SEASONAL content directly in STANDARD as well as in LEAGUE

I've been playing PoE2 for a bit (joined in 0.3, so yeah, I still occasionally walk into walls). But I've played PoE1 since the ancient times, back when build guides basically didn't exist and everything was just rumors and hand-me-down wisdom.

And the more I play PoE2, the more it feels like it's competing with PoE1 instead of being its own thing. Same vibe, same loop, same "please sir may I have another reroll" energy. I genuinely don't get why we need two games doing the Spider-Man pointing meme at each other.

So here's my suggestion for keeping the playerbase stable - especially casuals who don't have "5 hours a day and a spreadsheet" available.

Put seasonal content into Standard too. Keep League as the separate fresh-start server: speedrunning-competition, new economy, new characters from level 1, the whole reset ritual for people who love it. But let Standard players actually play the new seasonal toys without having to reincarnate into Yet Another Level 1 Beach Enthusiast every time.

And yes, I know the obvious problem: if my level 100 gigachad walks into seasonal content, it turns into a leaf blower vs toddlers situation. So you'd need some kind of dynamic level scaling. Like, if I want to engage with seasonal content, my character gets scaled down to the appropriate level range. Make me replay whatever part is needed - maybe even the full campaign if it has to be tied into that - but scaled properly so I'm not deleting bosses by blinking at them.

Guild Wars 2 has been doing this forever. It works. It's not magic. It's just systems. And it solves a real issue: old players get access to new content immediately, and new players can jump into Standard with their friends without the game going "cool, see you in 40 hours when you catch up". With scaling, friends can actually play together without one person being a god and the other being a spectator with a sword.

Not everyone likes the League rat race. Some people don't want a four month timer hanging over their head like "get to the endgame or else". I might not even have time to reach endgame during a season. I have a job. I have responsibilities. I have the audacity to sometimes sleep. Wild, I know.

And right now it's kinda sad that Standard has to wait months (like august->november) to play "new" content, except it's actually the previous season's leftovers finally being allowed into the fridge. No, I do not want to replay the campaign all the time with a NEW character. I would, however, have the time to do it with my old one that's already geared properly, has all the currency etc.

Why force your players to be divided and actually PUNISH those who are loyal old-schoolers who might not have that hell spare time anymore? Nolifers still stay who have 5+ hours per day to play - they can enjoy the League sprint and the fresh economy as intended.

Sure, it could be exploited. Anything can be exploited - this is Path of Exile, people would exploit a loading screen if it dropped currency. But that's what iteration is for. That's what feedback is for. Use the community like the huge-communal-brain it already is.

PS: I am completely aware what seasonal League also gives - it's a "beta-testing-crew" for your newly created content. Players stress-test new mechanics, find the broken stuff, you nerf and buff, and once it reaches end of season you implement the more "production-ready" version into Standard. Should it be like that? Who knows... I'm just saying there has to be a middle ground between "seasonal content only if you reroll in League" and "Standard gets it when the calendar feels generous".

Another player complaining about seasonal games being seasonal?

Leagues will have no reason to exist if you get everything in standard, all currencies, super optimized levelling setup for campaign and such.

Just play the league ffs

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IILU81II#8410 wrote:

Another player complaining about seasonal games being seasonal?

Leagues will have no reason to exist if you get everything in standard, all currencies, super optimized levelling setup for campaign and such.

Just play the league ffs

+1

Absolutely not. What a utterly awful idea, I don't have words how bad that is.
We get some of that in 0.2.0, never again.

If you actually read my initial post, you’d see this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been playing PoE1 since forever and I still play it. That’s exactly why I’m asking: what’s the point of PoE2 if it’s just PoE1 wearing nicer shoes and competing with it for the same exact niche?

I’m not saying "delete leagues" or "give everything to Standard and let leagues rot". I’m saying: let Standard players access seasonal content without being forced into the league-speedrun hamster wheel every single time. Starting from scratch over and over is fun a few times. After that it starts feeling like doing a full Windows reinstall every time you want to install a new game.

I don’t care that "it’s a league game". That’s literally what PoE1 already is. Why make PoE2 a copy-paste of the same model and then have them cannibalize each other? If the plan is "this is the one true version now", then just do what Valve did: close PoE1 and go all-in on PoE2 like CS:GO -> CS2. At least that would be a clear direction.

Right now it’s weird design: two nearly identical games, same seasonal structure, same grind, fighting for the same players. That’s not smart competition, that’s just the game competing with itself. Either commit to being a more accessible, flexible version where you can actually play together across progression gaps, or admit it’s just "PoE1 but shinier" and act accordingly.

