Are the changes GGG has implemented encouraging Temp Leagues, or Discouraging them?

1) I love grinding maps. The thing I love most about the game is maps. Now I have reason to visit every map, every three months. Death to Gorge rotations! Maybe I am an outlier, but even with an Act V release I am looking forward to more maps than most other things.

2) Trials/Labs. I dislike trials (especially Burning Rage). I like labs. I'm going to give the Uber lab a good 10 runs right after I write this post.

3) The XP nerf means nothing to me. My highest character is 95 and I view anything over 90 a bonus.

4) Did rotations until I got one 7. Piled everyone in the hideout and stopped. It's easier than ever now, but the prospect of doing this many rotations every day turned me off. I was happy to do 4. I just do not care about having a level 8 master at all.

Honestly I'll probably never play a temp league again, never going through uber trials (rng issue not traps) or masters again.

I've shared many times why I did. But I'll oblige the request:

I didn't do this league because I'm working up a stash and masters within Standard League after giving up on HC play. We'll see how they modify the game when they remove a play through... I might go back to HC. But for now, I've got masters to work on and an atlas to fill up. That's plenty. Don't need leagues to give me anything more to do.

Filling in maps you don't have is horrid without trading. Hell if it weren't for buying from Zana I would be stuck at T6 maps.

Atlas is the first system where I may consider sticking to standard afterward. I've struggled at various times to get certain connecting maps. In almost every tier so far, I've had to do some maps upwards of 15-20 times just to finally get that next map. I saved tons of Graveyards to get that unique map but had to end up buying it because of it didn't drop.

I just got to level 90, I'm trying to push into the red tiers but my connecting maps aren't dropping the next tiers. I don't want to resort to trading but I may have to at least trade for 1 of each map to unlock it to drop.

I thought the idea of prophecy was to make it feel like you were progressing towards a goal. I hope they address this issue, I don't think I want to go through this every league. I love the reset of economy and everything but.. I'm not sure on this.

Masters I don't mind that much.. I don't worry about getting to 8 so it's not that big of a deal to me. Trials aren't too bad either. But the Atlas could use some work.

From a casual player's perspective (Average maybe 15 hours a week):

I really enjoy the Temp Leagues. I play PRIMARILY hardcore, I find the concept of finite death to be extremely exciting and immersive (slightly masochistic perhaps). So, for me, I don't mind re-rolling characters. This game isn't my life, this isn't the only game I play, and I certainly have enjoyed my experience with this game (since the days of Beta).

It is really exciting to start fresh in a new economy, to be equals with everybody. The end result being everything RIPS to Standard/HC Standard, that simply allows for fallback options in case I happen to dive into the game in between leagues. Same concept as "seasons" in most other games; they are meant to be temporary "races", or slightly modified game experiences that break the pattern of the norm, or "standard", if you will.

I take it for what it is worth. I know full well jumping into a new league that this is all temporary, and that eventually everything I accumulate here will ultimately end up in the Standard league. And that's fine. I play Temp Leagues because they are FUN, for the reasons specified above. I do enjoy the idea of leagues being "open betas" for new content; and surprisingly, that does not bother me one bit. Entertainment is entertainment; I only have to invest as much as I'm willing to "lose".

So, yes, I will always continue to play Temp Leagues :)

This is the first time I stick with the game, having tried it two years ago and found desync to be an unbearable burden. Since I really liked the game last time, it's not unexpected that I've come to love it this time and now have my first character running maps after having cleared merciless. There are, however a few comments I wanted to share as somebody who isn't yet burned out with the game and the timed leagues as some others are:

1) Re: Atlas. I like the Atlas progression overall, because unlocking things in the map and slowly building up your bonus is quite entertaining, while giving you reasons to run all maps you can. However, I must add my voice to those that say the chance of dropping connected maps is just too low. I've cleared 55 maps and only had to buy one or two (I seriously don't know what those who had bought 40 out of 50 maps have been doing), but I have like many others had to on occasions run a single map ten times to get a connected map. Running a map because you like it is great, running it for a connected map sucks.

Also I can't understand how it can be so common to get T2-T3 maps while running T10. If it is impossible to get a T10 drop from a T1 map (and it is) then it should just as well be impossible, or at least very unlikely, that one should get a T1 map as the sole map drop from a T10. It feels unfair, because there's absolutely nothing to be gained from running T1 maps once you're past them. Map drops should be weighted so you're always more likely to get maps that are, say, 3-4 tiers from yours downwards and 1-2 upwards.

2) Re: Trials/labs. They're annoying, particularly the platforming part since the desync that seems to have disappeared from most of the game is very much alive in those parts. I've died several times on trials/labs when, after running through a set of traps, I'm suddenly transported back right to the middle of one. At the very least the whole system needs to be looked at, and if no fix is found then the importance of traps needs to be greatly diminished. Other than that, the lab is actually a fun thing to do and one I don't mind too much - it's dying to desync on trap areas that feels cheap and makes the game seem poorly coded.

3) Experience gains/loss needs to be looked at. I'm barely 86, but already losing 10% of my level to a death feels like a lot of time. I'm already sure I won't make it to 100, probably no even 95. The thing is, the game as it stands has way too many opportunities to one-shot-kill you, and it's even worse when for example you open a strong box and 50 minions are summoned, then they all cast something at the same time and your framerate drops to 0, then you die. If these issues can't be fixed then experience nerfs and penalties need to be looked at, perhaps even relaxed. When you die to your own lack of skills it's one thing, but dying to the game lagging because of poor preloading of assets AND losing a day of progress should never happen.

4) Master leveling: It's boring. It seems to go too slow, and particularly Vorici seems poorly designed. However, this is something that could get better by just speeding it up a bit, and perhaps allowing characters to "inherit" the hideout from their Standard characters. It's not really such a big bonus that it would make leveling on a league unfair, and even if it was newer players would only be at a disadvantage during their first league - where it's almost impossible they'll place near the top of the ladder anyway.


Overall I must say I love the game, however, but I do believe the community is spot on on several of these points - however, thankfully none of them is something so big as to say the game is just broken. Everything can be fixed, and I hope GGG does manage to address these points.

I have to say ,I decided to play entirely self found this league and I am at 88 level atm with 67 maps on atlas. I discover 3-4-5 maps a day ,master grinding is fueled with prophecies as well (all masters at 6 ,some are now 7). Cleared Uber lab for the first time and it was very fun.

And have to say I haven't experienced desync at all this league!

Really enjoying atlas ,I haven't stumbled upon the problems you guys encounter ,maybe it feels there is a problem ,but each day for 2-3 h I have discovered atleast 3 new maps. Self-found player here.

15 hours/week isn't "casual".

to answer the ops question, the answer is discourage.

forsaken masters was at the brink
atlas pushed it over the tipping point.


There is no way in hell i will unlock this thing again in a temp league and be happy. its designed to take a casual player forever to unlock as the only way to unlock it fast it to take litterally every advantage you can think of when it presents itself


you need a pool of mates that actively map and actively share unlocking maps
you will need to level zana because she offers maps you dont have unlocked
you will need to trade because the more you unlock the harder it is to get the shit you want to drop

also fuck vaals bricking maps.. it was cute back when it didnt matter .

its a time tax and other games are on the horizon.


The funny thing tho is this does encourage hardcore play.. if for no other reason then i can get the easy *new* content and rip it to standard.


i played hardcore semi seriously for the first time this league . level 75 and going... made some sick summoner belts to rip to standard too :)