Why T18 Maps Are Necessary for the Future of Endgame PoE

3.28 Patch Notes:

Added T18 Maps
Added challenge: Complete T18 map with no other players in the map.

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

And if players are getting too OP then the only thing to do is nerf the top-end,nerf OP crafting methods,nerf most popular builds,and maybe delete recombinator too so people can't just item-edit their way to perfect t1 items. That is how you reign in powercreep.

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

Except that's not happening lmao

How… enlightening. Thank you for the demonstration.

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

Otherwise its a neverending spiral, we might aswell add infinitely scaling endgame like Greater Rifts from Diablo.

Greater Rifts have, in a sense, already existed since 2018 under the name Delve.
Of course, it is optional content, and not everyone is really into it.

That’s why it only makes sense to scale up the ceiling of the main content, mapping. Since we’ve already been enlightened that balance changes for outliers and perfect peak builds “won’t happen”, the next obvious way to bring back fun is to add further depths to the mapping system, rather than making something already easy even easier.

Not everyone wants to be bored by Tier 16 maps where outrageously flawless god-tier builds dominate everything. It’s time to raise the ceiling and explore more depth in mapping.

Bump to push this important topic back to the front as we head into 2026

bump for t18 maps and ambitious, aspirational content for 3.28 and future leagues, now’s the time to plan ahead.

I would support this for no other reason than to annoy tofort. I don't even like t17 maps though. I guess I should rephrase it. Locking ubers and locking stuff like saviour/echoes to uber bosses behind t17s is what I dislike.

This thread is, kinda like, ummm... "On Probation"

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

That's mostly due to lower currency drop rates as the league mechanic wasn't an overtuned mess to the likes of Affliction league

Yeah, god forbid we want to get back to the most fun league with the highest player retention ever on a percentage of starting pop basis, out to 45 days after league launch, where killing monsters was actually valuable instead of boring tile rewards, and other content was more valuable due to people actually staying in maps for once.

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Moregaze#2933 wrote:

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

That's mostly due to lower currency drop rates as the league mechanic wasn't an overtuned mess to the likes of Affliction league

Yeah, god forbid we want to get back to the most fun league with the highest player retention ever on a percentage of starting pop basis, out to 45 days after league launch, where killing monsters was actually valuable instead of boring tile rewards, and other content was more valuable due to people actually staying in maps for once.

Affliction had its own problems though. It made casuals like me feel extreme FOMO at the fact that people were able to print insane currency from stupidly over-buffed wisp monsters when I couldn't. The forest mechanic made no sense and you had to look at guides to know how it worked. So I'm glad its all gone.

Like the only good thing about that league for me was the secondary ascendancies that you got with free skillpoints for them, that was some nice powercreep. I was able to use the one with charm slots to get free +60% all res which helped me a lot. The wisps themselves buffed monsters way too much and everything became an hp sponge so I completely ignored the league mech after I had no reason to do it anymore.

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

It made casuals like me feel extreme FOMO

Get over yourself. FOMO is a "you" problem, not any kind of indication of a "league problem".

In fact, FOMO-inducing content is probably the BEST kind of league content as it makes (the right kind of) people want to play MORE so they.....don't miss out.

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cowmoo275#3095 wrote:

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Toforto#2372 wrote:

It made casuals like me feel extreme FOMO

Get over yourself. FOMO is a "you" problem, not any kind of indication of a "league problem".

If the game is causing that feeling, then it's not in any way my own fault for feeling that way. Its simply the game.