Sustaining 75/76/77 Maps /w Blue Rolls

"

the other guy stuck in lvl74 maps with a lvl90 character, is beating those maps a hard achievement?

He don't have to run 74 lvl maps, he can learn game and get to high (76-78) maps, in 1.3 many peopl hit lvl 100 with max 78 maps

I've kept my nose out of this topic, though snorkle has pretty much covered everything that I've wanted to say already. However, I am going to weigh in from my point of view and this is the biggest reason why recently I have chosen to stop playing Path of Exile and will likely not be playing it for a little while. People wanna take this as a whine, then be my guest...I give not a flying-fig-fortress at this point. And because it has to be said due to some peeps not understanding what I say is for me alone...I speak for myself and only myself here.


When the supposed map drop changes have happened in the more recent of patches, I had a pool of 74-75 maps ready (well over 50 of each) to run and also the incentive of pushing one of my Scions up from 91 to 693 so I could advance my build on her a bit further. I also had some now-legacy 76s-77s as well, but I figured I would keep those in the wings just in case I needed them. So, like others, I kept with rolling maps by 'investing' into them...fully chiseled, alch'd and Chaos-rolled until I had some pack size or 85%-100% quantity since that seemed like a good number for me. Particularly good rolls earned either 'Domination' or 'Ambush' Zana mods...I was doing what GGG was saying or at least expecting me to do. In return, I was expecting to find that they had learned a bit from past mistakes and that my investment would see better returns/rewards.

I'll cut right to the chase...load of bullshit it all was, and what I had expected in the back of my mind. Map drops were wildly inconsistent over what I would run, and it was not a surprise to see me using an old 77 Shipyard run with 1 Alchemy Orb on it after 4 chisels and only getting 48% quantity with 45% pack size not only for experience, but because it was easy. Imagine my not-so-surprised self to see that such a map yielded SIX same to +1 level maps, where as my 85%-100% maps would yield 1-2, some of those being 70 or below. "Oh, but it's only one time" you say? ...Nope...happened not once, not twice, not even 20 times, but 50+ times and it also happened (SURPRISE!) BEFORE the whole map changes went into effect during the last major patch. "But, but...BUT THAT'S NOT A BIG ENOUGH SAMPLE SIZE" you scream...until you realize that I've had this happen hundreds of times previously before 2.0 and lo-and-behold IT'S STILL HAPPENING! I'm well aware I'm only one person, but I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that if it's happening to me, it's not only me it's happening to, though again, not speaking for anyone else. They can and have done so for themselves.

This supposed 'shift' to where rolling higher map quantity and thus doing more challenging mods will yield better map returns than running blues and easier maps is...to me...a load of bullshit. I've played this game and the map system long enough to see this...very little has changed, and it's simply the almighty RNG that GGG is so attached to like...well...I'll refrain from getting too raunchy here. Regardless, it's like so many other things in this game...you get good RNG and you get 'rewarded' for it, and if you get bad RNG, then you take it up the ass without any lube. Realizing once again that this idea of GGG's equates to little more than a huge currency sink and making you 'pay to run content' has really turned me off from this game. It became even more apparent after my Scion hit 93, I tweaked my passive tree, and I looked back at how much I sunk into those maps in terms of chisels, alchs, and chaos...WHAT A FUCKING WASTE, and that's putting it lightly. It also drained my energy out, my will and drive to want to push my characters further, to try and get to level 100, and to even work on other builds that I have going.

I began to ask myself...why should I care? Why should I invest all of this in-game currency into content that is GATED behind little more than RNG? Under the pretense that some how spending more of it will 'better my chances' when I've run enough maps to realize that's not what my experience has been? Why should I play a game like this where I plan my characters out carefully, where I have the gear to gear them up that I spent time, effort, and currency to get, where I link, color, and level appropriate gems up for skills that I want to use? Why should I play a game where I roll my flasks correctly, where I tweak my characters little by little, where I practice and learn how to play my builds correctly, and even taking it on the chin when I screw up and know I died because it was fault and try to learn from that? Why is it that when I do everything the game inadvertently asks me to do...WHY SHOULD I GET FUCKED ON RUNNING APPROPRIATE LEVELED CONTENT THAT IS ONCE AGAIN GATED NOT BY SKILL AND DIFFICULTY BUT BY RNG? (caps for emphasis and not for yelling)

When I saw that nothing has changed, that GGG is still scared (I have no other way to describe it) to let players play content that is appropriate for their level and skill, and that RNG is the ultimate deciding factor...it hit home hard. I'm not earning anything tangible, I'm just 'earning' the chance to throw some virtual dice, or pull some virtual slot machine handle for yet another chance at MAYBE getting something nice. Don't misunderstand or misconstrue what I am saying...I am for RNG in games like this, but when it comes to content like maps...it's so overdone and overblown it has driven me away from the game for the time being. The map system has so much potential and could even be split into ideas of running certain types of maps for just EXP only and no loot, or less EXP in return for better loot potential, but that doesn't happen. And please don't point out the flaws here as it's just a rough idea to get my point across, or at least a bit of it. Bah, at this point I'm likely rambling but whatever...the map system in this game has always been one of the worst sore spots I have seen and the core issues haven't changed because RNG still reigns supreme, which is sad with a system that has so much potential.

I don't even want to run my maps blue or alt/regal'd or whatever at this point...hell I'll go ahead and 'slippery slope' a bit just for shits and giggles and say I might as well just run my maps white and unchiseled. If the difficulty and quantity serves as not enough of a reason to sway the RNG into your favor or reward you, then why 'invest' in the currency sink? Again, clearly a slippery slope, I know, but that's how I feel at this point about this subject.

"

kamil1210 wrote:

"

the other guy stuck in lvl74 maps with a lvl90 character, is beating those maps a hard achievement?

