The reason for the low level of active players in Path of Exile
Easy now guys :)
It cannot be helped that the vast majority of players will recite exactly what GGG has told them, that is the way for normal people to react.
It was exactly the same in D3 forums, or anywhere else in the world really, whiteknights were everywhere and they stated exactly the reasonings the D3 devs gave them for the state of the game, as though it was the absolute proof that things needed to be that way.
They could not see beyond.
Does it really surprise you it is the same here?
I am the light of the morning and the shadow on the wall, I am nothing and I am all.
Flip and trade or be stuck spending hundreds of hours getting comparatively nothing out of it is why I quit.
I want to kill stuff for loot not sit around town flipping. The drops are really really bad.
You just don't get it.
If you CHOOSE not to trade, the drops come at a reasonable pace.
Until you hit end game. Try finding a weapon for your build that's 40% of BiS. Just 40% of what else is out there. Good lucky finding a weapon for your Ground Slam/Heavy Striker without trading. Even with trading, it's a joke.
I suppose at the end of the day it depends on what you want out of the game. If you are the type of player who wants to be able to complete highend content asap then SF is not going to keep you playing. Thats why people trade and I have no issues AT ALL with people trading. I've done it in the past and Ill do it again in the future at some point im sure.
RE: weapon... i alc'd my one. You have to remember that when playing SF, you actually use your currency for gear, not trading. I alc'd probably 30 or so Reaver swords and handed in 5 rares to get a new one when I could. Sure, its not some crazy weapon but it allows me to map with ease.
I doubt you would trade for that weapon. SF it was a "hell yeah" moment. the ones you're asking for...
Don't get me wrong. I'm not shouting SF is what you should do, its great we all have a choice, and endgame mapping is a complete nightmare when it comes to SF BUT, for satisfaction in finding your own drops, SF is the way atleast at the moment.
From what I consider to be an objective viewpoint, Path Of Exile is a niche game. By definition and design it will not provide long-term appeal to a large percentage of people who play PC games.
The developers knew this from the start.
Be design, in order to actualize highly specific, "perfectly" min/max'd, arguably "niche" builds that require insanely rare items, players are expected to make an "investment" in the game. This "investment" is time.
What is stated above is what I find to be the current state of the game. Personally, I don't have a problem with it. I am, in my estimation, part of the actual target audience for this entertainment content. Any explanation or defense of my style of play is superfluous.
The reason for what you perceive to be "the low level of active players in Path Of Exile" is that, by design, it is not supposed to appeal to everyone. It is to games what the Creation Museum is to theme parks (http://creationmuseum.org/).
To create an analogy to address the "issue" related to gearing up perfectly min/max'd, specialized niche builds:
OP and I both work the same job. We both commute. I'm perfectly happy to get there in whatever way is most readily available to me, he chafes at the thought of anything less than driving a Bugatti. We are both fry cooks.
If you want the Bugatti, put in the time or win the lottery.
+1 Shagsbeard, you said it well enough, I'm just piling on.
And here is a perfect example of what i mentioned in the last post.
Last post
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Crackmonster wrote:
It cannot be helped that the vast majority of players will recite exactly what GGG has told them, that is the way for normal people to react.
It was exactly the same in D3 forums, or anywhere else in the world really, whiteknights were everywhere and they stated exactly the reasonings the D3 devs gave them for the state of the game, as though it was the absolute proof that things needed to be that way.
They could not see beyond.
Does it really surprise you it is the same here?
I am the light of the morning and the shadow on the wall, I am nothing and I am all.
It cannot be helped that the vast majority of players will recite exactly what GGG has told them, that is the way for normal people to react.
It was exactly the same in D3 forums, or anywhere else in the world really, whiteknights were everywhere and they stated exactly the reasonings the D3 devs gave them for the state of the game, as though it was the absolute proof that things needed to be that way.
They could not see beyond.
Does it really surprise you it is the same here?
I somehow see this as a reply to my posts.
There is no reaction to what GGG has said, it's the fact, they want a trade oriented game, that's how it is.
I was also not defending anything and anyone, those are the pure facts about drops.
I apologize if that wasn't about my recent posts here, just skip this and don't reply.
It cannot be helped that the vast majority of players will recite exactly what GGG has told them, that is the way for normal people to react.
It was exactly the same in D3 forums, or anywhere else in the world really, whiteknights were everywhere and they stated exactly the reasonings the D3 devs gave them for the state of the game, as though it was the absolute proof that things needed to be that way.
