Bex Confirms ExileCon is the Jumping-Off Point for Path of Exile 2's Marketing

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MourningBlade wrote:

I think it's smart for a little delay. If it's launched in a year or so a lot of new D4 fanboys might be tired of the game if Blizz does not keep updating the content...and now new seasons require fresh chars? Think I just read that...

Everything is a gamble. D4 could likely be better in year. Hell Paladin and another class could be coming with an expansion by then. The longer GGG waits with subpar PoE1 leagues, the longer D4 has to get a foothold. Then again if it isn't ready, it isn't ready. They can't afford a crap 4.0 launch.

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la_blue_girl wrote:

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ongZ wrote:

Next league will be the current 10 acts with updated PoE2 graphics, heroes, passive skill tree and skill gem rework. Basically the experience we will get when playing the "old game" when Poe2 releases.

I believe Chris Wilson mentioned, that a lot of these updates in PoE2 will be implemented before the game releases. Pretty sure he said that at exilecon 2019. Anyways, that is my prediction :D

Is this even on the table anymore? I'd be very surprised if the whole old campaign gets a makeover at this point. I could even see it getting shafted completely tbh. I don't think GGG wants all the streamers or racers playing it again if it's faster.

I have not heard they should have changed their minds.

Since they said that old and new campaign will both lead to the same endgame. Just a different path. I find it hard to believe they would keep old and new heroes, when the new systems (as we can see on the last two trailers) requires new designs.

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ongZ wrote:

Since they said that old and new campaign will both lead to the same endgame. Just a different path. I find it hard to believe they would keep old and new heroes, when the new systems (as we can see on the last two trailers) requires new designs.

It could be like ascendancy, the look of your character depend on which campaign.

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ongZ wrote:

Since they said that old and new campaign will both lead to the same endgame. Just a different path. I find it hard to believe they would keep old and new heroes, when the new systems (as we can see on the last two trailers) requires new designs.

This is 3.5 year old info at this point tho. If I had to guess they've decided it's not worth the effort to balance/update the old stuff anymore and they'll just shaft it with the release of POE 2.

"The old campaign will still be there and playable" does not mean "We'll continue to use twelve year old assets in PoE1."

Think of Path of Exile 2 - provided they ever fucking release it - as being the update to World of Warcraft, except they added the "Classic" mode to PoE2 right at launch. Path 1 characters will be rebuilt using the new animation assets and rigging so they can use all the same equipment as the new characters, because there's not going to be "Path of Exile 1 equipment" and "Path of Exile 2 equipment." The item pool will be unified between the two campaigns - you'll be able to kill Fairgraves with a crossbow just fine. It HAS to be unified, because elsewise they can't both lead to the same endgame. The Endgame only has one item pool, so both campaigns have to use the same one.

Assets will be updated in Path 1 wherever they can be whenever the chance arises or as need dictates, such as updating the player character models. The old PoE1 systems like crappy gem-sockets-in-equipment will be excised and replaced with the new system - again, because it HAS to be if they want a unified endgame.

That's the goal - for a Path of Exile Campaign 1 character and a Path of Exile Campaign 2 character to both reach the unified endgame in roughly the same time at roughly the same level and with roughly the same wealth, player actions being equal. That is a factually impossible goal if the two campaigns use wildly different and fundamentally incompatible systems.

I am just sad I no longer eat popcorn. Perfect moment to be shoveling fistfuls.

Diabloski: the pandemic and how full-arsedly NZ reacted to it coupled with its effect on GGG's ability to hire new talent globally would have set PoE 4.0 development back at least two years. It's not a scapegoat but a legitimate explanation at this point. GGG probably had to scramble to create and deploy a league or five to keep money coming in, and there is no way that wouldn't have hit 4.0 development like a tsunami slamming a surfboard.

Here's a hot take for you, especially coming from me: GGG probably would not have survived the pandemic had they not sold to Tencent and gained a shit tonne of security. The timing was almost prescient. And even had they survived, DIV would have been the coup de grace from a megacorp that shrugged the pandemic off far more gracefully than it has its internal controversies. Not that DIV would have been a better game by any stretch -- it just would exist relatively bug free and cohesive. An indie GGG in 2020-21 would have struggled. It's hard to make much progress when you are treading water. The whole point of that is to stay afloat until someone rescues you. Thanks to the sell out, GGG never had to do that.

