Feedback Request: Tempest League

i find tempest to be initially lack luster in terms of impact in normal but i can only assume they are going to make certain maps rippy as all hell. its a ramping scarey factor as far as i can tell... it also makes playing melee far more dangerous than ranged. i keep wanting to play melee but its just so much worse for hardcore

I think something that would make the tempests feel a lot better, and a lot more influential on play, is make the buff/debuff ones (except maybe the one that just freezes you) buff/debuff the player if they just enter the circle, and only effect the mobs when the tempests expire with the mobs inside of it. This should not effect the ones that have random skill effects.

This would help make the gameplay more fluid in my opinion because you could just run through them while going through the zone without having to stop to wait for them to expire because the durations are so short that they run out by the time you hit the next pack of mobs.

Also, on that note, I think increasing the duration of the buffs(maybe the debuffs too?) for players would be really useful.

- Are the Tempests impactful?

They can be, some of them completely block progression (life regen tempest vs stationary boss, poison on hit vs scary phys boss). And waiting for the next full hour is still a gamble, bad luck can be frustrating and make me wanna log from the character (or the game).

- Are they scary?

They definitely can be. Freezing tempest of intensity vs A4 Piety anyone? Potential for double added damage mods on mobs also always scary. As a nerfed ES user I also felt like they make relying on ES recharge exponentially harder (ground effects and golems all over, Vaal Cold Snap/Glacial Cascade hitting from 40 range etc.).

- Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?

Haven't had many, scroll fragments certainly didn't feel rewarding. :)

- Are they better at higher or lower levels?

Probably on higher, on lower it's hard to justify waiting around to stand in them, the buffs seemed too short for that.

- Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?

Not to my knowledge so far, definitely expecting some comunity site to go up at some point.

- Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?

Not really, friend wanted to play. Warbands sounded better based on the announcement.

- Did you play Warbands when you normally would have played Tempest?

Haven't played it yet, will try later.

Are the Tempests impactful?
Yes, progressing through normal and cruel felt like each area was a map. Which was fine and kept you gripped but at times it felt like the reward just wasnt there. Like having the regen tempest at Piety was a real pain in the arse with no reward.

Are they scary?
Doing Vaal Oversoul with hundreds of skeletons spawning around was hilarious AND scary.

Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?
Had the transmog one.. ooohhhh Chris. ;) Im amazed you didnt make one have items turn into fish, players had to run around to pick them up and hand in to Krillson.

Are they better at higher or lower levels?
I got to act 3 cruel solo self found 65 before dying and things felt like they were ramping up for sure, but wasn't feeling the reward was there. While progressing your quite weak and it takes you a while to kill a mob and if its affected by a tempest that tempest will have worn off by the time you've killed it.

Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?
Didn't see any talk in global about them.

Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?
I was quite hyped about giving hardcore a go again after lockstep but from the information we got about the new leagues Warbands looked more interesting.

I quite enjoyed the chaos that Tempest gave to the progression, made things harder. Slowed you down.

Are the Tempests impactful?
When they affect boss area, they are too much impactful. It just felt like promoting waiting the next reset as the rewards did not match the challenge and nothing promotes fighting in tempest.


Are they scary?
The tempest itself, rarely. It's more the map mods that comes with it.


Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?
Only witness transmog and it felt very annoying. It's nice to have items turned to currency but not rares. While fighting bosses, had to make sure I killed them without the buff on.


Are they better at higher or lower levels?
In normal they feel fun but not challenging. I do not think they improve very much in higher level.

Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?
No.

Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?
I play HC only and not because one league looks more attractive than an other.


Did you play Warbands when you normally would have played Tempest?
No.

Granted i've only made it to act 4 cruel malachai where I died, but a some of the tempests just feel annoying (chilled ground) whicle others just add damage to the mobs for 0 reward.

Are they scary?