And about the "just play the league ffs" replies: that’s not constructive feedback, it’s a shrug with extra typing. If you disagree, cool – explain why always locking seasonal content behind fresh starts is better design for the long-term playerbase. But "you’re wrong, shut up" in two sentences with no argument isn’t helpful. If you don’t have anything more than that, maybe let someone else discuss it instead.

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Jyrlep#4788 wrote:

Right now it’s weird design: two nearly identical games, same seasonal structure, same grind, fighting for the same players. That’s not smart competition, that’s just the game competing with itself.

GGG doesn't have anyone to compete with in first place.

As someone that mostly played Standard league in POE1, I don't think the new league content really matters too much. As long as the base game is good, Standard is good. You also have so much accumulated wealth from staying in Standard, that extra drops from a new league mechanic doesn't matter.

I'll be sticking to Standard in POE2 as well. Just from 1.1 after the official launch.

"GGG doesn't have anyone to compete with."

How can you say that when the game is literally set up to compete with itself right now? PoE1 already has seasonal leagues. PoE2 also has seasonal leagues. So instead of two different games, we basically have PoE1 and "PoE1 again but with different numbers and nicer shadows." Where is the meaningful difference?

That is exactly why I am saying: make PoE2 actually fill a different niche. Let PoE2 Standard be more casual-friendly. Let seasonal content exist in League AND in Standard at the same time, so people who do not want to reroll every four months can still play the new mechanics while they are current. PoE1 can remain the pure no-life seasonal grind simulator. PoE2 could be the one where long-term progression and playing on your main character actually matter.

And no, I am not going to "just play league." I do not have the time or desire to keep re-running the campaign with a fresh, undergeared character and zero currency every season. Why should I look forward to new content if the entry fee is pretending all my progress does not exist? Restarting every season is about as smart as buying a new phone and refusing to transfer anything from the old one. Nobody does a full "start from zero" just for fun. You still want your photos, your contacts, your apps – same way I still want to keep my gear, currency and character when the new shiny stuff comes out. This is not design depth, it is just a factory reset.

Right now my PoE2 loop is:
- New season launches.
- I ignore it and wait months.
- Eventually that "new" content trickles into Standard, by which time it is yesterday's news and everyone is already arguing about the next league.

Meanwhile, you can literally watch the player numbers dip a few days after league start. Shocking revelation: constantly starting over is fun for some people, not for everyone. A lot of us have jobs, families, and other hobbies, and the game design basically says "cool story, now redo the grind if you want to see anything new."

And just to be crystal clear: nothing I am suggesting takes anything away from league enjoyers. PoE2 League can still exist for the people who love fresh economies, racing, and day-one mapping. Go wild. I am only asking that Standard not be treated like the dusty attic where mechanics are dumped once they are no longer shiny.

Since PoE1 already fully covers the "restart every season" crowd, it would actually make sense if PoE2 did something different: Standard that can access seasonal content in real time without forced rerolls. Otherwise, for a lot of players there is not much reason to bother with PoE2 instead of just staying in PoE1 or moving to a more casual-friendly game.

If they delete leagues and just release everything into standard, we will have horders and the economy will suck. They could wipe the economy and characters for standard in that case but then that defeats the purpose of standard. If they keep it as is but release all content into new league aswell as standard then that just splits the player base and also bad for the economy

For the love of God, please read what I actually wrote.

I am not saying "delete leagues", "delete economy", "delete fresh starts". Leagues can still exist exactly as they do now for the people who want the full speedrunning, fresh-account, zero-gear, zero-currency race every 4 months. That part is fine. That part can stay. That part is clearly what a lot of you enjoy.

What I am talking about is something different, for a different type of player.

It would be better for actual casuals if they could also get new season mechanics in Standard without being forced into that reset treadmill. Some people genuinely do not have the time to go from 0 to endgame in 4 months. They still like the game. They still want to touch the new content. They still spend money. Long-term Standard players are literally the best customers for stash tabs and MTX, because all that junk and all those characters actually stick around.

But if the only way to interact with new content "on time" is to restart from scratch every league, then yeah, that is a hard pass for a lot of us. Restarting everything just to poke new mechanics a bit is not a good trade for limited free time. At that point it is easier to just play something more casual friendly, or go back to games that do not demand a full character wipe for every patch.

Nobody buys a new phone and says "actually, I will not transfer my contacts, photos, or apps, I will just rebuild my life from zero for the fun of it". But that is basically how the game treats new content if you do not want to league-reroll every time.

This is just food for thought on how PoE1 and PoE2 could actually be different instead of being two slightly reskinned versions of the same seasonal grind. PoE1 can remain the full league-hardcore-reset ecosystem. PoE2 Standard could be the place where long-term progression matters and seasonal content is accessible to people who are not living inside the game client 5 hours a day.