He don't have to run 74 lvl maps, he can learn game and get to high (76-78) maps, in 1.3 many peopl hit lvl 100 with max 78 maps

sure, of course, I mean I think theres too much xp on offer in maps above that tbh.

But learn what exactly? Learn how to make good builds? Learn how to pick the right items? Learn how to play minute by minute combat with good tactics and skills? Look at Char1983 in this thread for example, what has he leaned? Learned to not bother playing hard content and just buy his xp from the xyz unofficial auction house wile facerolling easy mod maps, basically.

The question is does that make for a good endgame? Is that the game GGG wanted to create? Only GGG can answer that second one, the first it down to personal opinion. My opinion is no, that doesnt make a good endgame, that makes for an absolutely shit endgame that is driving players away and making an awful lot of people very upset.

"

kamil1210 wrote:

"

the other guy stuck in lvl74 maps with a lvl90 character, is beating those maps a hard achievement?

He don't have to run 74 lvl maps, he can learn game and get to high (76-78) maps, in 1.3 many peopl hit lvl 100 with max 78 maps

As far as I can tell from my experience, the way to sustain 76-78 maps is not to learn the game, but to get lucky and/or buy those maps.

Chisel/Alch/Chaos/Vaal certainly did not do it for me.

"

Learned to not bother playing hard content and just buy his xp from the xyz unofficial auction house wile facerolling easy mod maps, basically.

Or he could learn game and be person who sell maps. Also you act like buying maps is bad thing, If he can't get to higher maps and he buy them HE and run hard high quantity/rarity instead of blue to get enough currency to get bigger maps and have bigger chance for maps.

What is difference between getting items worth currency that you can later exchange for maps and getting map? Trading is just additional step to get item you want. Trading is easy and fast.

"

As far as I can tell from my experience, the way to sustain 76-78 maps is not to learn the game, but to get lucky and/or buy those maps.

gtting 5 high maps is luck, getting enough high maps to run them constantly or to sell them isn't.

"

Snorkle_uk wrote:

"

TheAnuhart wrote:

This is feedback that the intention sux

is it the intention though? Thats the thing. They talk about the old maelstrom and how it gave players access to content that was too hard for them and the map system is designed to make sure players are playing content appropriate for them. Is thats whats actually happening? No, its not, its stopping players having access to appropriate content. They say players failing to progress in maps are not rolling their maps hard enough, is that whats actually happening? No, investing a lot of currency in rolling your maps has very little impact at all on your returns.

There is a lot about the way they say maps should work that dont actually match up to the reality. There are a lot of contradictions in both stated intention and the reality of the system in practice and players sort of read what they want to read into that grey area on some level, its down to us what we chose to write off as failures, as lies, as successes. All we can really say for sure is that a lot of people are not happy and its costing the game dearly one way or another.

Of course there's a lot of contradiction, if you were to cut GGG in half you'd find the word contradiction running through like a stick of blackpool rock.

If they were to just come out and say 'we have an enormous great wood on for economy and the aRPG is just something we pretend is the main deal, because hardcore shopping game wouldn't get the audience' then they.... wouldn't get the audience.

I could list contradictions from GGG from now until [120M] league draws its last breath and still be listing.

Let's just mention one elephant of a contradiction. People are getting to 100 too quick, lets add 4 levels to maps.

I think they should abandon their obsession with level 100 entirely and just let us run tough content and die from its toughness rather than gate it behind luck, but I guess that's a topic for a different thread.

To go back to the main point, though, if you want to level past 90 and have some ex lying around just purchase 76-78 maps and run them blue. You'll still get some map returns and you'll be able to clear stuff quickly. Personally, I think this is a perfectly fine state of affairs in theory - less difficulty and fast exp (from clear time and lack of deaths) with the caveat of less drops. In practice, however, drops suck no matter what you do, so it's not even a trade off.

Now I fear GGG will just do some blanket exp nerf or something equally hamfisted in order to "fix" the fact that blue maps are easy. They'd be better off figuring out a way to make hard map mods actually yield better drops, and working on balance so that it's not as easy to make a cookie-cutter mf incinerate or flame totem build that can run all map mods (the fact that some people insist that it's mandatory to be able to run all map mods on all maps with the same build shows how OP some builds are becoming. I've never been able to do that on any build because I actually use unique and interesting ones).

Sorry for all my ranting recently, guys! It's with the best intentions, I swear.

"

kamil1210 wrote:

Or he could learn game and be person who sell maps.

learn what exactly? What do you need to learn to be a person who sells maps? Explain to me the skill set one needs to learn in order to be in that position.

"

Snorkle_uk wrote:

"

kamil1210 wrote:

Or he could learn game and be person who sell maps.

learn what exactly? What do you need to learn to be a person who sells maps? Explain to me the skill set one needs to learn in order to be in that position.

Effectively use the Futura EPOS/stock management system to manage both margin and stock levels in order to minimise markdowns.

Develop and control the critical path for each season’s buying activity ensuring all deadlines are met.

Manage the compilation and update of in-house order database and visual catalogues.

Understand current business performance in parties and make recommendations for action to recover any short fall, maximize opportunities and limit risk.

"

kamil1210 wrote:

"

Learned to not bother playing hard content and just buy his xp from the xyz unofficial auction house wile facerolling easy mod maps, basically.

...you act like buying maps is bad thing, If he can't get to higher maps and he buy them HE and run hard high quantity/rarity instead of blue to get enough currency to get bigger maps and have bigger chance for maps.

Yes, having no choice but to buy high-level maps is a BAD THING. We call that "gating endgame content behind a virtual paywall". It makes no difference whether you turn over the funds to GGG or a private vendor, as far as I'm concerned it's still pay2play.