Dedicated supporting classes are going to bring this game closer to what Diablo 3 currently is.

One of the biggest advantages PoE has is that solo play is completely viable. Group play is slightly better still of course - more maps and more drops, easier to roll maps by pooling resources, faster map clears, but overall it doesn't feel like a big disadvantage to go solo.

What GGG have been doing for the longest time however is buffing up pure support characters to make groups stronger and stronger, therefore making solo play a weaker and weaker option.

Not that I blame them, inviting your friends and playing with them brings in more attention and money. Doesn't make me feel any better though, since solo is the only thing I know(been playing with a friend for some time this season but 90% of the time it is the lone warrior route).

I assumed it's at least partly for summoners and totem builds. I agree support builds are the antithesis of arpg characters and I would rather stop playing altogether than be forced into that type of meta.

edit: I'm talking about guardian ascendancy class as I assume that's where this is coming from.

*Rolls eyes.

ARPG grouping always has an unfair advantage over solo play. It's just how it is.

Using PoE as example, the same map doing it as a 6 men group

Mobs gain 3 times the life while players gain 6 times the power at very minimum.

Mobs also doesn't hit harder, they dont become harder to stun they just take longer to kill.

On top of the at least double the clear speed you also gain 50 IIQ and 200 IIR.

Group play will always be unfair, that's exactly how Diablo is, and that's exactly how PoE is as well.

Sure the total item drop is fewer per player, but the cost of crafting a map is also only 1/6 while the drops will be much much higher quality due to the baseline huge IIR bonus.

100% support builds already exist. I don't see your point.

"

Extreme_Boyheat wrote:

100% support builds already exist. I don't see your point.

The point is that they are now stronger with the ascendancy classes and have been getting more and more power every time a new update comes?

the game has to scale, it needs to be fun for those playing it 5 hours per week and it needs to provide long term challenges for those playing it 20 hours a day.

the option to party potentizes this problem.

to me it's clear that the heavy single player empowerment of ascendency requires a even heavier compensation in the game.

it's high likely that monsters will get buffed but it's even more likely that party play will get hit even harder.

ascendency will be a buff to solo play, i'm pretty sure about that.

"

Johny_Snow wrote:

What GGG have been doing for the longest time however is buffing up pure support characters to make groups stronger and stronger, therefore making solo play a weaker and weaker option.

It's possible.
We'll have to wait and see what happens.

"

*Rolls eyes.

Whoops. Dropped an asterisk there.

Here you go: *

Props to whoever can muster the patience to play hard support.

To me, it would be like leveling to 100 in dried lake with a heavy strike witch and without melee splash.

"

Johny_Snow wrote:

One of the biggest advantages PoE has is that solo play is completely viable. Group play is slightly better still of course - more maps and more drops, easier to roll maps by pooling resources, faster map clears, but overall it doesn't feel like a big disadvantage to go solo.

What GGG have been doing for the longest time however is buffing up pure support characters to make groups stronger and stronger, therefore making solo play a weaker and weaker option.

Not that I blame them, inviting your friends and playing with them brings in more attention and money. Doesn't make me feel any better though, since solo is the only thing I know(been playing with a friend for some time this season but 90% of the time it is the lone warrior route).

Oh , my i havent seen a thread like this since open beta.
Let make this perfectly clear. partying in this game is broken, its a half baked abomination that works no where near as often as it flat out doesnt work.

yes grouping is safer, nothing. no new mechanic , no new class will changed that.
yes grouping can be used to carry people.

thats basically where the primary advantages of grouping end.

more maps? wrong. grouping doesnt do dick to map drops .
more drops? wrong again person for person you get only 50% extra loots per extra dude and even then only a fraction of that 50% is actually iiq rather than rarity. you have to rely heavily on cullers and high rolled maps to break effectively even. and even IF you break even in a full group. well you only get one inventory full of shit to bring back.

here is a pretty good case in point. when i group with my guildies i get to pick up a quarter inventory from most maps. i pick up 5 inventories when i play solo.

faster map clears is true for the slowest peoples in the group, its technically a loss of clear speed for the ones who already clear super fast. unless you split up and cover more ground.


the majority of people i know dont even look at grouping seriously. most of the time we do it because we got bored of solo farming and want to do that socialization thing.

But make absolutely no mistake. grouping is not even close to being as fulfilling as solo play can be.

It needs help. it needs serious serious help.