I still need to mod it to be usable. If I don't have enough jewelers, fusings, chromes, I can't even use my upgrade item. Or I have to convert currency, usually at a loss, unless I'm willing to wait hours, maybe a day, just to find a fair currency exchange. So I sit, spamming chat, not playing, not using an upgrade that is sitting in my stash, unusable.

It takes good balance and design to make the hoops players jump through, enjoyable. Sadly, the entire trading/orb upgrading hoops one has to jump through just to buy and use an upgrade are far from enjoyable.

I used to have about three dozen friends and coworkers that all played, now it's down to just three of us. Everyone stopped playing mostly due to the points you two mentioned. The three of us that still play really enjoy the game, but there's also stuff we don't like about it. Desync is a big one, but we're hoping the new system in Awakening solves that. The death penalty can be a massive buzz kill once you hit level 90, but that's something that's mostly tied to desync'ing since we rarely die for a reason that doesn't involve desync.

The loot system is/was the big one for us and everyone that quit. It seems like nearly everyone I know that enjoys these types of games, plays them for the loot. We love to farm, and that thrill of finally seeing something awesome drop is great. But this game... 99.999% of the loot in this game is completely trash because they want you to craft items. Okay fine, but the RNG algorithms they employ mean you'll fail at making anything good 99.9999% of the time. So you end up with a situation where the vast majority of the player base will never get to have good gear.

That alone will continue to keep PoE a very niche game. It still manages to be fun enough that I still play it, but if I'm being honest, it's really not the game I want it to be / am looking for. Remember we're just having a discussion here, and I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinions, but if I had my way, I'd:

1) Scrap the crafting and currency system as it is. Some elements can remain to 'beef up' the loot that is found, but ultimately I'd rather play a game where self-found brings in the majority of the fun and exciting loot.

Alternatively, I would accept crafting if the RNG wasn't as punishing... the chance to craft better items could be increased, for example.

2) In standard, I'd like to see another map system offered. What I mean is, I'd like to have the ability to run the maps I like running at higher levels so that there's still worthwhile experience gain. So, some kind of system where you find a map 'token' or something while farming, and you can put that in the map device and pick the map you want to run at the level of the map token you found. That's a crude example, but something along those lines. Something more creative than just that would be ideal, but you get the idea. Also, higher level maps in general or possibly change the XP death penalty scaling at 90+ (dying at level 80 is not nearly as punishing as dying at level 90, due to the lack of higher level maps). Awakening may solve this one.

Just some of my opinions on the topic.

Nobody I knows stopped playing PoE. Like me, they just take breaks when they get "burnt out", typically towards the end of the challenge league.

I took a break, because I don't like trading. Contrary many posters in this thread I love the loot system, but it's very punishing nature doesn't let a casual solo player like me get anywhere. Many (most?) interesting builds rely on a combination of uniques which you will never find yourself. I got one ranger to 80 and knowing that I needed a lot of exalts to get 5/6 links, I just lost interest.

tl;dr: Tradewall