Old timer RPG reflections

I remember as a kid finding out about this new game called a role playing game. Dungeons and Dragons wasn't out yet... we played using rules for table top miniatures. We made up our own rules as we went along to play. Then D&D came out and we started playing with those rules... came in four manila paperbacks. Still have them somewhere.

In designing campaigns, there were many different types. Some were more serious, and usually considered "mature". They involved politics and intrigue as well as a good smattering of dungeon crawling... but the combat made sense to the story being told.

Then there were campaigns where it was all about gaining levels and who had the most powerful gear. "Monty Haul" (a play on the game show host of "Let's make a deal" I never really understood these games, since the players basically made up their own gear anyway, and whoever could make up the silliest gear won.

PoE is transitioning from one style to the other. Stuff is being stuck into the game to give the players more and more loot... not to make the game more interesting, but to make it have more candy. GGG is playing the role of the DM who just makes up random stuff to excite the players.

I hope they realize this and try to swing back to the design that got many of us interested in the game in the first place. It's not too late, but a change in direction is needed.

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When have the players of this game ever been able to imagine their own gear into existence?

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Just introduced payed leagues. Problem solved.

The majority will always gather around the temp leagues anyway.

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Entropic_Fire wrote:

Hasn't PoE always fallen into the second category? Just with less candy than we have now.

Nope. Before, you had to make stuff work. You weren't given an item that works no matter what you do with it. New uniques are grossly overpowered. New skills are worse. There's no thought left... no choices that matter. Just "do this and you're good."

It's not about just more of the same.

I think paid leagues would work, depending on how they're done and how they're paid for. If it's one guy who has to pony up for everyone he invites... not so much.

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Shagsbeard wrote:

Nope. Before, you had to make stuff work. You weren't given an item that works no matter what you do with it. New uniques are grossly overpowered. New skills are worse. There's no thought left... no choices that matter. Just "do this and you're good."

This is a big part of why I play self-found. The game isn't exactly handing shavs and voltaxics to me on a silver platter, so I have to make do with what I get. My main doesn't have a single unique equipped. Alts have used some uniques while leveling but they generally get replaced by rares over time since the low level uniques aren't that good.

Sounds like the OP is confusing an ARPG with a story based RPG.

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Qiox wrote:

Sounds like the OP is confusing an ARPG with a story based RPG.

Confusion happens as we get older, it's right there in the thread title

Not confusing them... drawing an analogy. I've seen many games go the way that PoE has.