The average poe player doesnt know what theyre talking about!

With any end game life build I run enfeeble on blas period. Huge. Makes 7K life act like 10K ES at least. Not playing much this ladder but here setup from breach enhanced 5 temp chains and enfeeble


If interested in build its here face roll all guardains and shaper. (Not my build but I made it Big 6 viable for him see aim_deep version)
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1682703

And yes game is hard as fuck if not impossible for 98% of builds at Big 6. 99% of the other game time its a lame arcade shooter. Like Chis even said watch TV while playing. What kinda attitude is that? Basically saying "our game is White noise"

Which HOWA? ST or BF?

While a lot of you make very valid points, in the end GGG is in the game business to make money and hopefully enjoy crafting this arpg. As a "for profit" business GGG must analyze all the feedback and game statistics they can get and then decide:

1. How can we keep making PoE appealing to the largest audience.
    Can GGG find the not too hard, not too soft, but just right level of difficulty
    that will net them the greatest quantity of players worldwide (at least in theory)
    and thus give them the greatest opportunity for revenue.
2. How can we appeal to the top hardcore arpg players without losing #1.
3. How can we keep players interested in playing for maximum time (years).

If 98% of players say "PoE is too hard" and quit and the 2% left are super happy, then GGG and only GGG can know (based on their internal private statistics) whether doing so (keeping PoE like it was before Ascendancy and the upward spiral of power creep) will generate a better return on investment than the path they chose and what PoE is today.

No one has a crystal ball and can play the "what if" game and be able to see 2 or 3 years ahead what the consequences of their decisions will have for the whole of the PoE game. I'm still amazed by a stat that Chris made last fall as a guest on the Lioneye's Watch podcast where (toward the end) he said that their statistics showed that 50% of new players quit before reaching normal act II. Whether that was due to Brutus or Merveil boss battles being "too hard" for new players or many just didn't like the look, feel, or style of arpg play no one knows (yes I know we all breeze through act I in our sleep). But if 50% of all who come and try PoE because it's "free-to-play" quit right out of the gate then something is missing. Possibly f-t-p means they get millions of kids trying PoE and looking at everything out there that is free and thus it is just a normal side effect that half will quit after a brief time. Maybe some do think The Warden boss fight is too hard and quit because they got slammed by Brutus and spiked at the same time and die many times. Maybe the art of kiting needs to be in a big easy to read PoE tutorial for all new players to read before stepping one foot in Wraeclast. Who knows?

The point I'm attempting to make here is that we all have our own "just right" way we would like PoE to be and GGG must do what they feel is in the best interests of making money and keeping in the black (has anyone here had to make payroll every week for 95+ employees with a free-to-play game? Sounds scary to me but I'm glad GGG can do it). If GGG thinks that player retention and mtx purchases hing upon slowly over time always raising the killing speed (which they did and now have server simulation computation overload and additional lag as a result) then that's why we have this much power creep. A new challenge league every 3 months or so and a new act(s) every year is definitely needed and done to keep player retention as high as possible. These and many other game changes are constantly being run through their internal process pipeline and the future path of PoE is always in a state of flux based upon how we react to playing PoE with our feedback, daily player numbers, and mtx and supporter pack sales.

"

Puraime wrote:

I dont have problem appealing to casuals, and game already does, appeal to casuals you can easily be viable in tier 8s to 11s and you can reach level 100 if you keep running those maps carefully in standard.

So I dont see problem with that, but on other side although game does appeal to hardcore fans I would say their philosophy of making average joe builds having to spend year or two to catch up to meta builds in terms of gears and investment they have to make to do so and that game revolve around challenge league is quite weird to me.

I mean who cares about shaper kills and guardian kills if its cheaper to just pay people to do it, because such maps cost more than actual kill service.

I think the problem of game is economy is shit unless you play hardcore and for casuals and non-basement dwellers its very unfriendly.

I used to be kind of like no lifer few years ago but after I got married and got job, it does feel bit of nightmare in that regard.

No - you see, the problem of the game is any and all focus on fucking ECONOMY.

IMHO the entire concept of economy in ARPGs is what is ruining ARPGs. Yeah, I am a staunch, anti-social prick - but I know what I think is fun in a game, and that is finding loot not buying it.

