On how hard it is to be creative in PoE and why the game definitely isn't dead or dying

I've spent a lot of time theorycrafting lately and thought I'd share this.

1 - It's hard to be creative when making new builds!
I find that 99% of the time when I have an "amazing build idea", dozens of other people have already had that same idea, tested it and proved it wrong or found the best way to do it. Just a quick google search and a few clicks on forum and reddit posts and I see my "great idea" either being implemented exactly how I envisioned it (or better), or proven not to be viable.

This is not a complain, though! I actually see it as a positive thing, because it leads to #2:

2 - The game isn't dead! People are actively discussing new and old build ideas all the time!
I sometimes see some exaggerated posts in the forums saying that the game is dying. How can that be true while so many people are actively theorycrafting literaly all day every day? So many people are playing and developing ideas for builds that basically every possible iteration of the game has been explored or at least mentioned.

That's all I wanted to say :3

No steam charts to back up claims, disregard thread.

Gam daed.

Peace,

-Boem-

"

This is not a complain, though! I actually see it as a positive thing, because it leads to #2:

2 - The game isn't dead! People are actively discussing new and old build ideas all the time!
I sometimes see some exaggerated posts in the forums saying that the game is dying. How can that be true while so many people are actively theorycrafting literaly all day every day? So many people are playing and developing ideas for builds that basically every possible iteration of the game has been explored or at least mentioned.

That's all I wanted to say :3

Here's the problem with this:
All those builds that are being theorycrafted are on the same or similar builds (there's like 900 incinerate builds out there). Those builds are used for 1-2 weeks in a new league/race at which point a ton of people stop playing entirely because they've achieved whatever they had set out to do (for example, hit level 90 and farm t12 maps easily) or they are just bored. That's when people start saying the game is dying.
Look at the first 10 pages of each class subforum and tell me the trees for all those builds are not 90% similar in all cases. There is probably 25-30% of the passive tree that is never ever used because it's not optimal if you plan on going past level 50.

I still like the game and play almost every day but I can't help but agree to a lot of comments I see on the forums about the game lately. I'm sure those that actively trade and play in groups feel it even more.

The issue with creativity in this game is all that creativity funnels into min-maxing a singular thing.

This game's focus on having a singular primary skill in a build in the late game is what's cut a lot of the fun away from me.

"

Namcap wrote:

Look at the first 10 pages of each class subforum and tell me the trees for all those builds are not 90% similar in all cases. There is probably 25-30% of the passive tree that is never ever used because it's not optimal if you plan on going past level 50.

Compare that to similar games, and you will see PoE offers more diversity than most (?all).

"

Stormquake wrote:

The issue with creativity in this game is all that creativity funnels into min-maxing a singular thing.

This game's focus on having a singular primary skill in a build in the late game is what's cut a lot of the fun away from me.

Min-maxing is the death of all long term fun. Just don't do it. How about just settling for really good? Use a single target skill. Use two Vaal skills. Manually curse. Drop a totem. Something. I'm not saying to try to make a double strike, remote mine, or elemental hit build (trash is trash), but there's plenty just off the beaten path that really does clear pretty fast.

Other games that shoehorn in rotations really do no different. May as well be one button.

(Wait, remote mine builds are trash? I've been doing it Horribly, Horribly Wrong! Oh Noes! ...but fireball mines, however suboptimal, make for great headshot simulators)

"

I've spent a lot of time theorycrafting lately and thought I'd share this.

1 - It's hard to be creative when making new builds!
I find that 99% of the time when I have an "amazing build idea", dozens of other people have already had that same idea, tested it and proved it wrong or found the best way to do it. Just a quick google search and a few clicks on forum and reddit posts and I see my "great idea" either being implemented exactly how I envisioned it (or better), or proven not to be viable.

That's all I wanted to say :3

It depend on how you look at it. POE encourage specialization not diversification. Specialization seem to be the optimal way to play. Even if there is a thousand ways to build it, there is only a limited optimal and effective ways.

"Build diversity is an illusion, exile."

"

Deadpeng wrote:

Having 100K active players is considered more than successful to me.

Always depends on how much money GGG is bleeding. 100k active players can be a huge success or an utter failure.

P.S.: Game has 130k active players on Steam alone, now add non-Steam + Russia + Taiwan and you have quite a solid player base :) I'd estimate 500k-ish.

AGREE