Map drops - assessment of 2.0.0, and changes coming in 2.0.2

So 2.0 is just basically an alpha release, at this point in poe it feels like GGG just doesn't want you playing its game. I haven't played in a few weeks for more than 10 mins because poe doesn't feel like fun anymore its just work. Playing right now feels like pulling a 12 hour shift for less than minimum wage, your exhausted frustrated and worst of all you have nothing to show for your effort. I was under the impression that quality of life was improved in 2.0 not soul crushing drop rates of maps, gapping bugs, and a very apparent dismissal of community input.

getting to level 100 should be about having a strong build that can kill hard mobs, not actually struggling to find content that gives you exp.

"Expert players"...so what do they do better than the rest ? If maps don't wanna drop you can be a hobo or a gosu gamer you're screwed.

As long as game content access is gated behing RNG, there will be wars.

My main issue with maps is that I don't need exp because my build is finished, but I need drops - mainly currency and rares for chaos recipe and alts.

So if I start using a lot of chaos and zana mods for better iiq I might start getting more higher level maps but I will get nothing profitable from a map and probably even lose a lot of currency. Because of this I only use alch and a few chisels for 75+ maps. There is just no reason for me to use more.
I flow around 75 maps with occasional 76 and rare 77 which I haven't yet run because I'm waiting for changes.

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Kagari wrote:

"Expert players"...so what do they do better than the rest ? If maps don't wanna drop you can be a hobo or a gosu gamer you're screwed.

As long as game content access is gated behing RNG, there will be wars.

"Expert" players drop many chaos worth in a single map to get the best chance of +1 +2 maps. They also do map rotations where each invests many chaos in a map.
I refuse to spend more currency than i get on an average map but that's GGG's "expert way" of mapping.

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Kagari wrote:

"Expert players"...so what do they do better than the rest ? If maps don't wanna drop you can be a hobo or a gosu gamer you're screwed.

As long as game content access is gated behing RNG, there will be wars.

Keep spreading the word, I'm hopeful GGG will come to their senses at some point.

One thing I want to point out, that may seem like a double edged sword but shouldn't really be:

1) community asks GGG to be informed, to let them know why and how decisions regarding important aspects of game get made, to release more (detailed) manifestos that allow players to *know* what is going on, understand it, and not play a very complicated in-depth game blind.

2) from #1, GGG starts giving players some manifestos which explain some aspects of their decision making process.

3) players debate/argue/refute/critique many aspects of GGG's manifestos and other released statements, leading to further potential for confrontation.


I realize giving the community what they ask for (ie clear indications of what's happening with POE, what direction its trying to go in, etc) may seem like a self-inflicted wound for GGG, since people complain even after learning of devs' thought process. However, I want to point out this entire process is basically feedback + roundtable discussion in essence. The road to refinements will be tough, but it has to happen this way, people have to give their inputs and challenge GGG's assumptions, or else the game will never evolve. I personally think devs are wrong on a number of points regarding how they think about the game and how it 'should' be played, etc. It's funny that the positivity of playing a deep game like POE gets overshadowed by some of the colossally unwise changes in 2.0. Let me say for the record, POE is still an awesome game to play. But this patch has totally skewed a few major, major strengths of the game and turned it into something I have currently no desire to play.

For many, maybe most people, it is about maps. And for maps, it is all about incremental refinement of a build: getting gear upgrades, advancing levels to pickup needed nodes, etc. All of this is accomplished primarily through the map system. A system that got some ridiculous drop-rate nerfs with 2.0. How GGG could not have anticipated this negative reaction, boggles my mind. There would have been a lot of time and stress saved if the maps aspect of 2.0 had never happened. But it did, and turned off a ton of people from playing. What did GGG hope to gain from doing something that should have been a common-sense "no way" to begin with? Nothing I can tell. The irony is bringing about such a huge change, only to release a manifesto and about a patch which will reverse/restore some of those changes to maps. I can't fully express how ludicrous this rodeo seems, it's honestly like we are still in beta, like we never left.

Who the hell are the expert players? Can you define it precisely?

GGG, please realize that, in your attempt to stop the 1% (the players who hit 100 within a week) you have effectively screwed over the rest of the player base.

These people who reach 100 in a week can and will continue to do so, no matter what hurdles you place in front of them. Whether they be streamers who have tons of people giving them maps/items, or just those extreme players who have amassed tons of currency, they simply have the means no matter what the situation.

But, what does that mean for everyone else? The difficulty of our leveling journey is compounded, gated not by skill level, but by the almighty RNGsus. That's just a bad way to be, in my humble opinion.

Please think about this when you make the map changes. Thank you!

FINALLY AFTER YEARS!

I'm 100/475 Mfer, cull every rare / boss, can do ANY mod / map and I still don't get a single fk map when I do 78-80 140+ IIR maps. This is more than frustrating since a 79 map is being sold at 1ex.

So please do your best and finally raise those map drops so noone can demand 6EX!!! for a Core map.

Finally

The plea has been heard and it looks like it's getting addressed.