Why are free-loaders complaining?

I can definitely see where you're coming from OP. I follow the patch notes, development manifesto etc and it is so annoying to see some people in the comments just shit on GGG because they made some decision they don't like.

There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism but just straight up insulting the devs or making hyperbolic claims about how the game is so broken because they made a balance change you don't like really irks me.

Even if we take an absolute non-donater, which I believe is a strong abstraction from actual poe playerbase, he still brings value to a game making it more populated and therefore popular.

Why would a n00b just trying the game be a supporter? I mean, I'm sure it happens but typically not so much.

GGG (and some of us) like to hear what they have to say as they see the game with fresh eyes.

Opinions are like assholes ...

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Sarno wrote:

There is a difference between complaints and constructive criticism. I have, on just about every game's forum, seen what amounts to little more than toxic bashing of ideas / developers / anyone who has an opinion which differs from that of the poster. Regardless of how much money someone may have spent on the game, that is not helpful.

Admittedly this is why I go to Reddit first for all my PoE information. All the negativity tends to get down voted. I'm a bit of a sadist and still like to visit the general discussion section though.

"

Sarno wrote:

You can use a browser extension to hide posts from specific people. :)

I had no idea this was a thing, thank you!

The game is not free. It costs your time. And honestly, I don't know about your time, but my time (the amount I've put in so far) is worth more (to me) than the 30-70 dollars I would have to pay for the game.

Why do I complain even if something is "free"? Because the game has great potential but there are things that are not implemented well.

And yes, I would prefer a better game that I would have to pay for. I would generally prefer PoE to not be f2p.

I support this game by giving it my time

In the real world time=money Kappa

Thus i have given PoE $33761 at an average takeout place wage if i had a job instead of played PoE

Sometimes if given correctly those people with 1000's of hours and no supporter packs or tabs purchased can be quite useful to GGG moving forward. It just all depends on how its presented to be honest.

Just an example of why "freeloaders" complain. When the game released 4 years ago I had a better pc than the minimum system requirements (which you won't find anywhere on the website).

Game grew but the system requirements have not been updated in the last 4 years. Guess what? My (now) potato can't run the game without potato settings anymore.

I know people will go with the "buy a better pc" but dumping all responsibility on the user instead of fixing or improving performance (which is observable only for people with 2 years old pcs or newer) is plain bullshit.

Call it what you will but when the developer intentionally waves listing a minimum setup requirement I see no reason on supporting.

As someone who's bought a few packs, I'm all good with people who "freeload" contributing to balance discussions.

One of the perks of the game not being pay to win is that our play experience is mostly identical, and that means that their opinion is just as valid as mine.

Yes, I agree that if people get countless hours of play out of the game they should contribute what they can monetarily, but even if they never do, they are still contributing to the size of the playerbase, and that's still important.

In fact: one could see a contribution to balance/game discussion as a meaningful contribution as well.

It doesnt take microtransactions to be able to appreciate current game/meta concerns, and I like it that way.

I shudder to think that non-constructive complaints from paying players get given any more credence than those from non-payers.

Read OP. Some thoughts:

× Supporting (buying cosmetics/etc) is not carte blanche for having a poor attitude and complaining.

× Choosing not to support (not buying cosmetics/etc) does not diminish the legitimacy of constructive criticism.

× Looking at how much iJunk a Player has purchased (how much they have supported) to evaluate the legitimacy of their feedback is ridiculous.