Why is power creep an issue?

Please be civil. Thanks!

Do people get bored as soon as their character gets powerful?

Enlighten me.

because it makes any meaningful game development pointless?
if you just one shot 2 screens 24/7 it literally doesnt matter what GGG puts into the game as it all feels mind numbingly boring pretty fast

Generally speaking power creep is an issue because in order to keep up the creators have to keep coming out with harder mobs and more difficult end game content to keep those that reach that point interested in the game. The more they do this the further away end game content becomes for the "average players" and the more expensive it becomes for the average player in both in game currency and time to reach that point. This encourages RMT to keep up, which in turn continues to increase the gap between the average player and end game players. Making end game content essentially unobtainable for the average player. Then players spend their time copying what other players have done to reach this "goal" instead of playing the game for what it is and creating for themselves. It becomes an endless loop, which is less fun and over too quickly. In addition, players just zip through regular content because they feel like they are missing out on the best parts of the game instead of playing the game for fun.

So to counter power creep, nerf comes to play?

I don't look at stats but in my personal experience, the more powerful my character is the more i play.

Specially if there's a chase item, except for ultimatum and that gloves.

I agree, I enjoy the game more when I'm kicking its...butt. I don't really agree with the nerf, I think they took it too far and that for most ppl it's not going to be enjoyable to grind their way through it. Just expressing the general idea of what the devs are thinking.

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Sarciss wrote:

because it makes any meaningful game development pointless?
if you just one shot 2 screens 24/7 it literally doesnt matter what GGG puts into the game as it all feels mind numbingly boring pretty fast

HEHE, i disagree. Compare ultimatum to previous leagues. Which has more power creep? It's all about the "chase item".

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dagul23 wrote:

Do people get bored as soon as their character gets powerful?

Yes, I mean it isn't as soon as they get powerful but quickly afterwards yes.

In the context of PoE, power creep has made all content before T16s a waste of time. There is no point in farming gear earlier because you don't need it to do the content.

Allowing the majority of players to reach and farm the highest content leads to everything losing value and people having nothing to progress.

There is no strategy in the mindless rush to T16s. You don't think about the atlas just full complete it. Don't think about Watchstones just socket all of them. Do all Maven passives without thinking about your farming strat. Just farm T16s for a few weeks then complain about the game being too easy.

Power creep isn't the actual issue in this game, but they (GGG) and their diehard players think it is. The fact that there is nothing to stop competent players from easily destroying late game in the first week or two and then they have nothing to do for the rest of the season is the real problem. By nerfing "power creep" they just make it more difficult for the average to below average player to get through the campaign, that's about it.

In most other games you play there is some type of in game ladder or ranking system for you to strive to achieve the highest score in or get a higher rating than you did last season etc. There is nothing like that in this game. This is a suped up version of Dungeons and Dragons where the only end game goal is to beat the hardest bosses available, who are literally the Dungeon Masters... There is no competitive aspect to this game. So the developers think by making the game harder to get through the campaign and finish a strong farming build the illusion will suffice for the masses that, "oh it's more challenging now, the game now takes longer to get through.."

You gotta love all the smug edgelords on here though thinking this game is so insanely hard and not for the casual player lol. All you do is act as a gatekeeper for new players to come in who don't feel welcome because they play a game that is fun to them and GGG nerfs the aspect that was fun to the new player. Brilliant.

I generally spend 30 to 50 hours in every league. I plan not to play the game anymore from that league onwards because of the way power creep is handled.

I have not completed the game up to the endgame since the Nemesis league, after that league I had a 2 years gap in which I did not play, to be granted back with:

- skills that don't allow you to reach the maps
- builds now requiring either a PhD in mathematics to come up with
- very very strong mechanical abilities required to reach the endgame

To reach the endgame, a build must be perfect, the gear that goes with it must be perfect, you need to be a good gamer with strong reflexes.

Path of Exile's vision is to be a spiritual successor to Diablo 2 multiplayer mechanics with a perpetually renewing twist to it. Path of Exile in maps is mostly a solo game, as multiplayer is desincentivised by the limited count of map portals. What power creep threatens the most is the economy. If power creep did not threaten the economy, it would never be a problem:

- The game is mostly solo, the PvP is anecdotal
- Power creep doesn't threaten the ability of the players to play a new skill with every character (skills and mechanics nerfs do that)
- Power creep doesn't threaten the enjoyment of the game for the players (the players can challenge themselves, and it is easier to make players challenge themselves than to challenge them yourself (Look at SSF))

Power creep threatens the economy by allowing very few (or all) players to produce a lot of value, which gets dumped into the trade hub, lowering the item value and hence, making good items easier to come by (which is not conformant with the "m'uh vision" of our overlord (1)).

Currently, all power creep handling methods that GGG have used involved removing skills from the ever dwindling list of viable skills and/or removing engagement or flexibility from their game. They never hit at the economy.

Making a money sink that only affects absurd characters is not really doable. The best solution I have seen was proposed by BakaManiaK and charlesgael in our guild's Discord:

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They could just make it so that if you kill the boss far too quickly, it drops nothing.

Basically, hit the boss too hard? You destroy your loot.

(1) This vision may require further examination by an ophtalmologist