Mercenaries saved casual players.

I think casuals have no idea who Empyrian even is.

To the topic: I think Mercenaries were a great fun addition and allowed for probably one of the biggest power creeps in a while. That was good for more casual players as well as the more hardcore players. I don't think it would be good to keep them in as a permanent addition though personally.

Here's the short-sightedness:

1) I can't deny....having extra "free" power is undoubtedly great for more casual or less experienced players.

2) Free power doesn't ONLY help casuals though....it pushes the power of EVERYONE, and thus will result in even steeper balancing towards the level that the OP complained about. If the BASE game becomes too easy because of power creep, then they have to make harder and harder and harder.

3) Ubers are NOT content you are generally just "expected" to beat. Ubers are content for the best of the best players with optimized/specialized builds. The fact that you can suddenly beat ubers with a merc, while being completely unable without it is NOT a good sign of overall game health. It is a sign of a major problem. When ubers cease to become aspirational content that only a tiny percentage of players can complete........we are then going to be given UBER ubers, where all the rewards hide behind. This has already happened in PoE on multiple occasions with pinnacle content and associated drops being pushed further and further into harder realms because the base versions simply become too easy.



It's like Harvest: while it was certainly fun for a SHORT TIME during a league, it will be exceedingly detrimental in the LONG TERM of the game due to the power creep across the board.

It's too easy to focus on your own temporary loss of FOMO, and fail to grasp what might come after...

FOMO is actually a GOOD thing for a game: it gives you a reason to keep coming back and improving. Provided you can actually set aside this notion that you should be entitled to everything in the game without having skill or experience.

If the OP watches Empy regularly, he needs to understand that Empy has been playing this game for a decade and has a dedicated, probably paid, team of players specifically designed with all their collective experience to maximize the content their videos are showing. A "casual" can't, shouldn't, nor expect to compare to that. Nor is that video an indicator of how the game is balanced. That is simply an illustration of the most perfect, best possible scenario you can expect from the game.

"

cowmoo275#3095 wrote:

2) Free power doesn't ONLY help casuals though....it pushes the power of EVERYONE, and thus will result in even steeper balancing towards the level that the OP complained about. If the BASE game becomes too easy because of power creep, then they have to make harder and harder and harder.

bino, this should be reminded to anyone complaining about drops, gear, nerfs etc.
this is why poe1 became an excel sheet checklist it is today.

I also think merc should go core and I believe it fits well with the narrative of Kingsmarch, the lore, etc. As well as the progression of the game. Also let's not forget. D2 had a merc system and it really seems like POE was trying to bring this feature into life, If I had money to bet, I would bet it is going core.

For those who complain "they are OP" - well duh they are OP, every new league mechanic is OP when it comes out, or it's crap and then becomes OP, obviously it wouldn't be ported into STD without being "toned down". Hello

"

KingExodusGG#1474 wrote:

For those who complain "they are OP" - well duh they are OP, every new league mechanic is OP when it comes out, or it's crap and then becomes OP, obviously it wouldn't be ported into STD without being "toned down". Hello

First of all, the OP-ness of mercs is on a scale pretty much never before seen across PoE league content. Even probably beyond OG harvest. This is why "mercs going core" is such a hot topic to begin with.

It is always worth discussiong HOW they can become core, but the problem that many of us see is that it is almost near-impossible for them to go core, without being somewhat neutered beyond recognition. And would that really be worth GGG's extra time and effort to be forced to balance something that is so enormously hard to balance. Consider they didn't even try to bring crucible items core, likely for a similar reason of balance difficulty.

I think I would almost rather Crucible come back in some form over wasting time on neutered mercenaries. That way, certain drops and duplicate drops gain meaning affecting the core game loop. Mercenaries don't really do that....they simply exist as "power" and serve to increase the drop value of only a select few items.

"

KingExodusGG#1474 wrote:

I also think merc should go core and I believe it fits well with the narrative of Kingsmarch, the lore, etc. As well as the progression of the game. Also let's not forget. D2 had a merc system and it really seems like POE was trying to bring this feature into life, If I had money to bet, I would bet it is going core.

For those who complain "they are OP" - well duh they are OP, every new league mechanic is OP when it comes out, or it's crap and then becomes OP, obviously it wouldn't be ported into STD without being "toned down". Hello

Hello. It would be literally impossible to 'balance' a Merc. The only way I could see them coming to the Core Game is if you encounter them in a map and only for that map. I could also see them being Hired for 3 Maps Total and then they disappear but you cant improve or remove gear from the Merc.

They could have improved items and Currency to take and you cant improve the base chance of them spawning through any of the atlas passives. IMO theyre too OP and hard to balance for the entire game.

GGG cant even balance the current game and adding another element would be awful - potentially a game-ender for some Exiles (Like Me as I loathe the mechanic).

Aside from a handful of rather broken item interactions (which GG could address in a variety of ways), I really don't understand how people are claiming that Mercs are a balance problem? What's the difference between a Merc and partying with another player?

To me it simply feels like an opportunity for solo players to step a little into the group play world and access the benefits that provides. That's really not a bad thing.

"

moerutora#4751 wrote:

"

KingExodusGG#1474 wrote:

I also think merc should go core and I believe it fits well with the narrative of Kingsmarch, the lore, etc. As well as the progression of the game. Also let's not forget. D2 had a merc system and it really seems like POE was trying to bring this feature into life, If I had money to bet, I would bet it is going core.

For those who complain "they are OP" - well duh they are OP, every new league mechanic is OP when it comes out, or it's crap and then becomes OP, obviously it wouldn't be ported into STD without being "toned down". Hello

Hello. It would be literally impossible to 'balance' a Merc. The only way I could see them coming to the Core Game is if you encounter them in a map and only for that map. I could also see them being Hired for 3 Maps Total and then they disappear but you cant improve or remove gear from the Merc.

They could have improved items and Currency to take and you cant improve the base chance of them spawning through any of the atlas passives. IMO theyre too OP and hard to balance for the entire game.

GGG cant even balance the current game and adding another element would be awful - potentially a game-ender for some Exiles (Like Me as I loathe the mechanic).

Maybe just add maps with tier 18, 19 e 20??.

i would stop playing this game if they remove mercs after league ends. my mercs are far stronger than me for some reason, i just give them some cheap uniques

devs please give option to keep mercs in standard and next league

"

Aldora_the_Summoner#4021 wrote:

Aside from a handful of rather broken item interactions (which GG could address in a variety of ways), I really don't understand how people are claiming that Mercs are a balance problem? What's the difference between a Merc and partying with another player?

To me it simply feels like an opportunity for solo players to step a little into the group play world and access the benefits that provides. That's really not a bad thing.

I agree here.

There aren't MANY Mercenary interactions that are OP. I can think of maybe two. If GGG address those, we're left with a mechanic that works pretty well, that both supplements builds in a nice way, but also creates new build diversity.

That said, I'm on the fence here. I think it's totally OK for mechanics to be temporary, even if I like them. That is what makes leagues unique and rememberable.