The Fear of Missing Out on PoE

Hi there, my name is Luan and i run a facebook page focused on the brazilian community, all the content i do there is in portuguese, but recently i made a post about the fear of missing out, and i would like to share with u guys.

I'll let the original post link here: https://www.facebook.com/PathBrasil/posts/111974651009768


Have you ever had the feeling that you're not enjoying the game to the best of your ability? You watch a live, see a video and think “Damn, look at how much fun x person has doing mechanics”, “If I don't build y skills I won't be able to enjoy the game properly”, “Everyone is doing x builds , I need to do it too”, “wow everybody has this mtx set, it looks so awesome, I'll have to buy it”.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) or, freely translated, the fear of being left behind or the fear of not being part of it, is the topic of today

All these questions go through the minds of many people, and this is due to a fear that everyone has of being left behind, of not following the trend of the moment. It's strange to talk about this in a game, but it's a feature that many companies use, either to engage their content or to ensure profits.

In Path of Exile, we have that in different areas. A very basic example of this is when we are going to start the game and we have to decide if we are going to play in the league or the standard. I understand that playing at standard has other implications, but at the heart of it all there is the feeling of being left behind, or not following a certain movement.

When we're trying to decide on a build, we look on the forum and youtube for something we like, but sometimes we end up making our choice based on what's most popular, "More people are using this so it must be good, so I want to use it too" .

Another aspect, which may not be very relevant because it involves MTX, is when a new Mystery Box comes out, we notice many people opening a box and gaining relevant things, such as a pet, or a wing, or a skill effect. And we don't want to be left out of that movement, so we spent those last 150 points and only got hideout decorations. Importantly, 1 month after the end of the league in which Mystery Box was launched, its content arrives in the store to be purchased without the need to try your luck. So the FOMO in this case is only temporary, as it is possible to purchase the items later.

Well, we have all these situations where we can have the FOMO, but how does that translate to our enjoyment of the game? In fact, we have an immense plurality of tastes and ways of playing. But it's common to see a movement of focus in certain mechanics, build, way of playing because that's what everyone is doing.

I don't take the balance off the fact that certain things in the game are more profitable for those who play in the trade, that many people engage in certain content because they manage to do 50ex/hour. The question here is, do you engage with these mechanics, do you do these builds, do you play that way because it's what you prefer, or because it's what everyone else is doing and you don't want to be left behind.

FOMO is a pathology, and it is associated with the increasing development of technology and the difficulty that people find to keep up to date. But even so, it is coherent to bring some aspects of this situation for reflection.

"But Luan, how can we get around this if I realize that these concerns affect me?"

Some things can be done so that you don't fall into this trap in Path of Exile. The first one is to look for what makes you happy in the game, after all PoE is a game and you need to have fun here.

Don't look at “the neighbor's grass”. Do you know that famous expression “The neighbor's grass is always greener”? Yeah, it's common to be having a great time in the game, either with a mechanic or a build, and when we look at the buddy we think that what he's doing is better.

Trying to optimize your in-game time, looking for the next build of the moment, the next farming method that everyone will want to do, makes you spend more time in the hideout than actually playing the game.

Try to enjoy the game, without looking up to your friend next door. If he does 50ex/hour and you do 5, that's fine as long as you're enjoying the game too.

I'm not here to dictate rules or want you to change the way you play, I just want to raise healthy discussions about the game. So comment there, have you ever felt left behind in path of exile?

Oh, and if you somehow feel that this move extends beyond the game, and that other areas of your life are affected by this FOMO, please get help. It is important to take care of our mental health.

Kissus

I don't watch other people playing. Gives me a headache.

"

In Path of Exile, we have that in different areas. A very basic example of this is when we are going to start the game and we have to decide if we are going to play in the league or the standard. I understand that playing at standard has other implications, but at the heart of it all there is the feeling of being left behind, or not following a certain movement.

I have two reason why i don't play standard.
One - my stash tabs is a mess and even hide function doesn't help. Yes it hides stash folders but at the same time this function breaks something with my stashes.


Two - map drops and league content usually drop maps. And you know. Game is balanced same way in stardard and league but in standard you get that much less maps forcing you to spend even more time interacting with garbage part of atlas system.

"

When we're trying to decide on a build, we look on the forum and youtube for something we like, but sometimes we end up making our choice based on what's most popular, "More people are using this so it must be good, so I want to use it too" .

Rather than fear of missing out I would say this is a fear of wasting 3 weeks funding a build that will never work. I used to like to try new things but failing few times in a row makes you don't want to play at all.

"

Another aspect, which may not be very relevant because it involves MTX, is when a new Mystery Box comes out, we notice many people opening a box and gaining relevant things, such as a pet, or a wing, or a skill effect. And we don't want to be left out of that movement, so we spent those last 150 points and only got hideout decorations. Importantly, 1 month after the end of the league in which Mystery Box was launched, its content arrives in the store to be purchased without the need to try your luck. So the FOMO in this case is only temporary, as it is possible to purchase the items later.

