So why does GGG want PoE to be a twitch reaction arpg?

Since the introduction of Ascendancy GGG has allowed power creep to go up and up and up. In response to the power creep GGG has nerfed defense so now our builds have to have uber DPS to one or two shot all mobs to prevent death (best defense is a good offence). Also, I've noticed that as the minor/major patches are released that GGG is moving more and more toward surprise attacks from off screen creatures. This blind-siding from creatures in an attempt to compensate for our exiles high DPS to keep PoE a "hardcore" arpg is very frustrating and annoying. All the incoming attacks from off screen just means that our reaction time needs to be quicker to avoid death and is transforming PoE into a twitch reaction game and farther and farther away from the original design as a strategic hardcore arpg. There is much less strategy today and PoE is now more a "just make a million+ DPS build and shatter everything in a blink of the eye" shooter. Then GGG increases the boss hp as in the "we doubled it" thinking that didn't work for the "other Wilson" resulting in more maps where once it is cleared then we just skip the boss. Sad, very sad.

On the flip side GGG is making the main 10 acts more of a walk in the park for all veteran and skilled players so that we can race through to the endgame in record time (I saw lots of players running maps in the first weekend of patch 3.0 release). With the gap between new players and top elite veterans increasing with every major/minor patch I see GGG getting squeezed in between the "rock and a hard place" game balance wise more and more. What is GGG's next move in December to combat power creep or have they completely given up on trying to balance their game? Is it an impossible task?
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Twitchy kids have disposable income.
Shagsbeard pretty much beat me to it.

I would have said: "Because the general populace likes twitch reaction ARPGs."
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Arrowneous wrote:
Is it an impossible task?


Of course it is an impossible task. Impossible in terms of reaching the point THEY want their game to be at? No. Impossible in term of satisfying you - an at the same time satisfying the rest of the community? Yes. There are TONS of players in here, "demanding" a fast paced, DPS driven game, where they no-brain their way through the content. So just because YOU (or I, for that matter) view it as "bad" for the game and rather boring, the reality might be that it's good for the game.

And I think you exaggerate quite a bit. I have - in my 4 years of playing - NEVER been "one-shot" without me thinking "that could've been avoided, if I...". And what type of defenses have they nerfed post-ascendancy other than ES? Don't get me wrong, I don't feel that the balance between offense and defense is at a good state for my liking, but...
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Yeah, I kinda skimmed Arrow's post since I was in a bit of a hurry at the time. I haven't really noticed much in the way of surprise attacks like he describes in OP either. I was thinking more about the speed vs strategy distinction, in that for some reason, people enjoy, or think they enjoy, ever faster and smoother lawnmowing. Being forced to stop and think about how you should confront a difficult foe is something that I'm pretty sure the average gamer finds annoying, even if a minority of us find it to be a satisfying challenge to overcome.

More annoyed average gamers = Less income and game growth.

The thing that intrigues me is - did the game designers ever actually intend strategic/tactical response to be a core part of POE as Arrow says they did? Or was it merely some of us projecting our views of what constitutes a "hardcore" RPG and what kind of design was implied by a Skilldrasil and modular skills (gem system)? I don't ever remember reading Chris mention anything about that kind of play - assessing a situation, using different tools to address different problems - just that POE is a game where you grind for gear, and that they were making the type of game they would want to play.
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If you want to know why PoE is in the state it is, just listen to Chris talk about practically anything. Sooner than later, he will utter the phrase "players want <X>".

Problem is, you can't trust your audience to design your game for you. Ask 100 players what they want, and 99 will say something to the effect of "more power", "more loot", etc. And if you keep indulging them, the end result is what you see with PoE.

GGG need to come up with a vision of their own and stick to it, rather than caving to the "moar stuff pls" crowd. 'Cause that shit ain't sustainable.
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suszterpatt wrote:


GGG need to come up with a vision of their own and stick to it, rather than caving to the "moar stuff pls" crowd. 'Cause that shit ain't sustainable.


Just saying, Diablo 3 was chock full of decisions based on what they heard players wanted.
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Its very lame. I love the ARPG's where clever character building combined with loot can make you a god. Unfortunately this game has turned into twitchy drink mountain dew and eat durritos and stay up all night.
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3.13 was the pinnacle of PoE. IVYS+1 Gang 4 Life.
I'm old. And slow. And cold. And there are wolves after me. Okay, three of these are true. And I am currently playing a poor defense frost blades character that relies mostly on dodge and whirling blades to not die on the hard stuff. THAT is semi-twitchy, I suppose, but do-able even for old me.

That being said, I am just finishing the grind to 90 on her and really haven't delved much past T14 maps, so amateur twitchy then.

The current meta is high enough life to avoid most one hits, massive leech and Bob's your uncle. You by a Kaom's HEart to foundation your 12,000 life and a Disfavour or Starforge for your massive dps and there you go.

Or, like me, you fall prey to your pride, and SSF to your own level of accomplishment. Dammit I got off track again........where are my keys.......what was I doing?
Last edited by Slaanesh69#4492 on Nov 11, 2017, 11:39:50 PM
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鬼殺し wrote:
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Shagsbeard wrote:
Twitchy kids have disposable income.


The ambiguities of 'twitch' aside, I'd like elaboration on that. 'Kids have disposable income' rings untrue to me so I'm guessing 'twitchy kids' means something other than 'kids'? A little confused. Adghar's response doesn't really clarify things either.

I also disagree with Arrow's core premise. If anything, it's less about reactive play (what I consider 'real time skill', or tactical play) and more about beefing the fuck out of your character's damage output and mitigation before even leaving town through trading (strategic setup). The only thing I've seen added to PoE in the past year or two that promotes real time skill happens to be the most loathed addition to the game. Arrow acknowledges this state, mentioning 'million dps' and 'powercreep', but then suggested that GGG's reaction to that has been to make the game more twitchy with 'surprise attacks'. Sure, but the response to those isn't to twitch. It's to embrace whatever meta is going on. It's still a matter of gear, not player skill. And it likely always will be.

Even with the introduction of lockstep, GGG haven't really embraced real time skill/reactive play. It's just more bullet hell and gear checks. Watching someone stream map after map isn't exhilarating or exciting. It's drudgery between moments of awesome item drops. We don't see 'amazing plays' where the streamer's reactions produce action sequences worthy of rewatching. Mostly it's stop moving oh so briefly, one-click, kill lots of shit, move on. Or mix it all together. It's still one click, maybe two. That's pretty much the opposite of reactive, 'twitchy' gameplay.

Which is fine. Plenty of games are dedicated to satisfying the real time skill/reactive play itch. PoE is for other things. And you're all veteran enough that I don't have to explain what they are.


+1 and very well spotted.

Although I have a slightly different experience. Skillplay does matter, as bullet hell rewards "twithcy" reactions, and currently, if you know what your doing, you can advance leaning more heavily on real time skill and proactive play, if your gear and/or build is sufficient to breach the wall posed at times by certain DPS checks.

Even with lockstep, GGG knows that going full throtle on reactive gameplay is a pipe dream, due to the "always online" nature of PoE. So they try to give a "semblance" of "twitchy" skillplay being rewarded, especially via the "end game" special content like Uber Atziri/Izaro, Guardians or Shaper etc.

Unfortunately, due to the way scaling works in PoE, there is a severe gap between "opie-op meta" and anything else these days...
PSS: Our almighty TencentGGG overlords are very scrupulous regarding criticizing their abilities to take proper decisions and consider everything "needlessly harsh and condescending"...

Good to know "free speech" doesn't apply in any form or manner on the forums these days...

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