Endgame doesn't work, here's why

DISCLAIMER: love the game, the best gameplay and progression feel in the genre so far in my opinion. I've loved the genre since Diablo 1 and played almost every game existent through its endgame, my favourites so fare being Grim Dawn, Last Epoch and PoE.

I'm level 80. I reached T4 maps but I have no incentive to keep playing whatsoever. Here's a brief list of the reasons I don't feel motivated by the endgame at all.

- Map scarcity: I would assume the system would be balanced for me to drop multiple maps and choose the best ones instead I have to go back to T2 because I haven't dropped any T4 or T5 during my T3 and T4 runs. Considering my character hasn't really been challenged in days, since low tier maps are easier than the campaign this is not only unsatisfying because of the excruciatingly slow progression but also straight up boring.

- Orbs scarcity: I am all for the PoE2 / cruel low loot economy but I haven't dropped a single Chaos Orb since cruel Act 2, I'm on T4 maps. I'm reforging decent items because I'll never have the orbs to work on them.

- Items/Crafting balance: It is unbeliavably unsatisfying interacting with crafting and reforging when 99.9% of stat rolls are bricks. I have changed 4 bows from lv 10 to lv 80. I have rolled in the hundreds between crafing and reforging. The bow I'm using now is still a half brick tbh.

- Mechanics are confusing: Breaches, Mirrors, Delirium, Expeditions etc. are poorly explained, not introduced gradually enough and not different enough one from the other. All they do to me is make me feel even more hindered and aimless in my endgame progression. Some should stay and be better introduced but some should go or be redesigned into something different.

I had much better experience with Last Epoch's endgame in its early access because the crafting and the endgame systems, while still prone to become repetitive, were very engaging and satisfying.

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BlackXIV#0308 wrote:

- Orbs scarcity: I am all for the PoE2 / cruel low loot economy but I haven't dropped a single Chaos Orb since cruel Act 2, I'm on T4 maps. I'm reforging decent items because I'll never have the orbs to work on them.

- Items/Crafting balance: It is unbeliavably unsatisfying interacting with crafting and reforging when 99.9% of stat rolls are bricks. I have changed 4 bows from lv 10 to lv 80. I have rolled in the hundreds between crafing and reforging. The bow I'm using now is still a half brick tbh.

Those 2 things are hitting me badly as well... changed 3-4 crossbows in 70+ levels and all of them were lucky-ish crafts.
Spending almost all the money I make on gambling yielded zero decent items.

Some orbs like Chaos should be vastly more common if 100% rng crafting is the only alternative to trading.
The essences also don't really help considering how rare they are and how late they become accessible.
I don't like having to trade for endgame gear, especially with the current state of the trading system, but if a faster / automatic trade was put in place we could at least use it as a workaround.

Agreed, but its only part of the overall problem addressed in numerous posts by others.

I really miss alteration and (the old) chaos orbs when rolling maps in PoE. The fact that you FINALLY dropped a higher tier Waystone and roll very bad mods on it feels... Well... Bad. And it feels even worse when you know you can't make a mistake in that map, because all the in-map mechanics and your tower buffs will be gone.

I'd like to add some things to the list:

- Permastun/-staggering due to the new garbage stun mechanic. Get swarmed, pushed around and just die, loose valuable XP you needed hours to grind because you have no on-lvl maps.

- Utterly overtuned melee-attack speed of many mobs (perma-staggering)

- Terrain readability (e.g. ground effect in Blooming Fields, blockages and trees obscuring view in Willow)

- Movement speed of almost any mob. Combined with their attack speed an almost guaranteed death and loss of hard earned XP.

- Vanishing spells due to terrain (e.g. straight through doors), though it's properly casted.

- Trading just slightly better endgame gear is near impossible due to the inflation.

Why are people entlitled to insta be floodded with t16 maps? Map sustain was always a challenge in poe from beta to 2017 or so when they decided to give everyone everything in a silver platter.

Its called progression, why are people against the challenge of progression is beyond me.

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ziggro#7495 wrote:

Why are people entlitled to insta be floodded with t16 maps? Map sustain was always a challenge in poe from beta to 2017 or so when they decided to give everyone everything in a silver platter.

Its called progression, why are people against the challenge of progression is beyond me.

You're grossly mistifying the topic. Challenge is good, unchallenging rng timegating isn't.

I honestly don't see many people happy to go through the low tier maps over and over when they are way too easy for their character.

A meaningful endgame, respecful of players' time, commitment and ability will not hard-cap you with rng grind, but with actual difficulty (or at least basic statchecking).

You cannot progress without maps/waystone...

What nodes do you have filled on your atlas tree?

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ziggro#7495 wrote:

Why are people entlitled to insta be floodded with t16 maps? Map sustain was always a challenge in poe from beta to 2017 or so when they decided to give everyone everything in a silver platter.

Its called progression, why are people against the challenge of progression is beyond me.

Progressing to t15 and then getting not a single, at least re-drop, when all your atlas tree and boss tree is for waystone quant+rarity is a challenge? That's beyond me..