Funny how shit goes, innit?

Like I said, real popcorn munchin' stuff.

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鬼殺し wrote:

Diabloski: the pandemic and how full-arsedly NZ reacted to it coupled with its effect on GGG's ability to hire new talent globally would have set PoE 4.0 development back at least two years. It's not a scapegoat but a legitimate explanation at this point. GGG probably had to scramble to create and deploy a league or five to keep money coming in, and there is no way that wouldn't have hit 4.0 development like a tsunami slamming a surfboard.

I don't really buy into this to be frank, in as so much as it was true of most companies in this time period. In addition, NZ to my understanding, has various rules / laws in place about hiring abroad anyways without first allowing opportunities to citizens locally. Pandemic or not, the global talent pool that wasn't available is both overstated, and minimizes the professionals available in NZ. While I'm not saying it wasn't / isn't difficult, the labor shortages and staffing challenges were going to be there regardless, and there should have been a plan around that. To insinuate that GGG was specifically impacted differently by the pandemic just because of NZ, well, again, I'm not buying that as something they couldn't overcome, or that caused a delay in terms of years. If so that's on them regardless. If folks want to make excuses on their behalf fine, go ahead, I don't know what that accomplishes beyond a shrug.

All that said what does it really matter in terms of where we are now? Whether it was the pandemic, poor development planning, poor management of resources, or none of the above, and PoE2 is moving along with acceptable milestones being achieved, it doesn't change reality today. I don't, and would gather no one here does, know what truly GGG feels about PoE2 development, where it's currently at, and if they are happy with the course they are on.

And further more, they are completely in control of messaging and managing the expectations of all current PoE1 players, and those interested in PoE2. The mere basic information surrounding 4.0 has been gripped so tightly that the leaking parts squeezed out are just wrong, or mistakenly inferred by the community. (IE it's a new game, there is a new engine coming, PoE1 is being remastered, and so on). It's like nothing I've seen before honestly. Where people don't even know PoE2 isn't really a sequel? That's mind boggling, and easily solvable with a fucking FAQ sticky on these abandoned boards.

Where does that leave us now? I truly have no idea. It seems to me they didn't want to fully clear things up before Exilecon, in order keep hype up and sell tickets, (borderline shady) but I think they are starting to realize, albeit late, that the information out there surrounding PoE2 is so misleading, that it's now causing problems. Speculation is one thing. Predicting things that may or may not happen is another. Expecting PoE2 to be coming sooner than it is, and something that it isn't in terms of scope, is a catastrophic marketing situation.

Personally I'm just frustrated it appears Exilecon won't have the PoE2 information I was hoping it would have. I don't care so much that it won't likely arrive until 2024, or a beta in late 2023, but I do get annoyed that GGG is keeping information so tight, they are losing control of the perception of the game. If they think this is advantageous in terms of hype marketing, well I can tell you it's beginning to have the opposite effect, bordering on negative at this point.

They simply need to do better. Rant over.

Dont worry guys, just can all play Diablo 4 !!.

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鬼殺し wrote:

Here's a hot take for you, especially coming from me: GGG probably would not have survived the pandemic had they not sold to Tencent and gained a shit tonne of security. The timing was almost prescient.

Y'know? Hadn't thought about it, but there might be something to that. It sure as shootin' didn't hurt, and having all that Chinese gigacorp money to fall back on if shit went south for a while likely played into Grinding Gear's decision-making. Like you said, treading water's a delaying tactic; if you don't have the resources to try and save yourself you're just hoping for Fate to intervene. Perhaps the Tencent safety net let Grinding Gear make the sorts of riskier plays that - if they worked - kept the lights on. Stuff that they might not have had the depth to do without the Tencent backstop.

I'm never going to consider the Tencent thing an unqualified win, I really don't like that Grinding Gear's beholden to a Chinesium supergiant (especially given some of the shit China's been getting up to lately) that's only letting them retain their creative freedom out of a sense of generosity...but man. Maybe there's some actual upsides to the acquisition after all, other than Chris making bank. I know not every developer out there managed to weather the pandemic.

Popcorn munchin' thoughts indeed.