Time to Call Chris Back in

GGG is falling apart without him. Bad decision after Bad decision from leadership now calls for Chris's return

Chris is why we got Archnemesis. A direct rip from the worst Diablo game (3) ever made.

Everyone is entitled to make bad decisions. Just pointing out that nobody is immune to them. If the current leadership can realize the decisions made in PoE 2 are bad they can fix them easily. Then the sky is no longer falling.

As was the case with the retail WoW team when does the hubris end? Soon I hope. Just look at the cognitive dissonance in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hqJ210XWeU @ 0:25 - discussion around the coming cooldown helper and 1 button internal macro for rotations.

Instead of realizing WoW is bloated and has been for years they default to adding a button to make it not matter at all. It's crazy but w/e. Just bad decisions in general.

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Izrakhan#0832 wrote:

Chris is why we got Archnemesis. A direct rip from the worst Diablo game (3) ever made.

Everyone is entitled to make bad decisions.

I think the OP is referring to leadership, logistics and planning, and not necessarily one or two game mechanics. A company "falling apart" isn't up to one or two mechanics. BOTH GAMES are in a bad spot, not one or two mechanics in those games.

No matter if you like PoE2 or not, and no matter if you really don't care about PoE1 being prioritized deep down in the basement, you can't really say that they've handled everything brilliantly. Or, you could, but you'd be wrong.

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MisterFancyPants#7969 wrote:

BOTH GAMES are in a bad spot, not one or two mechanics in those games.

No matter if you like PoE2 or not, and no matter if you really don't care about PoE1 being prioritized deep down in the basement, you can't really say that they've handled everything brilliantly. Or, you could, but you'd be wrong.

You’re way off here. Even without a new league, PoE1 is in a great spot, you can log in at any time and enjoy Standard, events, or SSF without needing a new league to stay busy with the usual market rush or grinding for free MTX, whether that’s from your own efforts or rushing challenges through carry services. There's plenty to keep you playing without constantly relying on fresh content.

The recent changes have pushed the game even higher. The introduction of the Atlas was a huge turning point, and every major patch since has only made it better. The scarab and sextant rework was a smart cleanup of clutter while preserving meaningful choice.

Balance changes have been consistently strong, especially the ascendancy updates that brought older, forgotten classes back into the spotlight. Just look at bleed build, what was a long-running joke is now a real option again, and Gladiator finally has more depth than just "the bleed bow guy."

Tier 17 maps brought back real aspirational difficulty, something the game badly needed after power creep turned T16s into a joke. Transfigured gems opened the floodgates for build creativity, something Heist alt quality gems really lacked in.

On top of all that, QoL improvements have stacked up, faster and more stable game engine performance (sure, rough for those still clinging to decade old hardware, but that’s a them problem).
The whole experience feels tighter, cleaner, and just better.

If you think PoE1 is in a "bad spot," I seriously have to question how much you’ve actually played recently,or if you’ve played at all in the past few leagues. Honestly, this reads more like a throwaway hate post from someone upset there hasn’t been a league reset, not actual informed criticism about the real state of the game.

PoE2, meanwhile, is in early access style development. It’s not finished, and it’s not supposed to be. What matters is that it's progressing in a good way, and no one reasonable is expecting perfection right now.
It's going forward and that's what matters.

Blanket "everything sucks", "both games are in a bad spot" takes like this don’t offer any real insight, they just sound like classic doomer noise.

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VoidWhisperer42#5989 wrote:

You’re way off here.

Nope!

PoE1 is a game built around seasonal play, an active economy and continuous added content. It's not in a great spot, because it hasn't been updated for almost a year, and is a game that is "designed to be played forever". GGG do not care about it, so players have stopped caring about it too. Sure, the current events might bring some life into it again, but it's still rehashing old content and fractured into several different events. You can't compare live service games built around seasonal play with P2P games. Sure, Grim Dawn is "in a good spot" when it comes to quality, but no one is playing it because they have done everything there is to do.

I know PoE in and out, so you telling me the "state of the game" is futile. The numbers alone tells you it's in a "bad spot", even though it's a quality game. It might reach "a good spot" once 3.26 hits, but GGG might've just scared a lot of people away forever due to their lackluster interest in keeping it alive.