{removed}

One thing is for sure, game balance (if that's ever possible in such a complex arpg) is less important than this:

Keeping as many players chasing the proverbial carrot of PoE (level 100 and/or BiS gear) and happy to be doing so for 1000s of hours and years of playing to generate supporter pack and mtx sales is the ultimate driving force for GGG. If GGG only garners an uber hardcore arpg player base and is a very small niche arpg then they may not be able to survive (one only has to look back on the tragedy of Iron Lore after TQIT came out). It's certainly true that for GGG to keep up the pace of a new challenge league every 3 months and a new act every year or so the company has to grow and thus with more employees we get a more polished game (most of the time) but then that requires an arpg development shift to an arpg that can attrack and retain a larger player base.

"

Slaanesh69 wrote:

IMHO the entire concept of economy in ARPGs is what is ruining ARPGs. Yeah, I am a staunch, anti-social prick - but I know what I think is fun in a game, and that is finding loot not buying it.

I agree. I'd be much happier finding top gear than being required/forced into buying it. But right there GGG shoots (has shot) themselves in the foot in focusing on making trading a high priority but at the same time making trading as difficult and undesirable to do at the same time. All in the name of protecting the game economy from bot farmers and flippers (that just fuels the PoE RMT black market). Come on GGG, which it is, are you setting the drop rates super low to motivate us to trade or are you making trade so damned frustrating and infuriating to use that we say "fuck trading" and go SSF route or "fuck this shit I quit!" to "protect" the game economy (if that's even possible)? You can't do both and shouldn't even be trying to do both because it isn't working. My choice is just give us asynchronous trade and I'll stop playing SSF and buy gear and set my stash up for selling and buy more stash tab space. I'm not in favor of the Blizzard solution to abandon trading completely and increase quality gear drop rates and have class bound gear.

I always thought that players of POE were avid ARPG gamers. Regardless of what a lot of people think the average player in POE is still an above average ARPG player.

With that in mind, the first thing that all ARPG players should know is that patches ALWAYS invalidates gear eventually. I don't understand how players can be upset about mechanics/game changes that change an ARPG. Diablo did this multiple times with nerfs to attack speed, etc. POE has also nerfed a lot of stuff and invalidated builds over the years.

If you are an average POE player then in most cases you should understand that the nature of this game has to change in order to maintain longevity.

Is there a lot of power creep? Yeah maybe... Will the nerfs in 3.0 be counter to that power creep? Maybe again (since we will have pantheon).

It's to early to tell. One thing is certain though: Players that fall in love with their current gear/build should always know that it could all fall apart in an iterative patch.

I enjoy the discovery in this game. A lot of builds I have made will probably be no bueno in 3.0. Unlike many, however, this gives me hope instead of dispair. I get to learn POE all over again and there is a lot of fun to be had in that discovery.

Sit back and relax, friends! This POE journey is one the longest and most enjoyable gaming "rides" most of us have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. A phoenix will always rise from the ashes.

:)

"

Arrowneous wrote:

"

Slaanesh69 wrote:

IMHO the entire concept of economy in ARPGs is what is ruining ARPGs. Yeah, I am a staunch, anti-social prick - but I know what I think is fun in a game, and that is finding loot not buying it.

I agree. I'd be much happier finding top gear than being required/forced into buying it. But right there GGG shoots (has shot) themselves in the foot in focusing on making trading a high priority but at the same time making trading as difficult and undesirable to do at the same time. All in the name of protecting the game economy from bot farmers and flippers (that just fuels the PoE RMT black market). Come on GGG, which it is, are you setting the drop rates super low to motivate us to trade or are you making trade so damned frustrating and infuriating to use that we say "fuck trading" and go SSF route or "fuck this shit I quit!" to "protect" the game economy (if that's even possible)? You can't do both and shouldn't even be trying to do both because it isn't working. My choice is just give us asynchronous trade and I'll stop playing SSF and buy gear and set my stash up for selling and buy more stash tab space. I'm not in favor of the Blizzard solution to abandon trading completely and increase quality gear drop rates and have class bound gear.

omg, TWO people that agree with me.

Too bad the devs don't. This game is literally a economy simulator.

This game is what you choose to make it. If you trade, guess what... it becomes a game about trading. If you play SSF, guess what... it becomes a game of struggling to find stuff you wish you had. If you play for chalenges, guess what... you have to grind.

It's not brain surgery. The people who are frustrated are people who don't understand that the goals they set have to reflect the nature of how they play.

"

Shagsbeard wrote:

If you play SSF, guess what... it becomes a game of struggling to find stuff you wish you had.

And in most cases you won't ever get it. You think that's good game design? To HAVE to trade or you will never ever get it?