**The Only Hope of Casual Players Is...**

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iadapt#7831 wrote:
Hot take, but if the game and drops were balanced around solo play INSTEAD of the constant focus on balancing for the trade economy it would be more fun and have better player retention for a wider audience.

It would allow experimentation with builds and content for a much wider % of the playerbase. instead of the current state of constant resource scarcity if you arent actively trading.
Even the content itself it locked behind trading. Bosses of any difficulty 0-4 are all expensive. In most cases its more difficult to afford an entry ticket to a boss than it is to defeat the boss.

Im not saying eliminate trade, but the scarcity of desirable items and currencies in a solo play environment is unacceptable considering 90% of items need to be traded through a website instead of IN GAME systems.

As long as the trade website is mandatory outside of the game client, the game should not be balanced around trading.


Agreed.
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LVSviral#3689 wrote:
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So if I'm reading correctly...

OP is basically saying he's not good enough to complete all the games content without a completely decked out stat stacker? I'm a game that... doesn't really require skill? Epic self burn.


because the highest resistance of a player is only about 76% and it can't be improved much. If you don't want to be killed by the BOSS, you should find a way to kill the BOSS instantly, because you can't withstand the BOSS's attack.

Games like Monster Hunter and Elden Ring can stack resistance to increase fault tolerance, and learn the BOSS's moves in this way to interact with the BOSS, but unfortunately it can't be done in POE2. High-resistance equipment means high price. If you have equipment that can withstand the BOSS's attack, its value is enough for you to kill the BOSS instantly.

You already have equipment that is powerful enough to kill a boss instantly, so why do you need to stack resistance to interact with the boss?


The foundational damage and defense scaling in this game is such a damn mess compared to so many other titles. The resistance scaling especially irks me...
I have a whole post about resistances alone needing a re-work if anyone is interested:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3629096



Great! I'm not the only one who thinks this way.
Sounds like poe 1

Don't worry
GGG is going to reboot it
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They stated not doing anything with the economy until the first league. I still do not see that as a solution.


exactly this!
In fact, OP is completely true !

POE 2 seems not for casuals, and in fact, far less than POE 1 was for...

I'm an old player of POE 1, from "start" but "only" played a thousand of hours in it (what kind of any other game could support that ?).
Roughly, i've been playing in standard to start with... almost bricked my first character, had learn, then trying leagues/seasons ...
Where i've finally touched my goals : beating Elder and Shaper twice, Sirus multiples times and some other "hard" bosses - remembers of the delve one ;
But never had the potential to kill Maven :(

I ve bought the EA of POE 2; very excited by the fantastic promises it has made ... for me: Best ARPG game ever with new content, gameplay and graphics !

But, hey ! Hey ! Hey ! Wait ... Is that just even for me anymore ? I'm just questionning ...
I'm a dad, 44 years old, working hard at job as an engineer, not having so much time for me nor to just play, have relax.
I've already got to play 95h in EA, almost 2h/day from release (6/12/2025), except on holidays with family (still the most important).
And this already represents almost 10% of my total play time on POE 1.

I have a good time during the first three acts, really, the campaign was just amazing, super exciting, given me multiples smiles during it, game enrages me against hardest bosses, learning patterns and all kind of stuff, try to do my best !
Then, coming the cruel difficulty, act 1 - OK, act 2 - some very hard times with hordes of melee attackers playing as a sorceress ... so i was about to loose faith ... i ve died a lot of time, trying to beat nearly impossible bosses without a "correct" gear ...
Then grinding, and grinding, and grinding ... but never finding some real good improvements ... so i decided to use trade ; don t really wanted to ... but i had to ... to reach the endgame and see what it is, compared to POE 1.

I have spent 3 exalts to get a correct weapon and boots ; that helped me to get to endgame.
I reach endgame in almost 65 hours with no other help, no "guide" but some tips, no meta builds, not playing ssf but almost (in case my friends join in).
And there you are, starting endgame with 5 exalts, 2 alchemy, 10 regal, 1 chaos, 2 vaal and 2 lesser jeweller orbs ... and only one skill with 3 supports gem.

Starting maps, simple, blank, no specific content ... i die, and die, and die again ...
Trying maps with content: breach, delirium, etc. ... even worse, i die, and die, and die again ...
Lost time... some xp... some specific content AND not gaining any gear at all ... just some orbs ...
I finally spend these orbs trading for some best gear.

Now i'm doing tier 3-4 maps ... Wow ! Now i m still not hovering it (sarcasm)... i m still not getting useful loot, not more best gear, nor weapon, etc.
I will maybe do continue.. to reach some tier 9-10 maps, i dont know ... but how far can i go as a casual gamer ?
I need goals ! I need to want to spend more time to reach special content !
For the next 30 hours, will i be able to even see a citadel ?
My limit: 180 hours a league ... 60 hours a month ... 15 hours a week !
15 hours a week is enormous when you work 45h, have 7/8h of travel, are in couple and have a child, 7/8h of houseworks, cant really do much more !
Will it be sufficent for a casual to reach pinnacle boss ?

This is my extreme limit ! And surely almost all casual gamers limit...

I don't have time to spend on trading, and trading is not gaming !
Else i go on londonstockchange or investing website.
Trading is not wowing at a super loot ! Trading is not an excitment !
And grinding... cant be playing 200 hours to just have some minor gear updates, that's just not interesting me that much.

So if this is for me the only way to get any further, to see more endgame content, then the game ends here ! At least 'till final release, to see the final campaign.

30 € for EA and the game as it is, it's cheap ! Had a good time for my money ! It's worth it, no worry. It's just sad to stop here.

Today, i first logged in the game since january the 19th, cause i work hard and i've no time...
I've logged to see my inventory to do this post... not even playing...

If this gonna be like POE 1, where all players and so traders are in leagues ...
So where online players are not present in standard to do some trades, then casuals that stay in standard wont be able to progress on a long term.
And so the game will be limited to no-life gamers !

Campaign is too long (but i love it so far), Endgame is reserved to grinders !

PS.: I bought the vaal support pack cause i love POE 1, i m in love with this kind of game, have the financial means, and i love the passion and the dedication that devs put in their game (as i'm myself a computer science engineer).
We are in 2025 ! My dream: have POE for the gameplay and builds, Last Epoch for gearing and crafting, D4 for customizations and videos !

TL;DR: This game is fantastic but could be way more enthousiastic if more well balanced and less oriented on trading to be appreciated by casual gamers. For now, casuals can have ponctual fun but not on long term.
Last edited by Acemis#4343 on Jan 30, 2025, 7:42:21 PM
I've uninstalled poe2. I've tried really hard to like it, but the game is just not something I look forward to playing. I don't get a dopamine hit killing a boss like people apparently claim they do and I have adhd so I'm a dopamine crack addict. There is none in the game. I was hyped for this game for ages, but this is honestly the first game I wish I was able to refund.

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