True to their word, GGG is listening

Anticipating immediate responses, I'm not arguing that PoE2 as it exists is perfect or even that it's in particularly good shape; I'm not saying 0.2 was a great patch or that it was objectively better than 0.1; I think most of us agree on a fundamental truth: the game in its current state lacks polish and has many issues both technically and mechanically that indicate EA will need to extend well beyond GGG's minimum six month estimate to give them time to get things right.

That being said, I think it needs to be said that GGG is doing exactly what they said they were going to do at the outset of Early Access: they're using player activity and gathering feedback here and elsewhere on social media and they have been directly and actively responding to that feedback with changes in practically every patch that address specific player concerns.

Here's a very partial list of things GGG has done in direct response to player feedback:

- Extra revives & no XP loss: Early deaths in maps and pinnacle fights felt punishing, so GGG added more revives and removed XP loss from end-game bosses.

- Trimming campaign zones: Large, winding areas in Acts 2-3 were trimmed, cutting dead space and speeding up progression.

- Faster mapping: Rares, bosses, and optional content now reveal on the minimap; an automatic checkpoint spawns after optional content is complete; backtracking is almost eliminated.

- Atlas clarity: Key nodes (towers, citadels, corrupted nexuses) are visible through fog, and a new tablet lets you bridge otherwise blocked map routes.

- Crafting progress: Fracturing Orbs and Recombinators arrived in 0.2; while crafting still needs a ton of work this shows that they are aware of the need and committed to expanding options for 1.0

- Waystone & tower improvements: Guaranteed same-tier Waystone drops and beefed-up towers address major concerns about Waystone sustain & tower value

- Quality-of-life tweaks: Auto-collecting Breach splinters, Ascendancy respecs, strongbox upgrades - they're clearly making room for QoL improvements both minor and significant

- Monster tuning: Patch 0.2.0b cut monster life and regen after people found the initial patch out of whack

I've been playing online games since Meridian 59 was all the rage and I can't recall a studio ever engaging with a player community this directly or iterating on feedback this quickly and honestly it's pretty depressing how little acknowledgement they're getting for it.

GGG is obviously listening and actively shaping the game based on the feedback being provided, and I feel like a lot of you are well on your way to squandering the opportunity to contribute because you can't let go of some perceived injustices you feel you have suffered or because you're simply impatient with the fact that the game as it currently exists is fundamentally incomplete.

Ahahahahahah

-1

+1

"

intersept#1235 wrote:

Ahahahahahah

I just wish moderators would get ontop of trolls who are shouting over those with legitimate concerns.

There is consistent feedback across all platforms which routinely highlights GGGs complete lack of awareness and refusal to address the issues.

These concerns keep being swept under the rug by trolls seeking to paint a picture that everything is fine.

How is the game going to improve when they continue to ignore the will of the people, over 90% have already jumped ship!!

But then trolls like this come along and make the current leadership feel righteous and justified in their poor decisions.

We the people don't want the game to fail, we have been consistent with our feedback, and it is continually ignored.

It's tragic.

"

JarlaxleDaerthe#2435 wrote:

I just wish moderators would get ontop of trolls who are shouting over those with legitimate concerns.

I think it would go a long way to demonstrating that you have a solid and well-reasoned argument if you would just respond to the actual content of my posts instead of accusing me of "trolling" and calling for the moderators to "get ontop" of me. I'm not entirely sure what that even means, but I do not consent to whatever it is.

"

There is consistent feedback across all platforms which routinely highlights GGGs complete lack of awareness and refusal to address the issues.

So, in my post I provided a list of actions GGG has taken that are unquestionably in response to player feedback they have received on those platforms. They were made aware of issues and they did not refuse to address them.

The fact that they aren't addressing the issues you personally think are important does not mean they "lack awareness" or are "refusing to address issues." Instead consider the possibility that the issues you think are important and the changes you want to see implemented are not actually as representative of the desires of the overall player population as you think they are. You certainly don't represent me.

"

These concerns keep being swept under the rug by trolls seeking to paint a picture that everything is fine.

I spent a whole paragraph at the start of my post trying very hard to make it very clear that I do not thing "everything is fine," but okay.

"

How is the game going to improve when they continue to ignore the will of the people, over 90% have already jumped ship!!

I don't know how much more clearly I can explain this to you. Nobody has "jumped ship." Most people don't like to play unfinished games. That's okay. That's fine. That's what GGG expected. That doesn't need to be fixed. It doesn't mean anything is wrong. People will come back and play when the game is done.

How the game will improve in the meantime is if you stop trying to act like it's a disaster that people are waiting for 1.0 and instead just provide the type of feedback that GGG is very clearly and unquestionably responding to as I pointed out in my post.

