PoE 2 End Game Identity Crisis

Let me start by saying I'm enjoying the hell out of this game. Sure it's full of bugs, but I expect nothing less from a beta... ahem... I mean "early access".

There is, however, a fundamental design problem going on that I don't see brought up, probably because not many people have made it there yet! I'm referring to the so called "end game".

Path of Exile TWO (2) is not trying hard enough to divert from Path of Exile ONE (1) when it comes to end game.

Playing through the campaign felt uniquely different from PoE1. The combat was intense. Ability combinations and timing mattered. Dodge rolls mattered. Positioning was deliberate, calculated. It felt a lot like an isometric version of Elden Ring.

Once I got to maps, the tone completely shifted. No longer did the more methodical approach to tackling enemies matter:

- Here's a delerium, now rush as fast as you can before the time expires.

- Here's a breach, now rush as fast as you can before it closes.

- Here's a thousand mobs with 30% movement speed coming at you, kill them before they surround you, or die!

- Dodge roll ain't gonna help you here son!

- Break armor then consume for big damage... ha, good luck with that!

- No single click ability that can 1 shot entire packs without wind up or setup, good luck bro!

- Sunder +2sec attack time, lol ok. Use it to 1 shot bosses, negating the challenge entirely. Duhh!

- Build power charges by shocking then consuming shock, heh, sure n00b there's a keystone and aura interaction for that.


This "rush to kill" feeling is diametrically opposed to the earlier design concepts and campaign "tutorial" mode we all played through. I felt like I learned nothing once I reached maps and my build was irrelevant. I'm now playing a racing game instead of a tactical one. I built a Cybertruck instead of a Formula 1, woops! Time to respec, at least it's cheaper!

At its core, this is what PoE1 end game was... a racing game. You prioritized builds that can clear as quickly as possible, and effectively kill things faster than they kill you. Who needs defenses when the screen explodes with a single right click?

I thought PoE2 was shifting away from this "speed clear" meta end game... but that's not what I'm seeing when 2 of the most speed-dependent league mechanics ever introduced are your first taste of what's to come. Were these league mechanics liked? Sure. Are they antagonistic to PoE2 design fundamentals? 100%.

Please GGG. LEAN IN to the strengths of PoE2's intense and intelligent combat design. We don't need PoE1 with weapon swap points.


Some suggestions:

- Significantly lower mob density and movement speed
- Increase mob HP
- Significantly lower player AoE effects
- Balance this out with better overall drops per mob so you average the same rewards per timeframe
- Remove or completely redesign breach and delerium mechanics so "rushing" isn't promoted in any way
- Nerf any builds capable of bypassing the core design principles, unless it requires like 5 mirrors worth of gear to achieve... and even then tone it down a bit.
- Increase the playable area of ritual alter zones. Right now it's kill quick or be killed... there's no tactical anything involved. In areas where this isn't possible... I dunno... make hallways wider?

couldn't agree more. well presented feedback!

+1

No idea how they can make it. Powercreep is too insane by the end of the campaign. 10000 supports, passives, aoes.. There is simply no way the pace can remain the same. In campaign you have little to choose from. You move on by what you've got (and that's a tiny bit). By the endgame the arsenal becomes enourmous, not even limited by a class. Even if they'll nerf everything, people will still find out how to zoomzoom.

But may be the game concept was exactly that? 6-act-eldenring-campaign, and the final part is oldschool PoE1.

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Azimuthus#1135 wrote:

No idea how they can make it. Powercreep is too insane by the end of the campaign. 10000 supports, passives, aoes.. There is simply no way the pace can remain the same. In campaign you have little to choose from. You move on by what you've got (and that's a tiny bit). By the endgame the arsenal becomes enourmous, not even limited by a class. Even if they'll nerf everything, people will still find out how to zoomzoom.

But may be the game concept was exactly that? 6-act-eldenring-campaign, and the final part is oldschool PoE1.

They did initially want both games to have the same endgame back when PoE 2 was gonna be part of PoE. Maybe the current design still has a lot of holdover from that?