@ OP. Would that really be better though? Really?

Seems to me there are no angels at GGG. Seems like we go from one ego to another.

"You'll like it or else" attitudes abound.

Personally, I'm glad Chris left. His ego seems only second to He That Shall Go Unmentioned.

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JunkHeadJoePC#0361 wrote:

@ OP. Would that really be better though? Really?

Seems to me there are no angels at GGG. Seems like we go from one ego to another.

"You'll like it or else" attitudes abound.

Personally, I'm glad Chris left. His ego seems only second to He That Shall Go Unmentioned.

No, I don't agree with a lot of decisions as well from the past of him. But with Chris PoE2 would look like the 2021 reveal and not the abomination it is right now

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MisterFancyPants#7969 wrote:

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VoidWhisperer42#5989 wrote:

You’re way off here.

Nope!

PoE1 is a game built around seasonal play, an active economy and continuous added content. It's not in a great spot, because it hasn't been updated for almost a year, and is a game that is "designed to be played forever". GGG do not care about it, so players have stopped caring about it too. Sure, the current events might bring some life into it again, but it's still rehashing old content and fractured into several different events. You can't compare live service games built around seasonal play with P2P games. Sure, Grim Dawn is "in a good spot" when it comes to quality, but no one is playing it because they have done everything there is to do.

I know PoE in and out, so you telling me the "state of the game" is futile. The numbers alone tells you it's in a "bad spot", even though it's a quality game. It might reach "a good spot" once 3.26 hits, but GGG might've just scared a lot of people away forever due to their lackluster interest in keeping it alive.

While it's true that Path of Exile thrives on seasonal play, pretending the game is suddenly in a “bad spot” just because it’s not getting constant updates is a bit of a stretch.
The base game is still fully playable and enjoyable, and plenty of players are proving that by sticking around, whether in trade leagues or SSF, even deep into what others call a “dead league.”

Leagues like Settlers, or the recent and new events show that GGG is still engaged, even if it’s not the rapid-fire patch cycle some folks expect. Just because content isn’t being served on a set schedule doesn’t mean the game has lost its value, that’s more a reflection of modern FOMO-driven expectations than the actual state of the game.

Yes, league launches bring the most activity, that’s always been the case. But the idea that PoE is unplayable or not worth engaging with in between those peaks just doesn’t hold up.

Not everyone needs a fresh league or patch to enjoy the game, most can simply enjoy what’s already there, because the core experience is still strong and pretty much the same as during a fresh league.

And about those player numbers, most people are simply taking breaks or playing other games, which is totally normal. People come back when the time is right or if they feel like playing PoE, or just continue playing even 7 months into a league.
That doesn’t mean the game’s in trouble, it just means it’s not a 24/7 content factory. If anything, that kind of breathing room is healthy even on a longer time.

Personally, I’d much rather GGG take their time and deliver thoughtfully designed content that lands well, instead of rushing something half-baked just to meet a three-month quota to satisfy a subset of fomo players. Quality over quantity still matters, especially in a game with this much depth and a strong existing core.

The reality is, the game just isn’t catering to set, instant-gratification patch cycles like before, and that’s because GGG is in a rough spot as a developer. They’re in the middle of learning how to balance two massive games at once, and that’s no small task.
If that means a well-developed game with a strong core gets a bit less spotlight right now, so be it. But if that bothers you to the point of declaring the game “dead", or in a "bad spot", that says more about your own FOMO than the actual real state of PoE.

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VoidWhisperer42#5989 wrote:

Not everyone needs a fresh league or patch to enjoy the game, most can simply enjoy what’s already there, because the core experience is still strong and pretty much the same as during a fresh league.

Mate, with all due respect, you're just wrong. Please stop.

This is definitely not what "most" looks like :


That's cool if you think PoE1 is alive. That's not what most have shown and keep showing though, and there is nothing to argue about.

"Pretty much the same as during a fresh league"
Pretty much shows that you fail to understand what most people are hyped about on a new league.

I have to thanks them. The whole "no one actually worked on PoE 1 xD" trolling made me not spend a penny on GGG ever since.