Why do you keep releasing unbalanced crap?

Proof: Sentinels of Absolution now deal 242% more damage at gem level 1, scaling up to 429% more damage at gem level 20.

Also the mana skill gem changes were implemented seemingly without thought for the different builds that exist in the game and how they impact them and so you are thinking to revert some of them.

Is the algorithm that you said you use to balance the game broken now? Or was it just for item affixes? Can't we have skill gems be in the +20% -20% power range instead of -429%???

regarding the %s: 429% translates to about 4x (or maybe 5x since its MORE) damage modifier to any flat damage added on gear. The %s can't be low because that's not really how percents work...now GGG COULD have instead described it in terms of multiplications suhc as "3x" or "4x" but that leaves far less room for nitty gritty and we may be left with 100 different sources of "3.43x" which just LOOKS messier.

Skills scale 2 ways: inherent flat damage added, and damage effectiveness (%).

For example, you wear a steel ring that adds avg 9 physical damage. 429% would mean that 9 is now treated as 9 x 4.29. That is by no means broken, it's just fairly basic math.

The %s have to be there because you can get so many different flat damage mods on all other gear. If there was no %mod on a skill, there would be almost no point in getting any kind of flat damage anywhere on gear.

If GGG were to revert EVERYTHING to higher flat numbers and lower %s, we'd then be left with 6-figure damage numbers in skills, gear, etc which, again, is far more confusing and unpleasing to look at. It also lessens the importance of weapons in general.

TL/DR: Percents always look big, but they allow for easier understanding of nuanced damage mechanics. Lower percents are not feasible.

As to your broader point on balance issues upon release, I 100% agree. GGG doesn't appear to do any testing and arbitrarily assigns numbers at first and buffs/nerfs over YEARS to get it right/close to right.

Here's a basic example: if you look at D2 sorceress skill "ice bolt", Blizzard decided that the initial skill would only have a flat damage increase per level.

BUT

Synergize it with ONE other skill which adds +15% (a small %) per level, you get a total of 300% from that one skill. You would typically synergize with 3 or 4 other skills so that 300% becomes 1200% from skills alone.

In PoE terms, this would look like on the skill gem: flat damage, 1200% damage effectiveness. Comparatively, no skill in PoE has base %s that high so they are actually being quite conservative.

This has always been the mathematics of rpg skills, %s LOOK HIGH. It's actually just a lot clearer and up front in PoE than many other games.

"

Why do you keep releasing unbalanced crap?

Because everyone kept pestering them to shorten leages from 4 months to 3, giving them 30~ less days to work on each league. The result is wasting 14~ days on major league changes after each league starts.

Hahhahaha. Unbalanced?! I am rally tired of hearing kids bow and then using this expression without understanding its meaning.

Fellow - if the game become balanced it will practically become the most pointless game ever made. Actually not because it is unbalanced , but just because someone is trying to balance it the issues appears.