They could not see beyond.
Does it really surprise you it is the same here?
Haha, the arrogance is strong in this one. It's far from justified though, your thread is just another generic drop-rate QQ one.
GGG banning all political discussion shortly after getting acquired by China is a weird coincidence.
I guess I am being a bit of a whiteknight as you put it and I don't intend to offend anyone or undermine their opinion but I see what's happening on the D3 PTR forums and can't help but see similarities in this thread. Loot 2.0 gave them much better gear but go to the forums and look what they complain about - drop rates and they use much of the same arguments I've seen here. I play SF only unless I'm borrowing gear to piss around with and I enjoy my play (although I wish magic and rare items had more mods to make them more interesting and deep). I guess I'm just not sure what nGio and his company are really asking for. Do you want the game to be easier or would you not care if the game was made more difficult to compensate for increased drops of 'better gear'?
Think about this, how many base items exist, how many mods exist and how many mod brackets.
After that, think about the possibilities that you drop an item that is an upgrade to yours, and since we all now it has to be something large, not just +20 life and +20 cold resistance, because people don't even notice that.
People mostly want a nice upgrade like Kaoms, Soul Taker, Shavs or Voltaxic.
Think about why is there so many useless stats on items (+2 life regen, lol, light rad., reflect 1 dmg., ha!..). Then think about why ilvl 80 items can and will spawn the shittiest tier brackets in a pure RNG fashion.
The mod affix is diluted, because you can trade. An average player must not be allowed to find good items in a reasonable time, because of trade and economy.
And I totally disagree with your last sentence.
When night falls
She cloaks the world
In impenetrable darkness
Last edited by morbo#1824 on Jan 23, 2014, 5:13:06 AM
If you go fast enough and aren't twinking, normal is challenging enough. It can't be too much harder or new players will have no chance.
Every single game out there, even non-f2p ones, tend to have high attrition rates. At least, if you look at steam cheevos, at least 20% of players don't even play the games they fucking buy lol. Another 30-45% get 1-3 achievements and never anything more. Only 20-25% of players who buy a game actually get far in it, maybe half of them beat the game entirely, maybe another half will try it play it a second time.
Path of Exile just needs a solid base of 100k to 400k users (not concurrent, just active), with 5%~ of those users making microtransaction purchases. If 5000 players spend $5 a week, GGG has a cashflow of $25k a week, or $75k a month, which could be just enough to keep the game running - realize the cost of living in NZ is much lower than in US or Europe. This game can probably flourish is 10k players spend $5 a week, or 5k spend $10 a week.
Considering we've had 50k+ concurrent active user peaks, I'd say we easily have the playerbase we need to keep the game alive for a long while. If GGG can continue to address concerns with their regular patches, the game shouldn't shrink or probably even remain constant, I'd expect it to grow.
By design, this game isn't for everyone. By design, a large portion of players who try the game will leave.
Where on earth did you find your company-running cost numbers...
With 75k a month I can (very hardly) sustain a team of 4 developers + 4 managing/operation/supports (they are other costs than just salaries). I highly doubt in NZ you can do it with so much less, even with lower cost of life ; it's not chinese factory workers...
And I suppose that at one point even the most hardcore supporters will stop paying hundreds of dollars every time GGG needs money and make new supporter packs.
Chris: "Path of Exile’s economy is the most important element of the game to us".
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/55102
Too bad they don't see how good the ARPG element of their game is...
Think about why is there so many useless stats on items (+2 life regen, lol, light rad., reflect 1 dmg., ha!..). Then think about why ilvl 80 items can and will spawn the shittiest tier brackets in a pure RNG fashion.
The mod affix is diluted, because you can trade. An average player must not be allowed to find good items in a reasonable time, because of trade and economy.
And I totally disagree with your last sentence.
That has nothing to do with what I've wrote, it still stands.
There was a constructive thread about "filler" mods, weeks ago, and I'm all for items to have all mods valuable to something.
I don't know how can you still say that about an average player after all I've wrote about drops, so I can't really add up anything.
While you disagree, check those Piety/Dominus farm threads, people do seek mostly high tier uniques, sad but true.
Guys it was not particularly aimed at anyone, maybe except the one i qouted. :D
I do mean it though, overall you will find that people, unless they are upset, will tend to agree with the direction of lead from a leader they like to follow.
I am the light of the morning and the shadow on the wall, I am nothing and I am all.
Last edited by Crackmonster#7709 on Jan 23, 2014, 5:56:54 AM
