Solo endgame -- what to expect?

The endgame for many players is rerolling a new character after you get bored of your current one, whether that's at level 70 or at level 80 or at level 90. That's part of the reason many people play hardcore (the game will eventually FORCE you to reroll, attachments be damned).

Some people that care a lot about refining one build or reaching the top of the ladder will reroll it over and over and over again, and their endgame is "perfecting" their chosen build (which often takes rerolling).

This is also the biggest leg up this game has over TL2 (well, modded respec-happy TL2) and Diablo 3, as nonexistent character customization=no incentive to reroll=no payoff for investing in a new character.

If you are going to play solo, expect to rerun lots of low level maps that give you nothing in terms of XP or drops as you hope and pray for higher level map drops that you can then spend several chaos on rolling for a chance to gain 1/2 to 1 bar of XP. If you get the drops, the game will be fairly enjoyable. If you don't get the drops, you just keep grinding until you eventually do get a drop, play trade until you can buy the drops, or grind away until your soul is crushed and you uninstall. Welcome to Wraeclast.

Honestly because of the decreasing returns for XP to the point of tedium, for me the leveling stops being fun at around lvl 80. This is from a non-hardcore standpoint. Obviously if you have a hardcore character maybe you want to see how far you can push it before you hit your breaking point. For me, even with really OP characters, 74+ maps can be really dangerous and dying a couple times when you are already in your 80s just feels like time lost. I love the map system but if you didn't lose XP when you died and it was actually feasible to get to max lvl then I'd keep playing characters but with the way it is now, I can't see myself doing that. For me the endgame fun is farming up items until I get something really good and then starting a new character so it can use that item. I usually make at least one MF character in new leagues so I can get that sweet sweet loot easier. The map system is really fun so don't get me wrong but that fact that lvl 100 is almost unattainable just feels bad. That is something in their development that I think they should change. I actually liked the way D3 did it with paragon levels. Lvl 100 paragon was almost unattainable but it's not like you were missing out on too much except some magic find. So the object of playing was always loot attainment and not being lvl 100 paragon never felt bad because your character would be just as viable at lvl 1 paragon then lvl 100. Just my 2 cents.

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mustafa2812 wrote:

Honestly because of the decreasing returns for XP to the point of tedium, for me the leveling stops being fun at around lvl 80.

This...


my main is 85 and Ive had it with the 10hour setback every time I die...

Began a new char, still convincing myself not to sell the gear of my main.

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Earthslug wrote:

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mustafa2812 wrote:

Honestly because of the decreasing returns for XP to the point of tedium, for me the leveling stops being fun at around lvl 80.

This...


my main is 85 and Ive had it with the 10hour setback every time I die...

Began a new char, still convincing myself not to sell the gear of my main.

I just consider this game different from other games in this respect. For me it's about the loot, not about getting one character to max level. Finishing a build and doing high lvl maps to potentially get good loot and then maybe playing with some friends and stuff is what is fun for me. And since the ladder resets every 4 months it shouldnt be too tedious as long as I keep going for fresh builds. And the more builds I try, the better I understand the game and better I can do on my next character. But ya, being lvl 80 and then dying three times to the Torture Chamber boss and realizing that your entire day's play is pretty much moot now is not a good feeling. At least in hardcore when you die you are just done and you are forced to roll again. In standard leagues you get this "feel bad" penalty that doesn't kill your character outright but just slowly dissuades you from wanting to play it until you may as well have had a hardcore death and you just reroll.

@What to expect:
Quitting. You'll be at the point where exping in places below 72 is just a waste of time and then you'll try maintaining a 70+ map pool solo which will cost you all your money you have now and also what u will earn while doing the maps.
Ask any solo player who plays like I do, 1-3h per day max. GGG is a solo-player hater. Just read the patch notes and you'll understand why I said what I said.

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merlecorey2013 wrote:

Alright, so I was thinking about buying a supporter pack. You know, to show my support for the game and, well, the goodies are sort of nice, too.

I almost clicked the "Buy" button.

But then I started thinking. I don't have a regular group to play with, and most of the time I end up playing solo. So what do I have to look forward to? I am level 67 and the xp grind is becoming annoying. It's not a nice, relaxing grind, either: losing concentration means a waste of a *lot* of time. What's left? Maps? I tried soloing one, it was mildly entertaining, except for the part where the boss ate all xp I got clearing the rest of the map. Challenges? I tried a couple of those and they didn't look particularly interesting.

Am I missing something here? Because so far the rest of the game looks to me -- a solo player -- like it's going to be somewhere between uninteresting and painful. I hope I am wrong about this.

(Please don't take this as a QQ: it is entirely possible that the endgame of PoE is simply not for me. I am perfectly fine the possibility of not playing it and, well, spending my money on something else.)

Your assessment is pretty accurate. At level 67 XP slows down and the enemies get harder. The game becomes a grind. That's just the way it is. Maps are a nice aside but they don't hold my interest either because the map drop rates are terrible. It's hard to move up the map ladder to the higher level maps. You are always running out, being forced backwards. So for me, I just re-roll and create a new build every time I reach about level 66. However, this season I've have a level 78 Scion, the highest level character I have ever had, and level 69 Dual Wield Ranger which I will push higher when I feel the need for a change of pace. Unlike my level 66 Marauder, my Ranger actually has the ability (i.e. equipment/build) to go higher, I just don't have the desire to stick with her and grind out the levels. I have more fun playing alts/new builds. And if you haven't guessed yet, I'm doing the "level all 7 characters to level 65" challenge. It's what I like to do anyway.

I play pretty much always solo, it is a bit more expensive to maintain a 77+ map pool this way but I don't find poe to be as solo unfriendly as some ppl describe it. And you can always reroll and try out new builds, it's not like there is anything new to do with a character that is high level, just same old grind on the same maps.

You should expect the unexpected.

But, then you would be expecting it so it wouldn't be unexpected so you wouldn't need to expect it. But then if you don't need to expect it you won't be expecting it therefore it would be unexpected so you should expect it since it is the unexpected. But..

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shirusen wrote:

I play pretty much always solo, it is a bit more expensive to maintain a 77+ map pool this way but I don't find poe to be as solo unfriendly as some ppl describe it. And you can always reroll and try out new builds, it's not like there is anything new to do with a character that is high level, just same old grind on the same maps.

Agreed and i would like to add taht dieing (10%only setback now) isnt as terrible as it was before (bigger maps help a lot as you can clear a 73/74/75 in about 20/30mins for a good 3/5/7% exp @85/86)