Developer Q&A - Part I

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We generally try to create content that doesn't require insane clear-speed.

Then why are most mechanics you recently developed either explicitely or implicitely timed? Breach, Abyss, Elder decay mechanics, Incursion, Delve (darkness/moving crawler), Synthesis decay?

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The honest answer here is that we believe that game systems like Delve will become boring if you have unlimited access to them, and so it's important to limit their access by requiring regular Path of Exile play between sessions of special content.

I'd like to decide myself at what point I get bored and I certainly don't want an arrogantly patronizing Sulphite nanny telling me "no more fun allowed". In case I get bored with one aspect of a game, I play another aspect, but hitting a Sulphite paywall when wanting to delve does make me both angry and bored.

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Bex_GGG wrote:

Hey everyone, we've done our best to gather all the most pressing questions into the first part of this Q&A. Let me know if there are any missing and I'll make sure we get them into part two's answers next week.

Hi Bex, after meeting the Sulphite nanny and reading all the completely justified player outcries about trade, here are my questions:

Comparing Diablo 2's unlimited waypoint access to POE's ingame-currency-pay-to-play system (maps, chisels, Zana mods, fragments, Sulphite,...), where are your advantages? Or, where do you think Diablo 2 gets hurt from having no paywalls and RNG limitations?

What are your arguments against workaround-solutions to take out the worst pressure from the trade debate without implementing an AH, like NPCs offering all kinds of currency exchange and selling every map in unlimited amounts?

1. Idea:
It would be awesome to see a post with opinions of like 10-20 members of the GGG staff regarding the current trade system.
Let them buy some low-value unique and rare items and like 20 different low-value maps and post their opinions and how long they took to get the items.
This should not be that time-consuming, if the current trade system is fine.
@Bex_GGG

2. Idea:
I know enforcing player interaction is a good thing. (no sarcasm)

However trading is NOT a good player interaction. It actively hurts the player retention. (i think, at least I played way less and some other guys who wrote comments seemed to do the same)

You could enhance other aspects of player interaction like party play.
In my opinion, it does not feel rewarding in low to low red maps.
The only time I feel rewarded for playing in a party is, when I am FORCED to play in a party to sustain T16 Maps. And even then I don't feel rewarded for party-play.
I think if you expand the buffs a party gives, the game would benefit extremely!
I would like the party-bonus to be: e.g. More monsters in each area, more Quantity and Rarity Bonus than currently, maybe 1% Exp-Boost per party member, ...

Hey GGG team!
I have a little question , so i hope ill be seen and answered!
Will you change delve in future? I love this content very much and i dont want to play it in lesion
Certainly, i like to go deeper and take really cool rewards from it, more risks = more profit, i think its politics of delve, so please, dont change it

I just want to sustain map without feeling that I'm missing out on sustain when skipping betrayal/delve. Which I really do not enjoy playing.

I love ggg

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sofocle10000 wrote:

if they actually bring PoE back to it's ARPG roots, instead of the current "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"...

When has ARPGs not been "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"s? D2 is the archetype, and clear-speed was as relevant then as it is now.

Yay on possible South Africa servers!

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Revarine wrote:

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sofocle10000 wrote:

if they actually bring PoE back to it's ARPG roots, instead of the current "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"...

When has ARPGs not been "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"s? D2 is the archetype, and clear-speed was as relevant then as it is now.

First of all, D2 was released back in 2000, that's a fairly early one, it was the pioneer of the genre at that time basically, shaping how the majority afterwards was released.

Yes, you could become fast, though on the other hand as you progressed you had to put more and more effort into your build, this felt 'ok-ish' to a degree.

Now let's take a step forward to 'modern' ARPGs which are well known:
Grim Dawn: Fights matter, no zoom-zoom boom-boom in general, each encounter feels somewhat meaningful with bosses, even some random mobs are fairly dangerous.
Torchlight franchise: Fairly casual, though nonetheless there were a few rather hard encounters on the higher difficulty levels, nonetheless those took a while to complete and the normal play-routine wasn't zoom-zoom...

Even Sacred 2 (with all its flaws) had better fights then PoE has now to a large degree.

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Kulze wrote:

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Revarine wrote:

"

sofocle10000 wrote:

if they actually bring PoE back to it's ARPG roots, instead of the current "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"...

When has ARPGs not been "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"s? D2 is the archetype, and clear-speed was as relevant then as it is now.

First of all, D2 was released back in 2000, that's a fairly early one, it was the pioneer of the genre at that time basically, shaping how the majority afterwards was released.

Yes, you could become fast, though on the other hand as you progressed you had to put more and more effort into your build, this felt 'ok-ish' to a degree.