"

We the people

Guy, I'm the people too. You don't speak for me. Just share your opinions and move on. Stop trying to pretend you're a spokesperson for the masses.

"

Kerchunk#7797 wrote:

"

JarlaxleDaerthe#2435 wrote:

I just wish moderators would get ontop of trolls who are shouting over those with legitimate concerns.

I think it would go a long way to demonstrating that you have a solid and well-reasoned argument if you would just respond to the actual content of my posts instead of accusing me of "trolling" and calling for the moderators to "get ontop" of me. I'm not entirely sure what that even means, but I do not consent to whatever it is.

"

There is consistent feedback across all platforms which routinely highlights GGGs complete lack of awareness and refusal to address the issues.

So, in my post I provided a list of actions GGG has taken that are unquestionably in response to player feedback they have received on those platforms. They were made aware of issues and they did not refuse to address them.

The fact that they aren't addressing the issues you personally think are important does not mean they "lack awareness" or are "refusing to address issues." Instead consider the possibility that the issues you think are important and the changes you want to see implemented are not actually as representative of the desires of the overall player population as you think they are. You certainly don't represent me.

"

These concerns keep being swept under the rug by trolls seeking to paint a picture that everything is fine.

I spent a whole paragraph at the start of my post trying very hard to make it very clear that I do not thing "everything is fine," but okay.

"

How is the game going to improve when they continue to ignore the will of the people, over 90% have already jumped ship!!

I don't know how much more clearly I can explain this to you. Nobody has "jumped ship." Most people don't like to play unfinished games. That's okay. That's fine. That's what GGG expected. That doesn't need to be fixed. It doesn't mean anything is wrong. People will come back and play when the game is done.

How the game will improve in the meantime is if you stop trying to act like it's a disaster that people are waiting for 1.0 and instead just provide the type of feedback that GGG is very clearly and unquestionably responding to as I pointed out in my post.

"

We the people

Guy, I'm the people too. You don't speak for me. Just share your opinions and move on. Stop trying to pretend you're a spokesperson for the masses.

Please.

Stop.

Trolling!!!

Absolutely no one is buying it, and it's unhelpful to saving the game and the company.

Just stop.

Not trying to be the negative nancy guy, but how well are they listening, or the quality of their listening. Its all well and good that feedback is being received, its on them to perform. And in all honesty its nothing special, or extraordinary. Its very safe and minimal effort. Example: Lightning spear was already an S tier, giga insane build before any hotfixes came out. Then upon respsone to random people who didnt even play that build made it gain 5x dmg and now its caused even more class balance problems than 0.1. Less viable builds, less mirror builds so the economy has completely been ruined, and really nice changes to drops (but in a patch with 0 balance at all. All this is are people saying look at GGG make little changes and want positive recognition. Their changes/hotfixes have been good, but the game needs so much more, I wouldnt even consider poe2 to be even a good game yet its incredibly average (looks, animations and feel for abilities isnt enough for me). Its close but has so much more to grow and improve upon a IP that has been in development for idek how long at this point and from lessons learned from poe1. I think until they get locked the fuck in its like at most a 6-7/10 currently

In many ways I can't blame them for all of the vitriol that is regularly dumped upon their forums, but I would still prefer that GGG engage more directly with their playerbase during the EA process.


They may be engaging with feedback by applying some changes from behind the curtain, but they are not engaging in a visible and ongoing way with the feedback provided to them. There isn't a discussion or any encouragement that they are listening until another video happens to come along. The candid interviews are great: let's see more of them.

Is it hard to respond to feedback without confusing their message about direction? Sure. I don't expect them to reply directly to individual feedback posts (bug reports might be nice) or make decisions in their forum, but some form of ongoing discussion or weekly engagement post to discuss topics might be nice. Something to more directly show that they are listening or even to explain their thought process with regard to the plan forward or contentious issues.

Help players navigate the EA process by better tracking issues with the current game. Something better than the anemic "Known Issues" list to help guide people seeking help with common problems.




The game is promising and does a great job in some areas (combat tension and mechanics, overall graphic and art design, sound, settings) while understandably having a lot left to be fleshed out and iterated upon.

Itemization and game pace are strong areas of concern on multiple sides of the playerbase, with many of us disagreeing strongly about what the "correct" path is. This is difficult to "referee," but many players feel like they are shouting into a vacuum (and some just keep shouting louder for that).

Whether I am in agreement with all of the directions the game is heading or not, one of my largest concerns right now is that I don't feel like GGG is engaging with the playerbase in an effective way. Those players who are trying to engage with GGG are giving up and disengaging from the process as a result.

Delusional