When new classes release..

Lets say we get 2 new classes next patch and idk. 20 new skills, lets say 1 or 2 weeks into the new patch it turns out that one of the classes or skills is massively overtuned, clearing the whole screen with 1 button and 1 shotting bosses.
Does that mean that we will be stuck with another 3 months of unbalanced endgame where 1 or 2 skills will dominate until 3 months later its gets nerfed and another 2 new classes added?
So basically we have a repeating cycle of a completely unblanced game until all classes and skills are released?

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raV#3445 wrote:

Lets say we get 2 new classes next patch and idk. 20 new skills, lets say 1 or 2 weeks into the new patch it turns out that one of the classes or skills is massively overtuned, clearing the whole screen with 1 button and 1 shotting bosses.
Does that mean that we will be stuck with another 3 months of unbalanced endgame where 1 or 2 skills will dominate until 3 months later its gets nerfed and another 2 new classes added?
So basically we have a repeating cycle of a completely unblanced game until all classes and skills are released?

The game is never balanced. They do what is called META-shifting. For anyone that might be new reading this post - 'What is meta-shifting'?

Meta-shifting refers to a change in the most effective strategies, builds, or playstyles that dominate the game at a given time. It typically happens when the developers tweak the game's mechanics—such as classes, skills or items, or when players discover new synergies or optimal ways to approach the game.

Meta shifting can be good for a few reasons:

Keeps Gameplay Fresh: It encourages players to try new builds, strategies, or character combinations, preventing the game from feeling stale. With each meta shift, there are often new opportunities for creative playstyles and experimentation.

Balance and Fairness: Developers often shift the meta to address overpowered or underperforming mechanics. By doing so, they can promote a more balanced experience where no single build or playstyle dominates, making the game more challenging and rewarding for everyone.

Competitive Scene Growth: If the meta shifts in a way that introduces new and diverse strategies, it can spark fresh competition, especially in races, leaderboards, or speedruns. Players may need to adapt to the new environment, keeping the community active and engaged.

Community Innovation: As the meta evolves, players might uncover new combinations or approaches that the developers hadn’t anticipated, leading to innovative playstyles. This community-driven exploration can lead to new ideas for both builds and in-game strategies.

Challenge and Engagement: A changing meta can also introduce new challenges for players, as they need to constantly adjust and rethink their strategies, making the game more dynamic and engaging.

Important Note - Meta-shifting should and will only occur between leagues. There are some caveats to this (i.e. server instability issues from certain skills and abilities).

Both POE 1 and POE 2 would be boring as bat sh*t if they didn't meta-shift and tried to keep the game balanced.

so you are trying to tell me the current state of the endgame is fine?
or are you intentionally trying to misunderstand my point?

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raV#3445 wrote:

so you are trying to tell me the current state of the endgame is fine?
or are you intentionally trying to misunderstand my point?

The endgame is in it's infancy. It's 3 months of work cobbled together with mechanics brought over from PoE1.

That said, there will (almost) always be some overpowered interaction. Every time something gets fixed, a million things get added, and new ones crop up. Things that get fixed immediately are truly game-breaking bugs...the ones that crash server instances and such.

The importance is not to focus on what the broken stuff is. It'll be patched, a few of the people using it will work on finding new stuff, the other 99.9% will wait for build guides to come out...and the rest of us, using off-meta builds, will likely still have fully working builds that kill bosses in 20 seconds instead of 2.

So yes, the game will always be unbalanced, because the only way to make it "balanced" would just be like, "here's 20 classes, they all do 100 damage, this one does blue damage, that one does red damage, and #20 does greenish-turquoise with a hint of orange damage"

Expect 1 year in Early Access (min) and many balance issues and lack of content. If you can't handle that, quit EA and join when 1.0 is released.

Yes, you thought this was an EA? It's literally a fully released, p2p game.

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raV#3445 wrote:

Lets say we get 2 new classes next patch and idk. 20 new skills, lets say 1 or 2 weeks into the new patch it turns out that one of the classes or skills is massively overtuned, clearing the whole screen with 1 button and 1 shotting bosses.
Does that mean that we will be stuck with another 3 months of unbalanced endgame where 1 or 2 skills will dominate until 3 months later its gets nerfed and another 2 new classes added??

Allow me to answer on GGG's behalf:

Yes.
It means exactly that.

And this is exactly what is going to happen.

You need druid OP, so people play druid, so you can sell Druid "animal" micros.

More money for Chinese company.
More money is always better.

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Waiden#9514 wrote:

Expect 1 year in Early Access (min) and many balance issues and lack of content. If you can't handle that, quit EA and join when 1.0 is released.

i never said anything about lack of content
Also i dont mind balance issues if they would get adressed in a timely manner, its been almost 2 months and there was barely any balance changes at all, the same OP builds from first week are still OP.
And we are not talking about 20 or 50% stronger than, no its gamebreakingly strong. Where is the nerfs, i thought its early access?

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Redthorne82#3177 wrote:

So yes, the game will always be unbalanced, because the only way to make it "balanced" would just be like, "here's 20 classes, they all do 100 damage, this one does blue damage, that one does red damage, and #20 does greenish-turquoise with a hint of orange damage"

i dont need the game to be perfectly balanced, im annoyed that they leave the game in such an EXTREMELY unbalanced state for multiple months instead of adressing the issues.

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Magoraz#6258 wrote:

The game is never balanced. They do what is called META-shifting. For anyone that might be new reading this post - 'What is meta-shifting'?

Meta-shifting refers to a change in the most effective strategies, builds, or playstyles that dominate the game at a given time. It typically happens when the developers tweak the game's mechanics—such as classes, skills or items, or when players discover new synergies or optimal ways to approach the game.

"a change in the most effective strategies, builds, or playstyles that dominate the game"

"

Meta shifting can be good for a few reasons:

Keeps Gameplay Fresh: It encourages players to try new builds, strategies, or character combinations

You shouldn't force someone to play out of their preferred play style.

"

Balance and Fairness: Developers often shift the meta to address overpowered or underperforming mechanics.

that's just called balancing.

"

By doing so, they can promote a more balanced experience where no single build or playstyle dominates, making the game more challenging and rewarding for everyone.

If there were actual balances, there wouldn't be this issue.

"

Competitive Scene Growth: If the meta shifts in a way that introduces new and diverse strategies, it can spark fresh competition, especially in races, leaderboards, or speedruns. Players may need to adapt to the new environment, keeping the community active and engaged.

Maybe it's time to cater to a different audience. This isn't PoE1.5.

"

Community Innovation: As the meta evolves, players might uncover new combinations or approaches that the developers hadn’t anticipated, leading to innovative playstyles. This community-driven exploration can lead to new ideas for both builds and in-game strategies.

So we're talking about some meta-shift from the dev updates, but they don't even know what meta they're shaping?

"

Challenge and Engagement: A changing meta can also introduce new challenges for players, as they need to constantly adjust and rethink their strategies, making the game more dynamic and engaging.

Or they quit. and only 25% of users will return.

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Both POE 1 and POE 2 would be boring as bat sh*t if they didn't meta-shift

for who? the 1% that can afford it?

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and tried to keep the game balanced.

they try. Remember: "players might uncover new combinations or approaches that the developers hadn’t anticipated." The players shape the meta, not the devs. So, yes they should try to balance the game, because the players will break it themselves.