Unless I am progressing and I don't want to wait, there is no reason for me to farm aquaducts with chilled ground...ill just go farm another similar level zone that has no or beneficial mods.If I feel under levelled or under geared I'll also skip areas that just give a flat 50% X damage + 25% res to mobs unless I absolutely must progress through there since there is 0 rewards but a lot more potential for death.

Overall, it feels to me like a super long haku mission that occasionally gives you short duration damage buffs but mostly gives you stuff to run around. (the restorative tempest is cool but made some act 4 fights 4x as long ☺)

I chose tempest because it was the only hc variant.
None of my friends share info on which zone has which tempest.

Are the Tempests impactful?

Not really, I just try to not stand in the bad onces. The good ones I only get very rarely, because it makes no sense to wait until the proc.

Are they scary?

So far I have only found the freezing one to really be scary. The damage ones I just avoid when I can and move out once they proc.
In Boss fights however, they are so scary that I waited to do fights with them active.

Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?

Yes and no. Having to stand in it for very long and then having it run out before you find any new monsters is stupid. It takes way to long to proc and then its not long enough of an effect to matter.

Are they better at higher or lower levels?

At lower levels they were barly noticable, at higher levels the thing that makes them better is the combination of suffix and prefixes. Having two modifieres makes it feel like early maps a bit.

Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?

Not yet. So far its been trial an error for me, but since I am still leveling I haven't had a need to go back to old zones for a tempest.

Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?

No, I play it because its hardcore. I find both mechanics to be potentially interesting but not well executed.

Did you play Warbands when you normally would have played Tempest?

No, but only because I enjoy hardcore more.

Final Notes: I think there should be a combination of scary and good. It makes no sense to not have a bonus for harder content but give out a huge bonus for nothing. This makes me just look out for the good tempestes and avoid anything else.

"

Chris wrote:

I worked closely on the Tempest League (with our designer Dan) and have been looking for feedback!

Level 75 Tempest player reporting in, done a handful of maps so far and cleared up to act 4 skillpoint in merciless, been playing mostly solo or in two-man parties with guildies. Not sure what to think of this league as of yet, most tempests in general seem unrewarding and some even encourages you halt progression for 1-3 hours. I haven't played today's patch yet though which seem to fix some of my issues with the league.

To break down your questions -

Are the Tempests impactful?
Sometimes they prevent you from progressing past an act after making a zone/boss unplayable for a certain build which I guess is impactful. They do slightly change how you play the game too; kiting around for a bit and maybe moving away from more things in fights, which is nice as it keeps you on your toes. Otherwise no, not really too impactful.

Are they scary?
Some are, they add an interesting concept but scary ones generally have high risk and no reward making you just avoid the scary ones.

Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?
Not enough? It's probably my usual luck though. I played some corrupting maps yesterday with my friend who culled bosses and the best drop we had was a Fairgrave's Tricorne with a white socket.

Are they better at higher or lower levels?
Better as in more fun? It's certainly easier to play around/ignore the ones at lower level and it's certainly not fun being slowed down (looking at your, SRS/Vaal summon tempests) or taking stupid risks (100% chaos damage conversion? I'll just wait an hour).
Some are pretty fun though, like bursts of speed, neutral damage zones and bonus exp encourages farming a zone you might not otherwise spend any time in.

Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?
WTB Wraeclast weather report. There's a site dedicated for it that no one is using.
Though - the only thing I'd like to know in advance atm is what maps not to run. I'd rather people got excited about lucrative tempests.

Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?
No, I prefer HC.

Are the Tempests impactful?
Sometimes, sometimes not. I hoenstly haven't been looking for them. I find the minimap thing a bit confusing and to much for now.
Nice thing would be to highlite the Tempest specific mods in the top right corner. If you are plaing a map you are not really sure what are the tempest now and need like 1min to figure it out.
I don't really feel. that waiting 5 seconds in a circle for a 5sec buff is worth it. I could have killed the next 2 packs by then, so i basiclly only waste time. Since most to none of them give rewards towards XP/items/currency i just run by them.