Now let's take a step forward to 'modern' ARPGs which are well known:
Grim Dawn: Fights matter, no zoom-zoom boom-boom in general, each encounter feels somewhat meaningful with bosses, even some random mobs are fairly dangerous.
Torchlight franchise: Fairly casual, though nonetheless there were a few rather hard encounters on the higher difficulty levels, nonetheless those took a while to complete and the normal play-routine wasn't zoom-zoom...

Even Sacred 2 (with all its flaws) had better fights then PoE has now to a large degree.

Yeah, but that's a game design choice. It basically comes down to the opinions of the game designers and Chris Wilson. Like, I've always had in the back of my head an idea for an absolutely brutal, Dark Souls-ish ARPG, where random trash could absolutely murder you if you were caught off guard. Boss fights would take dozens of tries for ordinary mortals.

Would this be fun? Not for the majority of human beings. PoE is not this imaginary game, nor will it ever try to be this game.

I like how a good hit can clear the entire screen in PoE. More importantly, it's a intentional design choice. One of the biggest things that makes video games terrible is when it doesn't know what the hell it is.

I have a really good suggestion for upcoming leagues, make all the masters available from Zana mods for an amount of Chaos of course, so you don't have to repeatably do maps over and over and hope for the master you need will spawn in the map.

At the same time players will be able to enjoy the content they want to do.

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Revarine wrote:

Spoiler

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Kulze wrote:

"

Revarine wrote:

When has ARPGs not been "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom arcade shooter"s? D2 is the archetype, and clear-speed was as relevant then as it is now.

First of all, D2 was released back in 2000, that's a fairly early one, it was the pioneer of the genre at that time basically, shaping how the majority afterwards was released.

Yes, you could become fast, though on the other hand as you progressed you had to put more and more effort into your build, this felt 'ok-ish' to a degree.

Now let's take a step forward to 'modern' ARPGs which are well known:
Grim Dawn: Fights matter, no zoom-zoom boom-boom in general, each encounter feels somewhat meaningful with bosses, even some random mobs are fairly dangerous.
Torchlight franchise: Fairly casual, though nonetheless there were a few rather hard encounters on the higher difficulty levels, nonetheless those took a while to complete and the normal play-routine wasn't zoom-zoom...

Even Sacred 2 (with all its flaws) had better fights then PoE has now to a large degree.

Yeah, but that's a game design choice. It basically comes down to the opinions of the game designers and Chris Wilson. Like, I've always had in the back of my head an idea for an absolutely brutal, Dark Souls-ish ARPG, where random trash could absolutely murder you if you were caught off guard. Boss fights would take dozens of tries for ordinary mortals.

Would this be fun? Not for the majority of human beings. PoE is not this imaginary game, nor will it ever try to be this game.

I like how a good hit can clear the entire screen in PoE. More importantly, it's a intentional design choice. One of the biggest things that makes video games terrible is when it doesn't know what the hell it is.

Well, some of us remember PoE in a time when Piety was the "end game" boss, way before Dominus got added and r@ped his fair share of "hardcore" players...

Newsflash, PoE actually started as the "ONE AND ONLY HARDCORE ARPG" on the market. It then got flooded with casuals and "meta slaves" that want to enjoy the "pew-pew one shot zoom-zoom current arcade shooter @#%&fest". And that is fine. Let me repeat it, THAT IS FINE.

What is hurtful and totally demeaning is the fact that TencentGGG's "1K pretzel eating dev & balance meme teams" don't get that by doing that concession, they need to adapt and improve the game a lot more, on a lot more points than they managed currently...

And they don't get to call PoE an ARPG, not until loot actually drops and can be useful in a "timely" manner for a player without sinking his entire lifespan in an effort to actually grab a f@cking rare from the ground and use it with success in the goddamn end game... They really need to bring back some "real weight" to rare drops in contrast to them being "gud & up to snuff" via mainly "crafting" (and I mean "crafting" as in deterministic spamming for a specific outcome)...

As much as you can tout ARPGs were always fast, take a long look at those first ARPGs, and I do mean Diablo and it's more successful sequel that was followed by various ARPGs titles mentioned above (Titan Quest was and still is an epic one to be mentioned, Sacred series were also noteworthy, heck, even the first Dungeon Siege was a nice take on the genre, besides those newer additions like Grim Dawn, Torchlight series, Van Helsing series or Deathspank).

Those all had in common the fact that loot was meaningful, or at least more meaningful than the hideous "schmuck proof HIDE IT ALL" loot filter abominations which HIDE, and I emphasize HIDING GODDAMN LOOT in an ARPG, but without those PoE would simply be UNPLAYABLE in it's state...

Even Borderlands series managed loot on simply another level compared to PoE, and I mean it is mind boggling to see that RNG loot in contrast to the one in PoE...

So please, don't even start to try to provide excuses for TencentGGG. They simply need to "git gud & up to snuff" like yesterday...