Reddit news - 2.4.0 is all about the end-game

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Gauhron wrote:

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Jaille wrote:

After finishing the uber lab:

Izaro: "Impressive, Exile. You have mastered the labyrinth tutorial."

Now behold Exile you are temporal chains + Chilling ground the next Lab MUAHAHAHHA

Populated by only bearer packs with invulnerability bubbles that do pure phys on death.

AND traps NOW take the charges out of your flask every second.

Yeah, Chris also said the Prophecy league was going to be amazing and they were extremely pleased with it. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's 'wait and see until you react' :)

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Aim_Deep wrote:

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A second floor to each lab :D

bwhahaaaaaaa!

Anyway thats a pretty vague statement..could be a huge round of nerfs for builds that trivialize endgame to content like rifts to exp addressing and anything in between. Basically says nothing.

It is vague, but it says more than 'nothing'. All non-challenge league content/changes will be pointed at end game. This is likely skill balance, item balance (certain uniques), Zana, and maps themselves. If it's their entire focus, we should expect both broad and deep changes. The map system itself is the only candidate for changes of depth.

The challenge league will be focused on early game to 'fill in the gaps'. a.k.a. change the game meaningfully for people who play casually.

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innervation wrote:

The challenge league will be focused on early game to 'fill in the gaps'. a.k.a. change the game meaningfully for people who play casually.

Most casual players doesnt bother with leagues. Most I know that play casually create a character on new league see some league mechanics and go back to standard. Just look at all the people with below 12 challenges.

The first 24 challenges are very simple... even a simple regular play thru on 1 character with light mapping will get to 12 without knowing in less than a week in to league.

That seems like a distinction without a difference.

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innervation wrote:

That seems like a distinction without a difference.

Not really, casually players don't want to replay 11 acts over and over and over and over and over on empty stash (and now with 3 labs on top)... which is essentially what PoE leagues require you to do.

Gonna assume it means content that's intended to be challenging and lasting for endgame characters.

I hope it's anything in the direction that Lab set: skill-check gameplay difficulty (not neccesarily traps), instead of RNG boredom and maps not dropping. But the hopes GGG will put PoE on the path of a hardcore game, instead of a piss-easy grinder, arent that high... So, Lab haters, don't raise your pitchforks just yet :P

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morbo wrote:

I hope it's anything in the direction that Lab set: skill-check gameplay difficulty (not neccesarily traps), instead of RNG boredom and maps not dropping. But the hopes GGG will put PoE on the path of a hardcore game, instead of a piss-easy grinder, arent that high... So, Lab haters, don't raise your pitchforks just yet :P

Hate to break it to you but the lab is just another grind-based content with strict build requirements. You either have a build which trivialises it and speedfarm it or you go through it once and don't return.

But I never said that the casual players only played in the challenge league, then quit the game till the next one. My point was that creating a challenge league that is normal/cruel focused is aimed at creating fun and value for anyone who spends an above-average amount of time in those two difficulties relative to the more hardcore populations who rush to maps and spend 90%+ of their playtime there.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what a league like that looks like. I keep coming back to something like prophecy - makes leveling more dynamic, not 'worth' doing end game for a lot of people. Although today's patch may have changed that as the popular description of the league.