My impressions from a little over 2 months of beta...

So Ive been in the beta a fair while now, but haven't played much lately. Thats not cause im 'bored' this is a beta and I know our progress is pointless anyway, I am a committed tester and would normally be happy to log on at least every other day just to provide data for GGG.

But a little while ago while watching extensive gameplay videos for Diablo3 it struck me what it is about POE that has never sat well with me.

First though Id like to say aside from this 1 issue, which Ill come to shortly, this is a great game. Its easily the best dungeonhack/loot game Ive played since Diablo 2, absolutely no question. It totally blows away Titan Quest, Torchlight and Sacred 2 which were the next best thing until recently.

I love so much about this game, the skill system is great, the loot mechanics including the no gold 'orb' system is a breath of fresh air, the classes are solid if not groundbreaking, it looks great, runs smooth and the passive tree is like a dream come true for someone like me.

So now onto the negative bit, it became apparent after getting two characters to MOC that in order to be effective and competitive in any meaningful way that charges play a massive part in any good build. GGG even actively promote this idea, so its not like something they aren't aware of, I just don't like the whole charge mechanics and how it plays out. I really dislike feeling forced to play a particular way in order to play my class at an optimal level.

Yes I know it doesn't matter if im not optimal, but for me at least I hate playing a build which I know is handicapped because of a fundamental game system that you cannot avoid. Charges force you to play quickly, they force a particular style of combat, its all about maintaining charges and often I found myself just not being bothered, I felt it detracted from the game ALOT.

In the end my archer build didn't bother with charges at all. And sure I could be effective solo, but where my build was doing (for example) 2500 dps frenzy builds could double, triple or even more that number with ease. Its not like there is another route, for dex builds the absolute optimal route is frenzy charges, likewise for strength builds endurance charges are key.

I know this is a non issue for most, but betas are for feedback and this is my feedback based on a fairly lengthy play time. As much as I love the game, the charge system is just to central and integral to the gameplay for my liking. Maybe in time this focus will change, but for now Im hanging up my sword, that said I wish GGG all the best for the future, its a great game and deserves success.

BTW I have a beta key to give away if anyone needs it.

Could I use your key in a riddle thread on the beta invite page? Ive been wanting to post a riddle for ages =P.

I have probably played less than you, but I find it really difficult to get charges of any kind. I only have one gem that adds (frenzy) charges, and im using a templar.
It might be central to my build later, but right now thats impossible because theres no way for me to use charges.

Im playing in hardcore, and If I killed fast enough to optimise using frenzy charges, its likely I'd die from going too fast =P.
Flicker strike is the easiest way to make sure I make it to the next enemy before the charges run out, and that is a risky skill if you spam it =P.

Honestly, I don't see the perfect builds ever coming out for any class in this game.

There is enough versatility, in the skill tree's everyone will be better off, understanding their classes and play-style, rather then trying to adapt to someoneelses.

Only concern obviously is skill balancing and tree balancing in general, but optimal? Not of a high concern, balancing has yet to be heavily done yet, and there is still work to do in that respect thats obvious.

But I re-iterate, that I don't think that there will ever be a more optimal build then one that you can create your self that is functional to your playstyle and experience.

I get what the OP is saying. I dun care too much for the whole "charge" mechanic, either, and really can't see chasing them down, much. I stumbled across charges with my dual-wand Witch and Power Siphon. Call me slow, but it took me a bit to work out any benefit to using that Mana-sucking pig of a skill, and only after adding Lesser Multiple Projectiles did it start to shine (even sucking more mana).

Problem is, to start, you first have to have a charge-producing skill gem, and then the naked charges dun do much, for the brief time they last. Unless you want to chase more hits to sustain charges (not always as easy as it might be), it certainly can seem to be a bother.

Then there is the issue of making those charges worth chasing. There are passives available (often at the extreme ends of skill chains), as well as active skills like Discharge. But the investment of skill elements seems to foster very narrow specialization, in a mechanic which can be functionally demanding.

Do these skills work? Of course they do. Do they fit everyone's play style, of course not. You get out of them what you put into them, and in a game like this, POWER is King. Charges are power. What are needed are some viable alternative mechanics to achieving similar levels of power in the game. ='[.]'=

If you wouldn't mind giving your spare key to me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Reading your post though, I suppose this is something I will have to see for myself before I can pass an actual opinion on it. At this time, much of what I've played during the open weekend pleasently surprised me and made me yearn for more. Should I receive a key in the near future and this topic remains active, I'll give greater insight to your post.

MoC is tempt though, everything will probably change once we hit OB and beyond...

The only problem with games like these (ARPGs) is that regardless of weather or not its Charge or AoF or something, someone is always going to find something "OP" and share it with the community//friends.

"Hey guys check out my 150k insta kill blablabla build"
Then everyone will feel that this is the most optimal way to play etc etc...

I think the more important questions are not weather or not to change those builds but rather implement more.. "options" so to say and make more OP/silly builds. If you're 2 shotting mobs doing 6.5k dps, but someone doing like 160k dps is 1 shotting mobs, there's not really much difference.. you're still killing stuff super fast, you shouldn't feel like you need to change your build just to hop on the bandwagon. Yeah sure they're killing stuff faster and getting more loot but they will also be subject to the nerf when it comes around, possibly lose interest in their character and be unable to change because they're fully geared towards their current build anyway.

Its important to ask yourself:

1) Are you having fun while playing
2) Is the game rewarding enough without being too demanding
3) Is there not too large of a learning curve.

If the company does these aspects well than its only going to get better as the game goes on. I think GGG does an excellent job at this.

My 2c anyway :)

Is this charge system anything like the build up of a Frenzy Barb in D2? Meaning only when you continuously hit mobs are you at full capacity and racing to the next group over and over again to avoid the skills ramp up. Or is this system completely different?

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Poelyons wrote:

Is this charge system anything like the build up of a Frenzy Barb in D2? Meaning only when you continuously hit mobs are you at full capacity and racing to the next group over and over again to avoid the skills ramp up. Or is this system completely different?

yes you pretty much have the idea the OP was referring to down, frenzy charges are exactly the same.

I dislike charges and diamond flasks as I play a slower, more methodical style of gameplay. So, simply, I don't use them. It's working out ok for me, just taking me a bit longer to get through stuff.

Bottom line, you can't appeal to everyone all the time.