So, I just uninstalled PoE today.

would be really bad to see another long time player go for good.

hope you find some fun after they patched melee so it also clears 3 screens in advance like for example essence drain/contagion.

edit: actually i would also be a bit lost if i couldn't just use 3 quads for synthesis items until someone figured out the underlying tech.

Nice constructive post gibbous. I'm mostly a lurker, but I have followed your posts for a while.

I took a much needed break from PoE over 2.5 years ago. I couldn't sustain maps and eventually ran out of currency and patience so I decided to step back. A few friends of mine convinced me to go play WoW and Diablo 3 and that held my attention for a while, but after the Blizzcon fiasco and poor WoW expansion release, I could finally see the direction that company was going. (Took me a while due to blind trust issues) I decided to come back and try PoE again.

Point #1

I started playing PoE again mid-Betrayal and was very pleased to see all the new acts and everything new that had been implemented in the game. I noticed along the level grind how ridiculous grouping is/was, and went back to solo play. However, I found a build I really liked, completed the Atlas (first time seeing the Atlas) was sustaining my own maps and made lots of currency. I decided to try grouping again and it wasn't how I wanted to play the game.

Point #2

I haven't been back long enough to see 100% of the issues mentioned, but after Betrayal, I felt like 4 releases a year was not only bold, it was impossible to release quality, finished content. I leveled my first max level character and I was having a lot of fun, but Syndicate was convoluted and downright annoying to me. Late game, I skipped most of Syndicate because I couldn't be bothered with ridiculous one-shot portals and clunky graphical performance issues on my more than capable, modern game rig. In Synthesis, it didn't take long before I was skipping the core mechanic in almost every zone because it was too buggy. Fast forward to act 9: Every single time I had an encounter with Syndicate, boom, game crash. I finally abandoned my character and made a new one in hopes GGG would have it fixed by the time I leveled another character. I started a new character, but now I'm tentative to continue on because it looks like nothing is getting done.

#3. I can't agree more. When I was cleaning up my Standard stash tabs between leagues, this was my first experience with the the non-removable, "remove only" map stash tab fiasco.

I am trying to figure out what to play in the mean time.

i really hope that after they finished the unique tab now, there is some "jonathan time" for a tab overhaul.

"

andreicde wrote:

"

Shagsbeard wrote:

I agree with many of your complaints, and quitting is always an option.

If you find something that replaces PoE, come back and tell us about it.

Grim Dawn. They are also releasing a new DLC in 10 days. It will not be free like POE's league, but it will certainly be worth more than the MTX from POE.

Check out Last Epoch if you haven't already. It isn't out yet but you can get into the pre alpha and it looks like it's gonna be pretty fun. Also I believe the beta starts next month

Gibbousmoon, hate to see you go. :-(

I played a lot of Grim Dawn and Diablo 3 (as well as XCOM) when I left PoE before coming back after GGG reduced some of the labyrinth loathsomeness. Those are both good choices to consider.

Regarding the third issue in the OP of mtx'es, if we compare the cost of Warcraft to PoE. I think that Warcraft costs somewhere around $150 to $200 to play per year. I've given close to that to GGG but I'll guess that most people haven't, especially the folks that never post on this forum. Thinking about it in those terms, I can understand why GGG feels they need to get very aggressive in getting people to buy more stash tabs.

I definitely agree with the first two issues.

"

Off-topic: fucking love your ring. Not sure I ever got the chance to say it directly. It's a stand-out supporter unique and I sort of miss finding it in 'Merciless'. :)

I'm playing a lot of Last Epoch right now; it's great if you're eager for that 'nascent might be great ARPG with a lot of potential and passion' feel from PoE's CB. It's a rough-around-the-edges alpha with some really clever mechanics. Given it's made by Exiles, you can tell it's responding directly to some of the long-term problems with this game (while at the same time striking off on its own direction). That and waiting to see what the heck happens next with Wolcen. They're saying beta 'soon'. Yeah, we'll see. They've already simplified the heck out of their passive system but beefed up the active skill trees...Eh, I'll take that one as it comes.

For a while I sort of feared that we'd see no new ARPGs given PoE rules the roost now and it's a very niche genre these days but I think it's become clear that whatever PoE has mutated into over the years, it isn't the ultimate ARPG. There will be another. And another, hopefully.

Thanks my man! That means a lot coming from you. I never saw it directly, but always liked getting random messages about it. Thanks for that, it brightened my day.

Re: Last Epoch, I was just checking that out! I will also check out Wolcen, never heard of it.

Being a true ARPG'er, I am very pleased to see new ones! I truly thought the genre would disappear.

Again, appreciate the props!

Good post! I agree with your thoughts.

For me, though, I would add to those points that practically all the content being gated behind layers of RNG is really what's taking the bigest toll on me.

But yeah, time is our most precious resource, as once it runs out, we die. Don't waste it on things you don't enjoy, if you can avoid it.

Cheers!

If I can be perfectly honest, I agree with these issues, and yet I have not played much of the game. The MTX prices have been an issue for the long time and honestly should be lowered a while ago because to my understanding it has been like this for a while. Now, on the other hand, I have no issue spending money on something if I find myself enjoying it. The game is definitely not "new-player-friendly".

Very good post.
I agree to all 3 points totally.

A new expansion every 3 month is incredible much work.
They do it ok but it isn't possible to do this well.
And merging all new stuff to standard makes this even worse.
Even 3 instead of 4 new expansions per anno would be too much.

Until now I could stand this by knowing I have time to complete or start league mechanics and missing end game content in standard later.
But they are making it nearly impossible for me by destroying map stashes every 3 months.

I don't understand why new leagues should be more important than standard to give them new money. When starting a new league I have plenty of empty stash tabs and don't need to buy something (except 1-2 new character slots).
Stash space in standard - that's my problem.

The path PoE is going isn't a good one any longer.