The -15% exp penalty is obnoxiously bad outdated design.

I actually think bad design is what most other games do: very very relaxed and minimal death penalties.

Torchlight 1 had that problem. I played that game on the hardest difficulty, and I still didn't feel challenged. I died more often, but the death penalty was so ridiculously low that I never cared if I died. I even downloaded a mod that made the game even more difficult, but since the death penalties were hard-coded, the game still ended up being easy because I could restart on the same dungeon floor that I died on and only pay a tiny fraction of my gold. (which I didn't need anyway because the loot drops were way too frequent) That's when I stopped playing the game.

Torchlight 2 suffers from the same problem. The death penalty is so small that there isn't any reason to play carefully or even pay attention to what you are doing. That isn't exciting, it's just boring.

Keep the harsh death penalty in PoE please, because it's bad game design to have no death penalty.

I think its the only way to make softcore challenging...this game was made for primarily hardcore players ;)

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Fluttershypony wrote:

Having exp loss in a grindy game where you can randomly go 3000+ -> 0hp in the span of 3 seconds is retarded design.

Now add in bad netcode, rubberbanding, invisible projectiles and burning aura mobs that still do full damage 3/4 of the screen away(in your client) and this is the complete opposite of fun.

You should try hardcore. Die once and it's all over. :)

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JohnNamikaze wrote:

Honestly, I find the EXP penalty from Cruel difficulty to Merciless Difficulty a bit intimidating. I can deal with the 5% experience loss from dying in cruel mode since I am always careful, but just having the 15% penalty there in Merciless mode really want me to avoid it.

I can understand that the EXP penalties will increase from each difficulties, but what I do not understand is that the increase is not consistent at all.

Cruel = 5%
Merciless = 15%

Well actually, according to OB notes,

Patch 0.10.0 :

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Chris wrote:

The experience penalties on death are now 0% for Normal, 7.5% for Cruel and 15% for Merciless difficulty.

Didn't see any other mention of exp penalties in the further patches.

As someone who just logged out because he died to being surrounded by a pincer attack of two groups of enemies the same second he walked into a room and being locked in around very low hitting enemies (the depths, the lowest freaking pillow throwing enemies in the entire game) and still dying.. I can say..

Death penalty is outdated and stupid. You earn the experience, at higher levels, by investing a large amount of time, you should keep it. It is a grind fest of a game it seems. Most will not hit the hard grind and continue forward. That's just how it's going to be. It's not going to make anyone better or worse by having the experience debt removed. Is someone going to spend days on end dying over and over without making a change whether or not they lose experience? No, probably not. Many massively played games have dropped a large penalty on death.

By even going non glass cannon, a lower level 1300 hp ranger with 60-75% resists in elemental (30% physical reduction), can die in a split second on merciless act 1 without running headfirst into anything. I don't like having to off screen scout areas personally, but on this game it seems to want you to.

To all you elitists out there, hardcore mode will probably always exists. Losing a large deal of experience on death is only going to make people who are intermediately interested in this game quit earlier than they usually would.

I am into this game, but I know right now, losing experience on death is going to make me quit. Probably not until I am in the high 70's, but it will. I have quit many games because the experience debt gets worse and worse.

Spending 2 hours on a level is gratifying enough without having to think about having done it and not having the chance of losing experience THAT level. Dying isn't fun. Losing time with nothing to show for it isn't fun. Nothing is worse than building something and then having it destroyed.

To those who like experience debt, I don't know why. Does it keep the bad players from reaching high levels? Does it keep assholes from reaching higher levels? It only hinders progress and you're no better or worse for having triumphed over it. If it gives you a greater feeling of accomplishment, that's good. And that's a reason to want something. But to me it doesn't. To me overcoming the challenge of not dying and losing experience marks the end of one crappy chapter and the start of another. Until I have read all I feel that I can.

I would say the main reason I feel this way is because of how quickly you can die. And someone not very well geared or without any real escape gems can do very little about that no matter what their build is.

tl;dr

I don't like experience debt, boo, waaah. Is anyone still here?

Dont go to places where you can die if your gear is bad?) its about decisions. When i see i already have 60% of lvl i go back to docks and ruins and solaris to happily farm up last 40% and level up. And when i go to maps i prefer to not have any exp at all because you never know whats there to instagib you)

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LostRavens wrote:

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Fluttershypony wrote:

Having exp loss in a grindy game where you can randomly go 3000+ -> 0hp in the span of 3 seconds is retarded design.

Now add in bad netcode, rubberbanding, invisible projectiles and burning aura mobs that still do full damage 3/4 of the screen away(in your client) and this is the complete opposite of fun.

You should try hardcore. Die once and it's all over. :)

more like, Lag once, and it's all over.

The xp penalty stops me from rushing headlong into bosses and mini-bosses hoping to win a war of attrition. That is not the way you should be playing, you should approach an encounter using your brains, you should have to think and not just lazily suicide as you chip away at a mobs health while you watch tv in the background.

With a penalty like this, you learn to respect the 'world' you're adventuring in. Removing it would just bring Path of Exile in line with the thousands and thousands of other games that pander to the players.

The penalty should stay, it's one of the things that makes Path of Exile unique and, in part, gives the game it's character.