0.9.10 Information and News

The public weekend went really well. We saw 55,000 different accounts try the game and received a huge amount of useful feedback. Two server stability issues were discovered, which we're working on fixes for. We have high hopes for being able to withstand an onslaught of players when the Open Beta starts.

The 0.9.10 patch is almost ready, and contains (among dozens of other changes) the following major features:

• At least five new player-designed Unique items.
• Increased the difficulty of Cruel, Ruthless and Merciless by adjusting monster damage and pack sizes.
• If you want to compare an item to one you have equipped, press Alt while hovering over the item and it will display your equipped one for comparison.
• You can now make your party public by giving it a name on the party screen. Players can browse public parties associated with a town by clicking the Notice Board in town or by using the social screen. For example, if you need help with Merveil, you might name your party "Help with Merveil". Players then see it on the list and join it to help you out. You can make it private again or rename it if your situation changes.
• Short-duration timed loot allocation (see this old thread for our thoughts on it). In multiplayer instances, certain items (magic, rare, unique, currency and gems) are now allocated to a random nearby player for a short duration, during which time only that player may pick them up. This duration is increased by the time it would take the player to run to the item. Note that the allocation time is short enough that players must still pay close attention to what items drop in combat and to take them immediately if they want them.

Here's a picture of the (work in progress!) new town layout that includes the notice board used for public parties. You'll notice we've moved the stash away from the door.

We're expecting to deploy 0.9.10 late next week, but that might change if other large features are ready in time and can be included.

It's (tentatively) looking like the 0.9.11 patch will contain the Act Two Boss and our new end-game. More information will be available once that is closer to release.

In the near future we'll begin teasing images of Act Three.

We will also announce a more-firm date for the start of Open Beta. It's very likely that this will not fall in June, which was the last public estimate we stated. We have a list of must-have features (Trade, Arena PvP, etc) that we'd love to include.

Thanks again for your patience and support as we finish the game. We have a lot of exciting stuff lined up for the next few months and I can't wait to let you guys try it out :)

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KoTao wrote:

Everything looks good except for the gimmicky loot system change, which seems like a bandaid solution to a problem that doesnt actually exist outside of a few whine-filled forum threads.

Try it next week and let us know what you think. We're trying to keep the frantic item-grab moment while still allowing ranged character (and players with higher latency) enough time to react.

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KoTao wrote:

I also hope the new endgame has the same level of randomness as maelstrom of chaos (which is great fun, btw), and isnt just a fifth difficulty with static monster/item levels thats otherwise functionally identical to the previous four.

The new endgame will be far more random than the Maelstrom is right now. The fourth difficulty is being removed once we add Act Three.

I expect we'll post a developer diary entry about our philosophy of end-game play as we announce the details of this system.

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darkjoy wrote:

Wasn't act 3 like, almost done - months ago? Same with the act 2 boss, i remember chris saying it was finished and ready to be implemented...

how long does it take to add a trade function, apparently months..

Yes

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OnmyojiOmn wrote:

The more I think about this looting change, the more disappointed I am. It does absolutely nothing to solve the problem and the implications for what GGG thinks grouping should be like are pretty unfortunate. Rather than just being greedy jerks about loot and sometimes being too far away, we can all be greedy jerks and be equally rewarded for it. It doesn't look like I'm ever going to be able to group with people in this game.

We're happy to adapt the system based on feedback from the players. We posted this idea 16 months ago (in that infamous thread I linked to in the original post) and only found time in the schedule to add it this week. It'll be pretty interesting to see how it affects the grouping dynamics.

We have been clear from the start though - PoE is about items mattering. We want to make item drops be exciting, and that requires both highs and lows.

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cronus wrote:

@chris: one question about the loot dropping change:
do other players see the individual loot dropping immediately or after the timeout expired?

They see it immediately. There's a countdown timer.

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Chameleon wrote:

Since you said Items matter, do you think it fair that a Ranger can only carry 3 bows and 3 quivers(and virtually nothing else) while a Shadow can carry something like 20+ claws?

This is done on purpose!

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Charanjaydemyr wrote:

I like the new town layout as well. Do I not see enough high-end witches? That circlet she has on is unfamiliar to me.

It's an upcoming microtransaction skin (not in 0.9.10).

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sakalthor wrote:

But what if I want to start a party alone (because no one is willing to join right in that moment)? Will I be able to post on the board?
If it is not possible, could you please also compose an option to open my instance for joining (so I will be able to form a party with newcomers) ?

Yes. You can make it public at any time.