Streamlining the Campaign in Return of the Ancients

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why does no one like exploring?

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SwiftandBoneless#1318 wrote:

I'm going to be THAT guy too I guess...
You're making the game too soft. Not A good feature at aoo. It wasn't that hard to find the Entrances to begin with. It literally only took 30-45 minutes to blow throw act 1. Act 2 only takes 90 minutes to 2hrs. how much quicker do ya'll want it to be ?

6 hours maximum for the entire campaign. Without speedrunning.

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Lughsan#3708 wrote:

why does no one like exploring?

Because there is no real interest to explore the thing you've played 10-20-30 times already???

Looking forward to be able to pick maps layouts too:).

I look forward to these changes, and it's especially good timing releasing them alongside this patch, which is Endgame focused. A big portion of the player base will definitely want to speed through the campaign as fast as possible, and this will help those players.

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Lughsan#3708 wrote:

why does no one like exploring?

because we already explored 20+ times

I'm gonna chime in too that I don't think watering down the campaign experience is the right move. The campaign's length and difficulty has been what I've loved the most about PoE 2. I look forward to it every season.

This is all good. It's useful. It fits the setting of the locations. No questions.
BUT. The biggest problem with the campaign is REPEATING IT in the same season with a new character. This takes a lot of time.
I'll offer another option for people who want to level up a second/third/etc. character.
When a person completes ALL the points in the atlas, a special node appears in the atlas tree. It can't be selected, but it works automatically (similar to the current node in the boss tree). The purpose of this node is to open the entire map in each act's location. This can be accomplished through a mysterious NPC in the city of each act. He appears in the cities and can only be spoken to if the node is present. Basically, the NPC sees "some kind of exile mark (node)" and, as "anything he can do," opens the map upon entering the location. The point of all this is to make leveling up NEW heroes easier.
As a result, we get easier playthroughs of acts for the second and subsequent characters. But not "for free," as many people expect. This requires considerable effort and time spent in the endgame. And you'll still have to play through the game's acts. Although that will be much easier.
The first playthrough is still there. But replayability within a single season has been increased.

I couldn't disagree more with some people here. 5-10h for the entire campaign may be true for veteran players who speedrun through it, but for new players you're looking at over 30-40h and possibly longer just to get through the campaign the first time around. They don't know the classes, they don't know the skills to mow down enemies quickly, they don't know the builds or what to do to beat bosses easily. They're not just going through the content, they're getting to know the game at the same time.

This to me seems like a bit of added convenience, it doesn't make the maps smaller nor the campaign itself that much shorter. Most of the hints are subtle and players will be missing them anyways. There is no "watering down" of anything. Some people will make a big deal out of nothing.

Sincerely, a new player.

I like that the hints are often subtle. Hints like this could be implemented on random endgame maps to lead the player to interesting locations.