v3.19 feedback from a relatively new player

One-line version
3.19 was a mis-step: it makes an already difficult game a saddening chore even for determined new players, and it broadcasts a message about who GGG cares about (specifically: not new players like me).

Three-sentence version:
Reaching the very-end game is too difficult, even when making significant use of in-game currency. 3.19 puts this even further out of reach, puts me off the game, and puts me off making further financial contributions to its development. Although I acknowledge that gitgud is a thing, the very end game is a saddening chore to reach, walled off by unduly penal diminishing returns of time and in-game currency.

Three-paragraph version
Reaching the very end game is too hard. I've logged 300+ hours across several widely used low/moderate budget 'end-game' builds (trapper, zapper, and skelly mage) and only one of these got me to Exarch/Eater. I couldn't beat the Shaper even after having spent 5-7 Ex in 3.18 Standard. I'll admit: I'm not the world's greatest gamer. But it strikes me it's poorly tuned that an average gamer, following carefully and kindly-provided (thanks especially to Ghazzy and Enki and Odif for their tireless effort) community advice, doesn't get to experience the final end-game in 300 hours with significant use of the secondary market.

3.19 puts the ambition of experiencing the true end-game even farther out of reach. At best, the new gear I'll have to buy to make mage skellies viable will be hard to afford. More likely, I'll be priced out, and I'll have to hope I can sell the gear off my newly non-viable character to buy stuff for a new build. This is a downer. It's put me off the game and in giving you more money for it. I mean, there are more fun ways to pay to be abused. ;-)

I wish to stress that in reaching this view, I did carefully consider my own limitations and also the un-written agreement that exists between players and developers. Gitgud is a thing. Player entitlement is also a thing. Developers don't 'owe' a player all of the content, even if they have paid for it. In a PvP game, no one would reasonably expect to play in the highest league if they were only average. This is PvE of course, so the analogy doesn't work, but the sentiment is correct. Further, I understand the business model. GGG needs bums in seats as long as possible so they'll have opportunitites to part with real money. I get it. I get all of it. On balance, though, I think the game is unreasonably difficult. I read the guides. I picked builds with care. I watched the short internet videos (no, not those you naughty thing). Still, there are too many nasty barriers in the form of diminishing returns on investment of time and in-game currency. For me at least in 3.18 standard, it cost 3-4Ex to be able to reliably run t14-t16 maps. Perhaps another 1-2Ex to be geared for Exarch/Eater. I was staring at another 5-10Ex for Shaper or Ubers - but now thanks to 3.19 it's Divines I need! Oof. What an exhausting prospect, particularly given that I have virtually no agency in receiving Divines.

Agreed.. Difficulty can be good if done right. For most players before the game started to go downhill around (3.13) when difficulty was about right. There is no point to consider the top 1% who become lvl 90+ on day one.

I dont understand making acts harder... Old players have played the acts tens or even hundreds of times, so acts taking longer is just annoyance. For new players getting killed 20 times b4 lvl 20 is also off putting for majority people.

And now they have nerfed all loot to the ground. As a casual player i had hard time gearing before, now it is just stupid hard. On the level that it has become work not fun. Why play a ARPG looter when there is no action and no loot . F this league and these nerfs oh and F mana bubble and F ice prison. Combine with ground degens and it has become just big piece of frustration.

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Gabbleduck wrote:

I couldn't beat the Shaper even after having spent 5-7 Ex in 3.18 Standard.

It depends on the build and current balance, but 5-7 ex was in the "budget" area for builds that beat end game content (aside from broken builds). Essentially its nothing. Which considering that a new/casual player has probably not seen a stack of ex says a lot about the game.

Mechanically the shaper is a trivial fight (like all bosses in the game). Only your gear is being tested - can you do enough dps without folding in half if the boss raises an eyebrow at you.

It gets kinda obnoxious if the maven is watching, cause there are 3 shapers with the copy from the maven and the copy from the shaper. Which is also a dps check; can you do enough dps between avoiding all the crap on the screen.

The game is really not good for new/casual players that want to engage with the end game. With the uber versions of "pinnacle" bosses I really don't see why; leave the uber version for the streamers, let the new/casual players kill the normal versions. The loot is garbage anyway.