What could GGG do?

You are right op, 800 ES chests make CI characters better than life characters, but another problem is in nodes, ES nodes also got armour/evasion, but life ones not. Maybe we will see more hybrid nodes as in ranger tree incoming. Also amount of +life per level can be buffed.

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Vegnarus wrote:

Thank God I picked the sarcasm in your post 'cause I actually thought you were serious! =P

I was being serious. Don't you think it's a bit unreasonable to say that they should completely recraft their game to be centered around entirely different dynamics simply because I wanted an ARPG? Why shouldn't they "make the game they want to play" and I go play an ARPG?

As I've said many times, as soon as the single most powerful dynamic in the game becomes merchant skills then it's not an ARPG anymore... it's an economic simulator. But that is BY DESIGN.

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snapple99 wrote:

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Vegnarus wrote:

Thank God I picked the sarcasm in your post 'cause I actually thought you were serious! =P

I was being serious. Don't you think it's a bit unreasonable to say that they should completely recraft their game to be centered around entirely different dynamics simply because I wanted an ARPG? Why shouldn't they "make the game they want to play" and I go play an ARPG?

As I've said many times, as soon as the single most powerful dynamic in the game becomes merchant skills then it's not an ARPG anymore... it's an economic simulator. But that is BY DESIGN.

yet...

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Chris wrote:

I've spent much of six years arguing that trading should not be easy. I still believe that.

Chris, Lead Developer.

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Snorkle_uk wrote:

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Chris wrote:

I've spent much of six years arguing that trading should not be easy. I still believe that.

Chris, Lead Developer.

And he has succeeded at that goal. Trading is NOT easy. It's hard as hell.

That doesn't change the fact that the entire game is balanced around it and it's the single most powerful dynamic in the game. All that means is the core dynamic of the game is an annoying pain in the ass.

I could reply to your posts but I'd rather have a discussion about GAME MECHANICS, than go into a fruitless argument like that. No offense! xP

So, with that aside, any ideas? (And where are the devs when you need their input? =P)

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Vegnarus wrote:

I could reply to your posts but I'd rather have a discussion about GAME MECHANICS, than go into a fruitless argument like that. No offense! xP

So, with that aside, any ideas? (And where are the devs when you need their input? =P)

No offense taken. So taking the game as-is, here is my experience.

All of my characters have always had sufficient orbage to buy what they needed to progress. That experience holds true in both standard and onslaught. It is true up to the beginning of maps. I haven't done enough maps to really comment intelligently.

So with trade taken into account I have not personally experienced any issue and I doubt these changes would have made such an issue occur (again, given where I'm at in the game). I have a hard time faulting a system wherein my character can progress through the mainline story content in all the difficulties without a ridiculous amount of farming.

I know other people mention currency problems. I'm not quite sure why that is. It could be that RNG loves me or it could be my standards for "good enough gear" are much lower. Finally it could be because they are playing well above my level at 69 and the cost of truly necessary gear has outpaced orb income.

Edited to add
Oh.. and yes, it does appear to me like they are balancing for end-game loot and those without that are getting hurt in the process... just not enough to actually stop progress.

It definitely does seen that these across the board changes are aimed at high end gear/builds, which is not a good way of balancing a game. Kaom's could have +600-700 HP instead if +1000 and it would still be a strong option without having to be accounted for in every balance decision. The same with high ES chests. Another option would be to add +HP as an implicit mod on all non-ES armors. Or, introduce an HP aura to the game. Discipline is essentially free EHP for ES chars for a minimal loss if mana. HP chars get a largely niche regen aura that takes up 40% of their mana and doesn't actually add any HP.

As far as trading, I personally dislike doing it and I don't consider it a vital part of the game. It's an item acquisition method, but it's disproportionate in efficacy to the other item acquisition methods in the game (killing monsters and crafting). It's far less time intensive and lets you pick your gear in advance. It seems like there should be a better balance between the three methods.

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Vegnarus wrote:

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Tyronis3 wrote:

One thing that would really help is to increase the amount of base life you get from Strength. This would help Melee characters the most, but will also still help all other character as well without changing Kaom's much.

I thought about this as well. GGG could:

1) Reduce the bonus from gear
2) Increase the amount you get at Level-up and from Strength
3) Make nodes more beefy and reduce their numbers because there are too many underwhelming ones. In short, there shouldn't be a bunch of 6% nodes but a couple of 12-18% ones here and there. This can apply to other types as well.

This will achieve the following:

- A better balance since characters won't rely on gear too much and can keep their gear for a little longer until they can find something to replace it.

- Better sense of progression because with bigger stat boosts on level-ups, having meatier nodes, and reducing the clutter of weak or boring ones, leveling will feel more meaningful than it it now, which is currently something like this: *ding* "Ok, cool, now I can use that gem and spend this point and the next three on a couple of STR/INT/DEX nodes or a few measly bonuses before I get to the 'strong' one."

Yeah I had hoped that when GGG announced that they were trying to move away from "Path of Life Nodes" that they would just consolidate multiple nods into fewer but stronger ones so that 50% of your points aren't dumped into life nodes.

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antsea wrote:

Seems like most of their balance changes have been geared towards the top 1% of players.

There's an EXTREMELY vocal minority of super dedicated no-life gamers that are effectively running the show here, and probably make up less than 1% of the people playing PoE at any given time, however the game appears to be being balanced to appease to people that literally will spend as much time on PoE this week as I will at my job. Maybe more.

By nature of GGG's "trade or go get bent" policy on RNG crafting, with the hopeless attempts to stem the tide of RMT trading which have ruined the trade economy (thanks again, jsp) it effectively ruins the game for anyone that doesn't intend to treat it like a full time job or use RMT. Period. End of story.

If GGG wants to sell microtransactions, the game has to be fun for everyone, and while I appreciate a challenge, this is turning into Diablo III: Everything's a gear check, because with desync + life and defense nerfs, you can't rely on skill to win anymore. Exhibit A: Rogue Exiles would be FUN to encounter in Merciless if they didn't simply appear and reappear all over the screen until you die.

So you can fix one or the other: Buff drops and go back to the old life numbers so "normal people" (i.e. "filthy casuals" to you ubergamers) can play the game, or fix desync.

Instead, we get a Twitch.tv add-in to make it easier for "professional gamers" to stream the game and a further nerf to a major defensive skill. Wonderful priorities. If you're going to increase the amount of incoming damage, let's make it so the players can skillfully avoid that damage, not have mobs appearing and disappearing everywhere.

I'm still playing, I've spent a fair amount of money (more than a retail copy of a game, let's say that) on supporter packs and micros, but at this point I'm starting to find myself frustrated and bored more often than entertained when I do play, which at this point has devolved to Ledge runs until I find something valuable enough for trade, or a new piece of gear that will allow me to me progress - From, say, ~55-61 that hasn't happened. RNG's are cruel, but that's too cruel.

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Snorkle_uk wrote:

yet...

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Chris wrote:

I've spent much of six years arguing that trading should not be easy. I still believe that.

Chris, Lead Developer.

1. Make drop rates based around trade economy.
2. Make trade difficult.
3. ???
4. RMT Profit!