Do People Enjoy the Poe1 Campaign?

Which acts do people enjoy playing through on a new character? I know that a section of the community generally hate the campaign and rush to get to maps ASAP. Is GGG going to revamp the campaign or are they only focused on endgame / league gimmicks?

I don't think anyone should expect GGG to revamp the acts. In PoE1, that is.

I don't hate the acts. I think the acts are a corner stone of every new league start. Am I semi-sick of them from playing this game for over 10 years? Sure, but that usually goes away come league start. A certainly wouldn't use "hate".

That said, I do like league mechanics that affect the acts. While Breach is/was a very mediocre league mechanic, the grafts and the encounters did in facts affect the acts in several ways. The same with Mercenaries. You felt the impact throughout the game, which makes the acts so much more enjoyable.

I don't need the acts to change. Sure, they could remove a floor before you encounter Arakaali. The could remove one level from the mines in act 4 too. But I much rather they made league mechanics affect the acts in cool ways.

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Phrazz#3529 wrote:

I don't need the acts to change. Sure, they could remove a floor before you encounter Arakaali. The could remove one level from the mines in act 4 too. But I much rather they made league mechanics affect the acts in cool ways.

The campaign is usually just a treasure hunt for passive points for the passive tree. GGG could always revamp the campaign by making it less linear by increasing the number of zones to explore. GGG could always add more quests (possibly having different bosses to end the campaign other than Kitava?). Importantly keep the cap of 24 passive points from quests, but have more quests and zones so you're more likely to pick up all 24 instead of going back when you should be in maps.

GGG could easily do this, it would make leveling more replayable. Especially if they removed the "Deal with the Bandits" quest and have that optional reward with better modifiers on bosses before maps.

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scottslayer#6428 wrote:

GGG could easily do this...

Of course they could...? They could do whatever they want to their game.

The question will always be "why should they?". And the answer to that question is different depending on why you ask. Every player will answer it differently, and the same probably goes for every developer too. What justifies them spending time and resources on the campaign?

PoE1 has the best endgame of any ARPG ever made. The endgame will ALWAYS be the goal for 'most' players, no matter what they do with the campaign. And it's also - BY FAR - where most players spend most of their time. That should always be the main focus.

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In my opinion, making the acts "more random" and adding "more zones" is a very bad move. PoE1 has never been - and will never be an "exploration game". Sure, spicing the acts up with some new encounters, like the gem room in The Chamber of Sins and the special flask strongbox in Prison is a nice touch and can be fun for a while.

But again; for the VAST majority of players, endgame is where they spend 99% of their time every league, so GGG focusing most of their resources and time there, goes without saying. The best thing in my opinion, is to design (skipable) league mechanics that alters and affect both the acts and the endgame in cool ways.

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Phrazz#3529 wrote:

The question will always be "why should they?". And the answer to that question is different depending on why you ask. Every player will answer it differently, and the same probably goes for every developer too. What justifies them spending time and resources on the campaign?

At face value a more varied campaign would help with player retention. You said you're semi-sick of the acts, so multiple path ways to endgame might solve that.

I know it's subjective but for me Path of Exile is an exploration game. With all the effort for the past 6 years being solely placed on endgame it would be refreshing if there were more "paths" in the campaign. The game is called Path of Exile after all.

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scottslayer#6428 wrote:

At face value a more varied campaign would help with player retention. You said you're semi-sick of the acts, so multiple path ways to endgame might solve that.

I know it's subjective but for me Path of Exile is an exploration game. With all the effort for the past 6 years being solely placed on endgame it would be refreshing if there were more "paths" in the campaign. The game is called Path of Exile after all.

I'm not against alternative ways to reach maps, especially after you've reached maps with your first character. But "randomized zones" and "increasing the number of zones" is absolutely not the way to go. Sure, add 100 additional zones for people that want to explore, I wouldn't mind that - just make sure it's very transparent.

There is also story elements, voice acting and underlying elements that make it difficult to really change the acts without serious investment. The simplest way would probably be to make it possible to reach the endgame through other mechanics, like Delve or Heist.

One thing is certain; if they made every zone more random and/or introduced even more zones in the acts that were forced, I would personally dislike it.

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At face value a more varied campaign would help with player retention

Lastly, I think this is wrong. I think a shorter and more streamlined campaign would help retention even more, making it easier and faster for more people to reach the heart of the game (endgame) with several characters.

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Phrazz#3529 wrote:

I think a shorter and more streamlined campaign would help retention even more, making it easier and faster for more people to reach the heart of the game (endgame) with several characters.

I agree with making the Campaign shorter. I just think that there should be more side quests and side zones. The Campaign is great up until Act 5 after that you're repeating the acts again. My solution would be to have the Map UI changed so that Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3 are merged and expanded with 100 more zones so that you're reaching level 50 at the end of Act 3 (add many zone shortcuts for veteran players). Then have 10 different Act 4 varieties that end the campaign (like Kitava fight, Malachai fight, Brine King Etcetera), which the player picks depending on build or the reward given for defeating that campaign Boss.

I'd rather have the pantheon buffs as permanent stats from campaign bosses, and for characters that don't want them they can get passive skill points.

I don't mind the campaign, it doesn't take that long even for an old fart like me.

Nowadays i don't mind it.
I still have no love for the campain but i don't really hate it either.

They've changed minor things in acts 1-10 many times over the years. It's easy to notice if you play leagues regularly. Act 1 used to be a lot easier, for example.
If you play the game a lot, it shouldn't matter if you spend some hours out of that 3-6 month league running the campaign first.