IMO, an amazing implementation to season races

Okay, this might be controversial, but I wanted to raise it:

The biggest problem, in my opinion with the races, is the schedule. PoE has players on a global scale. NZ, EU, and US, to name only a few. The time slots in which one can race is not flexible, which allows for only the most hardcore of players to truly compete in these events.

I sleep for 8 hours and work for another 8+. That's at least 16 of my 24 hours. Now I'm not alone.

I would love to race, but I'm not waking up at 4AM to catch a 60 minute race. I can't play when I'm at work, as another example.

What if...

What if there was a system implemented, like another UI screen like the "Achievements", where you could open it, and you could play any race that has already begun, within a 48 hour window.

So if I wanted to do that 60 minute race that started at 4AM my time, I could do it when I get home from work! Oh wow it looks like I actually missed two races, because they ran one while I was at work, so I might want to pound out those races back to back! Or, maybe I choose not to play one or both of them...no harm there either.

The problems:

-Players will not know live time how they have scored against their competition because the 48 hour window, for example, is still open. I don't see this as too big of a problem, because players 99% of the players only get points by reaching certain levels. It is a very small fraction of players, again these hardcore gamers, that compete for the top few slots, and they will likely all be racing from the first second the race opens. Maybe you even offer an additional incentive (point or two) if you start the race within the first five minutes. But for the love of god...let the rest of us compete...

-This could have some issues that I cannot foresee with regards to server capacity, or technicalities of that nature...fair enough.

-Could you rerun the race? Could you create more time in the event since it's open for 48 hours? No. One race attempt per account. Once you select to "Join race" and you spawn on The Twilight Strand, the clock starts. And there's an in-game clock that counts down, maybe right below the map. If you die, you can remake (just like in races today), but the clock does not reset or stop during your log-off time. It is real time.

These are some thoughts. I am just free typing right now. I think the concept of a window of time is a very good one for a majority of PoE players that cannot experience this fun of competitive play and season races. Look at my history; every season, I begin doing races, but then I just stop immediately because I know I can't compete because I've already missed more than half.

Obviously you would not want to do this with lengthy races such as the 1-week race.




I really welcome feedback, and I do hope that GGG can somehow acknowledge they have seen this thread and a) think it is unlikely, or b) something they have been considering.


Thank you very much.

TLDR: keep races open for a certain amount of time (48 hour window, for example), in which casual-ish players can join/participate in races (I realize there may be some server-side complications to this -- please read above before you flame, if you plan to flame).

This has been brought up so many times I can't count anymore. I also think its a bad idea because of points you already mentioned in the post. Having no real time competition ruins it for me and a lot of people.

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Hybriis wrote:

This has been brought up so many times I can't count anymore. I also think its a bad idea because of points you already mentioned in the post. Having no real time competition ruins it for me and a lot of people.

Yeah, but Hybriis...not being able to participate in the majority of the events really ruins it for a lot of people too...

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Season 3 - #3 Marauder - #15 overall points
Season 4 - #2 Marauder - #2 Duelist - #9 overall points
Season 5 - #1 Marauder - #2 Duelist - #20 overall points

With all due respect, you fit this niche 1% market size of "hardcore gamers" that has the flexibility to participate in practically every race as it happens...

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Illsonmedia wrote:

With all due respect, you fit this niche 1% market size of "hardcore gamers" that has the flexibility to participate in practically every race as it happens...

Hybris is a scrublord who dies to totems.

Thanks to the miracle of invasion balancing, everyone is now a scrublord who dies to totems.

No. And for the record, I still managed to race even when I had the same schedule as you.



And yes, I did wake up at 4am for races on a work day sometimes.

I think it might not be a bad idea for some races to have this property, but I would like to see the majority of races keep the traditional time format.

Also fuck boof. Kappa

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Lyralei wrote:

No. And for the record, I still managed to race even when I had the same schedule as you.

And yes, I did wake up at 4am for races on a work day sometimes.

I see. Well, waking up at 4 am is not "the same schedule as me". I would count that example as putting gaming as a priority above job, which I don't do.


Need race option flexibility! :)