Why I don't play Path. (One mans opinion)

I've bounced back and forth on path since closed beta. Donated multitude of times and gotten for the most part my money's worth.

I've been upset a few times or taken long breaks a few times but I finally decided a bit ago that I really don't think I'll be back. Why am I even wasting my time posting then? Well I think the game has a lot of potential and as an individual one of the things I always try to do is provide feedback and be open to progress.

First of all I decided Diablo 3 for myself is a better game. Diablo 3 at launch was horrible but overall it's a better game. The drop rates and drops are more interesting I like that you can make it as challenging as you want or easy as you want it's your choice. And I feel rifts great rifts and the end game in Diablo is more fun. The problem ? It's a little too easy. You can gear out a character on hardcore in about a week with the right group.

Path on the other hand is ridiculously grindy. I get it by design one they're trying to cater to hardcore passionate gamers who feel left out in today's easy casual atmosphere also it's simple business. Paths crafting system is near irrelevant for 95% of its players and the grind to get end game items is ridiculous because they don't want it to be like Diablo where someone can max gear out a character in a week and then take. A month off. Why? Revenue. If path follows the same drop rates and model Diablo and Diablo 2 had it wouldn't even sustain the player base it has which unfortunately for a normal or casual
Player makes the game too grindy. The combat itself is meh and even the items in the game are meh. The game has potential but last time I checked I haven't had a single six link six socket drop in about 400 hours of play not have I seen a single pure exalt drop in that time frame. That's just absurd drop rates.

All in all there is nothing other than build choice that path offers that Diablo 3 doesn't. The graphics combat and end game aren't as good and the game is just too grindy for what it is. A time sinking arpg. If they boosted the drop rates and crafting and provided a pvp experience that Diablo isn't then I'd probably say it's worth playing but frankly with all the aura and tree nerfs even the build diversity in this game is kinda a joke. Take 60% defensive nodes run a aura or two and pick a couple key nodes. It's really not that amazing once you have it down.

The game for the theory crafting crowd and more hardcore grind accepting folks I guess is a good alternative. But it's never come close to capturing the excitement or payoff that Diablo 2 held nor has it gotten pvp right or any better than Diablo 3. This isn't purely a d3 vs path argument as they aren't the same game but because paths crafting system and grind is so bad I feel it's just not worth the play right now.

If the crafting was more feasible it sure would be fun to craft some end game items and gg stuff. I would also like to see some end game other than maps.

I think this game feels more like an extension of the Diablo II than D3 does, d3 feels more hack and slash console style to me just imo

Just some questions regarding your opinion.

What about Diablo 2's endgame/bosses/gameplay captured entertainment better than POE?

What about rifts is different from maps, and makes them "more fun" than running maps?

Objectively, Diablo 3's unique skill list, and POE's, POE triples the amount.
POE has attributes customized by the player character through items, skills, and a passive tree.Diablo 3's is items and skills.
POE's skill requirements are socket-based, attribute based, and level based, where Diablo 3's is level based.
Why is POE lacking skill diversity?

There is a complaint about drop rates. Have you traded with anyone in POE? Do you feel POE is more economy based? What about Diablo 3?

How is your community interaction on Diablo 3? Do you actively talk to people outside your friends while playing Diablo 3?

the crafting system in this game is a bad fucking joke it has to be said. Its all there, a far better crafting system than anything in any diablo game and then you cant really use it because the important crafting materials are too rare. Could the situation be any more ridiculous?

Im back playing d3 again atm, its an absolutely shit game, the item system, build system, the combat system with the unavoidable damage that takes all the skill out of play, its pretty terrible... and yet Im still having more fun with it than path of exile because the devs over here are so detached from their game they dont understand it has to be fun and it has to function for regular players. Just completely lost in their little world of what they wanted the game to be and their grand ideas of playing god over their little world of build meta and economic shifts, absolutely blind to the reality of the game they have made from a players point of view.

Couple requested responses.

