Early game currency economy is tuned for trading, not crafting

I feel early game, i.e. Act 1 and Act 2, even with the vastly buffed drop rates, the currency economy still pushes us away from crafting.

If anything, trading is both the better way to earn, and to spend, currency.

This is a direct result of the rarity of those Regal and Exalted Orbs. Because we are getting a tightly controlled trickle of drops, each wasted Regal/Exalted (due to bad RNG) becomes a disproportionately heavier hit to our assets and our power growth.

I just don't see any way to change this situation, other than to make Regal/Exalted drop like candy.

Perhaps just give up on the idea of making players craft, and accept that trading will always be the easier and better option, and just balance the drop rate with trading in mind?

And for SSF, make those currencies drop like candy because SSF players have no choice but to rely on crafting, in which case even the currently vastly buffed drop rate feel like a drop in the bucket due to RNG.

I feel it is a big mistake to tune the currency economy without considering the important real differences between trading and non-trading (SSF) players. The same balance is just not going to work for both groups.

Crafting don't exist in poe 2

I agree halfway, but i'd prefer they limit trade over crafting.

Crafting can add to the experience and be a fun mini game to improve our power, but with trade it ends up being a very linear mechanic.

Long thread here if you're interested in this viewpoint:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3626602

I don't see anything wrong with holding off on using your regal orbs and exalts until later on. I mostly just used transmutations and augmentations early on (Is there a good base? Does it have one good mod already? Trans and Augment). If there's two REALLY good augments on a piece of gear I think I'm going to be using for a while, I'll regal, and if I get another fantastic mod, I'll exalt it then.

For example, early in Act 2 on my lightning monk I found one of the electric staffs that do only lightning damage with two rune slots. I augmented it and got increased elemental damage with attacks and +2 to level of melee gems. So slotted in two lightning runes and gambled on a regal and exalt (added physical and life gain on enemy kill, so bit of a waste). That staff still melted through Act 2.

Conversely, I found a temple maul with 100% increased physical and 8% increased attack speed in Act 3 on my Warrior. That regal + exalt got added physical and added level of melee gems, and its still my weapon into tier 3/4 maps at the moment. And I've been doing a bunch more crafting on my warrior since.

So I don't think there's anything wrong with the current system as is. Early game merchants + blue crafting, later game you start dipping your toes into the rare crafting or are extremely frugal with it earlier. Or yeah, you can trade if you want.

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kumogakure#7381 wrote:

I feel early game, i.e. Act 1 and Act 2, even with the vastly buffed drop rates, the currency economy still pushes us away from crafting.

If anything, trading is both the better way to earn, and to spend, currency.

This is a direct result of the rarity of those Regal and Exalted Orbs. Because we are getting a tightly controlled trickle of drops, each wasted Regal/Exalted (due to bad RNG) becomes a disproportionately heavier hit to our assets and our power growth.

I just don't see any way to change this situation, other than to make Regal/Exalted drop like candy.

Perhaps just give up on the idea of making players craft, and accept that trading will always be the easier and better option, and just balance the drop rate with trading in mind?

And for SSF, make those currencies drop like candy because SSF players have no choice but to rely on crafting, in which case even the currently vastly buffed drop rate feel like a drop in the bucket due to RNG.

I feel it is a big mistake to tune the currency economy without considering the important real differences between trading and non-trading (SSF) players. The same balance is just not going to work for both groups.

Without a major crafting overhaul or additions trading will always be best. Right now we can guarantee one mod tag via essence at a one time use (no alt-like effect) or split the mod pool with omens. Effectively your just dropping anther item on a base that you chose.

Edit: GGG has zero consideration for SSF when balancing, they want you to trade and consider SSF a self-imposed challenge mode.

Unless you are SSF why would you waste resources on RNG when you can buy what you need (often times far better) from other players?

Unless you're really rich and know what you're doing, trading is also the most efficient way to power up in poe1 too. It's unfortunately always going to be the case in a game with trade and such disparity between item power due to the mods.

The only real way would be to add account binding, which I don't think is a good solution.

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Fractalmind#4252 wrote:

Unless you're really rich and know what you're doing, trading is also the most efficient way to power up in poe1 too. It's unfortunately always going to be the case in a game with trade and such disparity between item power due to the mods.

The only real way would be to add account binding, which I don't think is a good solution.

Yeah, but they said they failed if we weren't crafting our own items by act two. We're not, soooo....

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Fractalmind#4252 wrote:

Unless you're really rich and know what you're doing, trading is also the most efficient way to power up in poe1 too. It's unfortunately always going to be the case in a game with trade and such disparity between item power due to the mods.

The only real way would be to add account binding, which I don't think is a good solution.

Thats not quite true. There's a lot of different ways you can go in POE1 to obtain your items, depending on the item. It's a knowledge check for sure, but for a lot of items you can make them a lot cheaper then you can buy them.

In POE2 it feels like we get so little currency that experimentation is discouraged. I need these upgrades to clear through the exceptionally slow and long campaign, no way would I jeopardize getting them by not just buying the gear I need.

I was talking to a friend the other day that I'd swear Exalt drops were nerf'd due to trade.

On Day 1/2 I had around 15 Exalts by the end Act 1. By Act 3 I had crafted all my gear usually ending at a 4 Exalt to 1 Regal ratio from shards. I don't think I saw but one Regal Orb drop.

I just finished Act 1 again and got 1 Exalt.