Difficulty Levels in 3.0.0

I did not mind 3 runs through all acts to level up as I find leveling up in PoE one of the better experiences in ARPG genre. I enjoy getting tangibly stronger by getting new talents, gear and increasing skill levels.

I definitely think there are blank areas that are pure fodder and should be streamlined or completely removed. I also greatly dislike end of Act4 and Malachai fight because despite it being grand finale of current standard content the ending and rewards for that fight are very anticlimactic and disappointing.

If Cruel is gone, I would not mind either as long as Act 5, and changes to remaining content, keep leveling process at same, or slightly shorter, time and progression pace. Progression pace is especially important--I do not feel there are any unnecessary spikes in difficulty when moving from one area to another, from act to act or to new difficulty (I understand the dip in difficulty when moving from Act 4 to Act 1 next difficulty and have no issue with it).

Exciting news ahead of us. I also wonder what new mechanics and enemies will be in Act 5 especially when looking back at things introduced by Act 4. I hope this will be huge!

Awesome)

10 acts! Awesome! Absolutely great decision, 15 acts was going to be way too many. :)

Act - Char level

Normal cleared in 1 hour
I - 5
II - 15
III - 25
IV - 35
V - 45

Merciless cleared in 2 hours
I - 55
II - 65
III - 75
IV - 85
V - 95

Grinding end game maps from level 95-100 for 9000 hours. GG.

"

Quantume wrote:

Act - Char level

Normal cleared in 1 hour
I - 5
II - 15
III - 25
IV - 35
V - 45

Merciless cleared in 2 hours
I - 55
II - 65
III - 75
IV - 85
V - 95

Grinding end game maps from level 95-100 for 9000 hours. GG.

What makes you think they are removing Cruel?

the transision to one act or even the addition of act 6 will be more complicated than this one.

Like it was previously said, there are questions that will need careful answers. GGG probably put this annoucement here to watch how community will react, and maybe even gather some ideas. I'm fine with this, let's help more then !
I'm a kind of casual gamer. I'm here since open beta. I play several hours a week, but usually one hour at a time, sometimes less. I'm not rich, I dropped 6 ex since my first char.

Here comes my two cents :)


1. Exp loss

Going from 0% xp loss to 10% xp loss might be a little hard, but is doable.
I personnaly have a preference toward doing exp loss right from the start. PoE is a hard game, and exp loss should be a thing to take into account right from the start. Remember that until lvl 20+, you just have to kill a few mobs to gain 5% or more. That wouldn't be a time punishment like endgame, just a reminder that it exists, and should not be forgotten.


2. Passive and respecs points

I'm not worried about this part, splitting points to both act5 will probably cover all cases.


3. Bandits reward

That's a more tricky one.
I've read an excellent suggestion previously : put bandits quest in maps. I like this idea, but don't put them far. In fact, they should be in maps tier 1. Remember we used to get the last reward in act2. If you put them in maps tier 1, it's still somewhat later. How to get the reward ? I .... don't know. I leave that to you !
Honestly I don't have another idea.


4. Ascendancy points, enchants, and uber lab

That one will be heavily tricky.

a. Enchants
As I'm not fan of "legacy items" (to me, all legacy unique items should be updated when you alter the unique, standard is a paradise for riches and a hell for poors), I don't like the idea of removing a tier of enchants.
Plus, the cruel enchants were good enough to rely on until you are capable of clearing merciless lab, which might take some time for some people who havent uber endgame gear waiting in the stash.
If you remove normal enchants, then it's fine.
Otherwise, and if there's no way to get the intermediate enchant, new players will be in trouble, and lab might become a chore instead of a challenge.

b. Ascendancy points
Giving 3 points per difficulty is the easiest solution. I honestly don't know what it means in term of balance, but I'm pretty sure it has to be considered carefully. Good luck to the balance team !

c. Uber lab
Well, nothing to change here, still 2 pts given, tier 4 enchants. (no debate on lab, not the place).


5. Resistance penalty

Going from 0% to -60% is kinda creepy, and is probably not a good thing.
Going to less than -60% is a no-go, as it will makes aaaaall current endgame builds and gears obsolete.
So, it might need some intermediate solution.

a. progressive penalty
Getting -5% per act or something like that is something I don't feel right. Usually, I rush through normal without much care about my resists, and upgrading my gear once or twice. With the progressive penalty, I would be forced to upgrade it more often.
Yeah ok, that's not a problem in essence, but in a new league, without stash full of stuff / currencies, that's nearly impossible to get decent gear with up-to-date resistances in normal. And it's very hard in cruel too.
Forsaken masters aren't all unlocked at this point or not enough high level to help on tweaking gear. And I'm not mentioning the lack of currencies to pay these crafts.
Unless there is a way to get decent resist gear (with gear reward ? New questS ?), the progressive penalty (which I like in the concept) will be hard to handle.

b. cruel penalty somewhere between two acts
Another solution is to put the first penalty at the end of an act. It will probably be end of act2 or end of act3. You have to warn the player in a way or another. Might even be an encounter with some NPC that permanently "curse" the player by weakening the resistances (hmmm maybe not a good idea after all, we would expect to be able to lift the curse somewhere).


6. Difficulty scaling, leveling progression

I'm hyped by the removal of one difficulty, as it may make the optionnal side areas more challenging, like it was before 2.0.
Nowadays, during a leveling progression, I see no point in clearing an area : I always have at least one level above the area lvl, I always feel too ahead of the natural progression. I nearly feel forced to rush if I don't want to be bored.
I'd like to be in trouble if I rush too fast. I'd like to feel the need of grinding a zone once or twice because it becomes a little too dangerous in the next zone. I'd like the difficulty to scale up a little. Just a little. Like maybe one dangerous gap per act.



That was my two cents. Well then, I'd better stop here. I hope GGG will read this. who knows ?

Thanks for anyone reading this to the end !

Guys, you might have misunderstood, its not a suggestion thread. Its a manifesto. They're going to remove exactly one difficulty without regards to your ideas of how the game "should" be.

Not even you skipping this league is going to help, I'm afraid.

"

Going from 0% to -60% is kinda creepy, and is probably not a good thing.

Nope, people should to decide between "OP build kill'em all" and "im tanky tank".

Manifesto too huge this time?