End game : while path has maps or just killing bosses over and over Diablo currently has adjustable difficulty and drop rates. Bounties which make playing content all over the game fun and goal oriented as well as rifts which have a completion bar and spawn a boss feeling more interactive. Greater rifts which are like a endless challenge ladder see how far you can push it and uber multiple boss fight. All in all Diablo has much more things to offer including bounties that make you go all over the game and see and mill
Things you would never go back and see otherwise.

Skills:
Yes path has more. but a lot don't get used or are min maxed out right away. Most are stand and click and not very interactive or movement based just a pew pew or slam slam which isn't s huge deal . There is a few that stand out in my mind as pretty cool but it's not like that animation or combat is so fluid he skills make a huge difference for me. If there was more fluid movement I'd say yes. This part of the game personally did not bother me as I liked the old school feel but it's definitely old school.

Crafting feasible:
Simply put. Crafting other than for the uber elite is for the most part not that feasible at least for gg or end game items. I have never seen an exalt drop in 400 hours. I mean sure for simple stuff like 5 link or minor changes its possible but on the whole for the average player items are used for currency outside low tier stuff. Simply put. It's fake content. Most people will not be making six links yet everyone wants them most people will not be making gg items. This drives rmt. Grind factor. And is a player retention but bad experience tactic. In Diablo the problem is the game borders to easy I get that. But the crafting is fast paced and within 10 hours or so of farming materials you can easily craft up some bad ass stuff. Overall path has a lot of tools to be fun but until it decides to increase drop rates and making crafting more viable without trading it's clunky.

Also the whole making trading mandatory almost while havin no auction house or system is pretty bad. Let's face it were all using Poe.trade and all these programs to make it somewhat bearable which is pretty ugly process

I've been playing D3 for a few months and got bored eventually. Also, the art & design look too cartoon-like to me, I think it doesn't fit with the dark atmosphere that the Diablo series requires. From this point of view, and at their respective times, Diablo1 and Diablo2 were much better.

I've also been playing Titan Quest / Immortal Throne. It's a game that was released much before D3 and I think the art and design is still superior to D3 (but not the gameplay).

PoE is hands down the true successor of Diablo2. Many aspects of the game, design, and gameplay have the same look & feel. But PoE has been able to develop in a great extent its own specificities.

PoE is a vast, complex game that is not for the casual player, all the contrary of Diablo3. That's why it's a bit unfair to compare both games, each game is good for its own audience, and my preference goes to PoE because as a D2 veteran, I love theorycrafting, character planning, and grinding/trading.

It would be nice if the real endgame was crafting your own custom gear for all of your toons, rather than simply saving up 100s of ex or hoping for a mirror drop to finance buying a "perfect" item from someone who plays 24/7 - an item which becomes irrelevant in the future, either because you're playing temp leagues or GGG breaks your non-OP build.

But that would mean mean much more common ex and the return of eternals. More previously "mirrorable" items would be around, which would drive down the prices of other stuff, and would make the game "easier" for many players - but it would NOT make the game easier for those who are already powergaming with godly gear.

Or just boost droprates of higher tier mods so that better rares drop.

Perhaps this would be one solution to what I consider the crisis of the tiny size of the playerbase who gets to experience tough content and fully flesh out builds - the playerbase who GGG is balancing around. I believe that group needs to be broadened drastically without necessarily decreasing difficulty for those folks. Basically, an increased number of "powerful" players without actually making the experience for each one of them any easier. A higher quantity of great items in the marketplace would be one method of accomplishing this. It (hopefully) wouldn't be power creep because the game is already balanced around having good gear.

It's funny to see the 6 link items mentioned repeatedly and specifically.

Pretty much what brought me to the forums to drop some feedback.

Seems like whatever the route, getting a six link staff/item/whatevs would just take plain forever. Tried to start farming Div cards for one, still a huge pain in the asz, so much so that I was like 'F it.'

Also, I feel like I would be much happier with general state of things if getting into PvP was easier. Seems not very accessible to later? I'm playing a standard account right now, don't know if that makes a difference.