70 Hours and already burned out, how do you do it?

Client open for 70 hours, but probably < 50 hours actual playtime, during commercial breaks, etc.

The game obviously attracts intelligent and articulate people, but what is surprising is that they can continue to derive satisfaction from doing the same basic thing over and over and over. If this was 1995 and everyone was 13 years old, I would *totally get it*, but its 2018 and most of the people are adults with prior history in games.

I can only play about 30 minutes at a time. Empty inventory, do a circle or two, then I'm done.

What I've noticed:

*Drops are fewer and farther between the higher level I have gotten. The "loot pinata" aspect is trending down.

*I've seen many (most?) builds are just variations of AOE spells that get larger diameter/spread the more sockets are linked. In one case it might be fireballs, in another lightning, in another arrows raining from the sky. But its all the same idea, an expanding AOE cloud.

*Builds are cookie cutter and for the majority of the player base there is no creativity. At least not within the first 500 hours.

*There is no real competition. I suppose players race at the beginning of a season, but for the most part its a sandbox game. But there is nothing to show for it. At least in Minecraft you can share your creations. In PoE what are you going to share, a build you copied? (Look ma, no hands!) Really?

*There is an undercurrent of *addiction* referenced in the forums. I've read many people talk about how they are getting so out of shape, having played 5K, 10K+ hours, neglecting life responsibilities, etc.. That playing PoE is basically a never ending grind for gear. Based on the simplicity of the game, I can't imagine that any healthy adults would derive any long term satisfaction from this. I suspect addiction and avoidance behavior is behind most of the hours logged in PoE.

Serious question, do you long term players get a gambler's high when an expensive piece of gear drops? Is that what keeps you playing? I'm at the point where the loot pinata is drying up and I just don't seem to care. If I got a 6L unique I probably wouldn't care at this point.

I'm mid act-9 and will probably finish just for the story, but based on what i know about human nature, PoE is designed to prey upon addictive behavior. As a game, its basically a 90's side scroller with fancy graphics and a zillion gems that do the same thing.

The game does not get addictive until you hit maps and start to progress the atlas and see your build start to come into it's own.

What you've experienced so far is the trudge known as the act leveling process which most players try to rush through as fast as possible - usually within 8-10 hours. It makes up only 1-5% of most player's overall playtime.

I've been playing poe on and off for 5 years and it's the only game that has ever kept my attention for that span of time.

OP never played a isometric dungeon crawler. I cringed hard at this " review".

One character at level 63. Uh... you have not even finished the intro yet. You know, the part that the top players will get through in under 4 hours tomorrow when the new league starts.

OFC it's built for addictive personality: it is wholly based around rng and maximum grind for minimal reward. We can't "explain" how to enjoy it, either it is for you or it isn't.

If that's how you feel, and you prefer games that offer variety of different impressions in short periods of time (like heavy rain or smth.), it's totally cool, but this is just not your kind of game. Maps won't motivate you in the slightest. You can move on.

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Builds are cookie cutter and for the majority of the player base there is no creativity. At least not within the first 500 hours.

This is what's killing you. Don't do what everyone else does.

Yeah exactly my thoughts. No "healthy" adult can grind this repetitive content unless they are braindead or a streamer who is earning money from it.

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ariakas6165 wrote:

Yeah exactly my thoughts. No "healthy" adult can grind this repetitive content unless they are braindead or a streamer who is earning money from it.

I always wonder what horrifying deviance is secretly exhibited by those so prone to criticisizing the vices of others.

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鬼殺し wrote:

I stop to pee. And eat. And shower. And do lots of other things.

Ah who am i kidding? I open a portal and alt tab to the forum and go "afk" in game for hours. The portal is because i know i will die but don't want the zone to despawn.

But seriously i can probably only play 3 or 4 hours in a row before i remember I wpuld rather be doing something else.

A few hours of that and I come up with another dumb build and I am back to saying hi to me old mate Hillock.

I have literally nothing else in common with this person, but we have the same motivation, or lack thereof, when it comes to playing this game.

I play in the HC mode of whatever league is current. What keeps me playing is constantly losing characters and gear. I never have to play the same build twice because I'm so trash I tend to rip right around the time I get bored with a build.