Are they scary?
Not that much. The only really scary ones are the freezing and lighning tempest. Currently only lvl 77, so i can't speak for mid-high level maps.


Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?
The only one i found till now, that effected item rewards was the tempest, that dropped scroll/trans shards everywhere, which was more annoying then rewarding. Maybe if they drop them in stacks i would pick them up.

Are they better at higher or lower levels?
I honestly completly ignored them till Merciless. They pretty much feel non existing.

Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?
No!

Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?
Nope, i thought Warbands sounded much more interesting than Tempest, but i purely play HC, so i played Tempest anyway.

Did you play Warbands when you normally would have played Tempest?
-

I'm not sure after these many replies, you'd still read every post in detail. But since you asked feedback...

Are the Tempests impactful?
Yes, early game not so much. Annoying is also impactful right?
Are they scary?
Some can make certain mobs scary as hell. Shrinking is not scary, but hilarious.
Do the ones that affect items feel rewarding?
The ones I've encountered not really. Maybe at higher difficulties this becomes better. The most unrewarding was one at the vaal temple, where the buff just didn't last long enough to get to the mobs or to get the mobs to the tempest. There's only one kind of quest I hate more than "Escort quests" and that is "lure quests". I still shake my head everytime catarine asks me to get some mobs. I'm not going out of my way on tempest to get mobs in the tempests. Obviously as melee it's extra annoying to get a buff, but not without getting (some of) the aggroing mobs to get the buff as well.
Are they better at higher or lower levels?
I ripped by a double tap of the laser. My friends mention that in Cruel it becomes more scary, but it's less exciting than invasion or bloodlines. Early game (Act 1/2) they kind of suck. Also the fire golem/totem spawning one is frustrating. The unique tempest with the skeleton generals is kinda cool, but we all agreed that they should at least drop some loot.
Do people share information about what Tempests are running right now?
Yeah our guild. Didnt check Global, too much spam there usually.
Did you play Tempest because you thought it was more interesting than Warbands?
A big fat NO. Warbands look way more interesting, but it's softcore. I play tempest because it's the current hardcore league.
Did you play Warbands when you normally would have played Tempest?
No, without the fear of death PoE looses it's attraction to quickly.

Random remarks
Restorative tempests in boss area's are progress barring. Especially at the start of the league with shitty items the fights are challenging enough as they are. After my RIP I'd a restorative tempest at Voll, I simply asked a friend to kill him. And I'm someone who despises being carried through bosses.

The challenge of tempests is becoming very binary. Directly on entering a map you can check whether it's worth it or not. Don't interpret "Worth" wrong in that sentence, there aren't really any rewards for doing the scary ones unless combo-ed with the item ones. What invasion and bloodlines (and nemesis to a lesser extent) gave you was a surprise and just that could be damnnnnn scary.

While progressing there is zero incentive to stand still and wait for the buff effect.

The flame golems that one spawns seem to look identical to our own golems. Same for the fire totems.
Raging spirit tempest... sigh, I just ignore them. I'll identify stuff later.

Tackling hard/challenging content should be rewarded. I'm also still flabbergasted that like dominus (unless you count a rare map a reward), malachai also gives no skill point as a reward. A map with hard mods still give you quantity in exchange. There is zero incentive to do a risky tempest area.

My suggestions
Attach a reward directly to the tempest mods, don't wait for a negative and positive mod to roll together.
Make the elemental tempests more like actual storms. (Barely) No windup for the effects. For fire: drop them meteors!
Grant Buffs/Debuffs directly on hitting a tempest instead of waiting for them to windup. This makes pathing more interesting and doesn't slow down your progress in case of buffs.

Get rid of restorative tempest. It lasts to short to be impactful to the player (look I can sustain my incenarate... oh wait *gulp*) and it has no place near unique enemies who have a beefy health pool already.