In my case i spend all points from supporter packs on mystery boxes because there are no better alternatives. Making your own unique mtx set is far too expensive and risky (no preview). Meanwhile you can spend all 550 supporter pack points on boxes and get bunch of random stuff. Get later even more random stuff and you actually can combine mtx from different sets and maybe it will even look nice.

"

I don't take the balance off the fact that certain things in the game are more profitable for those who play in the trade, that many people engage in certain content because they manage to do 50ex/hour. The question here is, do you engage with these mechanics, do you do these builds, do you play that way because it's what you prefer, or because it's what everyone else is doing and you don't want to be left behind.

I do this because someone envisioned that playing by yourself have to be pain in the ass and finding two usefull matching things is something you should be thankfull to RNG Gods.
To make any interesting build you have to trade. To trade you need currency and in POE there are usually only two options - you either do optimal stuff and make a lot or you do anything barely making anything or sometimes even wasting currency.

"

Some things can be done so that you don't fall into this trap in Path of Exile. The first one is to look for what makes you happy in the game, after all PoE is a game and you need to have fun here.

I like to run juicy maps. Not because they are optimal but because i have no fun running empty space while killing from time to time normal mobs. Can't juice maps without currency and also can't make enough currency without using "optimal" strategy.

Thou a bit indirect, but I have been a lot into this FOMO (fear of missing out) especially in investing, as soon as I monitor any stock and don't buy thinking it will fall, and it goes a bit up, I start having FOMO and thus it affects my self-confidence too.

The same happens with me in the path of exile too, till I don't do anything It's fine until someone else does or creates it and achieve it, I start feeling FOMO.


Regards,
Tristan Leroy Vidmate https://tutuappx.com/

i only read the headline and your name because of severe FOMO tbh

I think the OP makes some interesting points. The game is for our amusement, to see how many pixel-mobs we can pew-pew with our combined RNG-generated toys and the selection of skills and skill modifiers we have selected.

Players who measure their success against "pro" level streamers may be missing the point: We each play the game at our own level. To aspire to playing at a higher level isn't a bad thing, but feeling badly because someone else (who may enjoy the benefits of a no-lifer schedule and a cadre of generous fans) has exceeded one's own level of success can become a pursuit of an unrealistic goal.

I watch others play PoE to learn how they do things. Some of it I take away and learn from; the rest I eschew as irrelevant to my play style. I don't agonize over my "failure" to achieve the same degree of screen-blasting which streamers and the like display; instead, I recognize that I have neither the time nor the resources to emulate them.

I also recognize that I lack the knowledge base those more successful players have accumulated, as well as the inclination to develop and maintain such a knowledge base. I simply can't be troubled to try.

Finally, I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of PoE players are blissfully unaware of these ghod-tier players and their OP shenanigans. FOMO is something which afflicts those in a position to care, such as the vanishingly small number of players who frequent this forum, or those who actually watch streamers for anything but entertainment.

I make mediocre, fun builds, and play them until they break. Then I make other such builds. I'm not looking for bragging rights, just some mindless fun. Your km/l may vary. =^[.]^=

"

karoollll2534 wrote:

Two - map drops and league content usually drop maps. And you know. Game is balanced same way in stardard and league but in standard you get that much less maps forcing you to spend even more time interacting with garbage part of atlas system.

Why do people keep claiming this? Where is this evidence to show fewer map drops in standard?

I don't see a single difference...

"

Chalace2 wrote:

"

karoollll2534 wrote:

Two - map drops and league content usually drop maps. And you know. Game is balanced same way in stardard and league but in standard you get that much less maps forcing you to spend even more time interacting with garbage part of atlas system.

Why do people keep claiming this? Where is this evidence to show fewer map drops in standard?

I don't see a single difference...

League content usually drop maps. For example Ritual dropped plenty of them.
Even if league content doesn't drop maps you can still gain extra consumable items that will boost your drops (scarabs, chaos orbs etc.).

"

karoollll2534 wrote:

"

Chalace2 wrote:

"

karoollll2534 wrote:

Two - map drops and league content usually drop maps. And you know. Game is balanced same way in stardard and league but in standard you get that much less maps forcing you to spend even more time interacting with garbage part of atlas system.

Why do people keep claiming this? Where is this evidence to show fewer map drops in standard?

I don't see a single difference...

League content usually drop maps. For example Ritual dropped plenty of them.
Even if league content doesn't drop maps you can still gain extra consumable items that will boost your drops (scarabs, chaos orbs etc.).

That rarely equates to 'more maps'. Sure that chunk of mobs might drop an extra map 1/4 of the time, but that's all it is, a few extra mobs, from 1 of the dozen mechanics that now appear.

Consumables are available in standard too...

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Insinuating, as the post did, that you cant map in standard because drops are balanced around a league mechanic that barely drops maps is just plain false.