Why do I play less and less

Honest question: why do you want to level past 80? You know it's just more of the same, right? The only thing to do up there is run maps, which is presumably what you've been doing on the way to 80 anyway.

A game like this has to "end" for a character somewhere. Trying to hold on to them forever is always going to result in these kinds of concerns - progression gets harder, the XP curve gets steeper, and so fewer and fewer people will have the will to do all the grinding and trading needed to get there. There's no shame in not being one of those people.

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GusTheCrocodile wrote:

Honest question: why do you want to level past 80?

For me its not about leveling past 80 or to 100, I dont care about charts and my build is already done at lvl 84 (everything more is just a bonus).

Its about experiencing all the content the game has to offer - which means all the maps. When Ill do that, I can retire in peace and fulfilment, knowing I have brought one char to the "game over" screen.

Thanks for replies, everybody.

@Gus
Your question is pretty hard to answer. I tried to think of some simple answer but I guess it's more about feeling than anything and simple answers would lead to pointless discussion. I'll try with a bit longer answer:
The game doesn't end at 80 or in a level 70 map and it adds to the feeling of "missing out something" when you get stuck there. The rest of the game is kinda locked out of reach. And to get the key to it you have to pay the price I describe in OP. At higher levels you still get more passives, in the top maps you get the top mods. One could as well stop playing after beating normal Piety. You can do that, but for many players it's not satisfying. People want to play the whole game just because there is more, I guess. I don't plan to play till level 100 (or even 90). I can tolerate certain levels (94+?) being exclusive to Chinese grinders if this is the idea of good game design of GGG. I just want to taste the whole game before I'm encouraged to reroll/flip/RMT/scam/multibox.

Edit: OK, morbo said it first, it just took me so long to write it and I'm leaving it up there :)

The devs need to take some of these criticisms very seriously.

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wiggin wrote:

The game doesn't end at 80 or in a level 70 map and it adds to the feeling of "missing out something" when you get stuck there.

The game doesn't end at all, though. There is no end. There is no game over screen, it's in your head, and that means you get to choose where it is. So if you just decide to choose 80 instead of 94 (because really, why 94 and not 95?), then there's no problem anymore.

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morbo wrote:

Its about experiencing all the content the game has to offer - which means all the maps. When Ill do that, I can retire in peace and fulfilment, knowing I have brought one char to the "game over" screen.

So if the highest map wasn't realistically completable until you're level 99, would you really let yourself feel unsatisfied for not getting to it?

I'm sorry if it sounds a bit preachy, but...you know, GGG isn't the only party responsible for how you react to their game. Ultimately, your goals are in your head, which means they're in your control. Learning to accept that you won't get absolutely everything is a healthy thing to do.

So enough of that then. Do you have any suggestions as to what you'd like the devs to do about any of this, wiggin? How could the game be different in a way that solves these problems?

make high lvl map drops a bit more common.

and increase orb drop rates so ppl will use them for crafting and not like d3 gold.

really who loses when they make high lvl maps a bit more accessable?

edit also remove 100 % useless pre/suffixes aka thorns. That would help selffound and wouldnt make trading 100 $ mandatory.

No Gus, there is simply 66-77 maps and then there is nothing. It's not exactly "the end" screen but there is no more so it's quite natural to call it "the end of content". I didn't choose it, GGG did. The level is a secondary thing, but it is related to the content part because of how exp works. If I experienced all maps at level 80 (or 77 in fact) it would be cool to be done with the char by then if one doesn't strive for the Chinese lv100 style. It's not the case, though.

And if the highest map wasn't completable until 99 then the design would be even worse than now. Unless the experience values were reworked greatly but it's pointless to talk about it I think.

You know, it is kinda bs to blame anyone for feeling something. If the feelings we get from playing the game were mostly negative the playerbase would suffer (both ways). So we have feedback forum and provide feedback.

I don't have any particular solution in mind, I just shared my view on certain problem I experience with PoE. I know there are some suggestions relating this topic on forums. One of them would be removal of MF from gear, I guess. It wouldn't solve everything but it would solve something. Maybe the map drop rates and map mod bonus quantity values tweaking would help. Maybe a lot more complex rework is needed.

Leaving the character because you are disgusted, bored or frustrated without experiencing the whole game is bad, especially when it's not the "fail build" case. And it's not as hard to tell these cases apart. And it takes away the will to reroll and eventually leads to quitting.

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karlklaps wrote:

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Describe teh shield please! ( ES one ? ) PM sent.

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wiggin wrote:

You know, it is kinda bs to blame anyone for feeling something.

I don't like the word "blame" which is why I didn't use it; I think it implies doing something wrong. I don't think you've done anything wrong, least of all give feedback; indeed I think giving honest feedback about how the game makes you feel is great.

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wiggin wrote:

I didn't choose it, GGG did.

But you feel you have a "right", in some respect, to experience all of this "content". You choose that marker, you make that declaration. This idea that "it exists in the game, therefore I must have it" is not some default, blank-slate axiom, it's an expectation that you are responsible for.

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wiggin wrote:

TL;DR
To have more fun with this game I must have less fun with this game.

Well written Wiggin, I'm heading that way myself.

Another thing I like to add is the varied UI issues in this game. It's really small but over time it builds and builds and becomes a sore spot on the game.