ExileCon Put My Support Into a Conflicted Place

Preface: I'm feeling pretty cynical since ExileCon, so read at your own risk.

I usually buy my supporter packs at the end of leagues for one of my accounts. It always felt like a good choice with how much I play the game and it felt like I was contributing to the future development of the game I love. That feeling didn't change with POE1 and POE2 effectively being the same game as originally advertised. But now that they are distinctly different games, and my first impression of POE2 isn't terribly hot, I find myself with a little hesitation.

There is no clear way to throw money at POE1 without feeling like 90% of that money is going toward the game that I don't care much about and supersedes the game that I love.

I know that was always the case but now it feels different, and I can't seem to separate the two things.

Even further, my trust for the statement that POE1 will continue to get updates is not high. Here is why: they simply can't say anything other than that. POE1 is their cash cow and the only way they finish POE2 is if POE1 continues to pull in money. They would never admit POE1 is done until POE2 has enough revenue to cut ties with POE1. I'm not saying that is the case, but the new cynical me can't rule it out either. I hate the current state of things.

Please don't take this as some limp call for boycotting the game. Please continue to support if you feel so inclined; GGG deserves it. This is just me venting because I'm very conflicted after the weekend on the future of things because I don't know how much of the money is going toward the game that I love.

My wife and I are still gonna play PoE 1 for as long as it entertains us. However, buying Supporter Packs will be strictly based on how compellingly cool or useful a given MTX is, rather than any notion of support, given where it turned out a lot of our money has gone the last four years. This whale's wallet is gonna be a LOT harder to pry open.

#FourYearLie =-[.]-=

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Raycheetah wrote:

My wife and I are still gonna play PoE 1 for as long as it entertains us. However, buying Supporter Packs will be strictly based on how compellingly cool or useful a given MTX is, rather than any notion of support, given where it turned out a lot of our money has gone the last four years. This whale's wallet is gonna be a LOT harder to pry open.

#FourYearLie =-[.]-=

I have enough MTX to keep me for a long time so that won't open my wallet. I might even start deleting characters rather than buying a slot.

Ugh, I need to step back for a bit I think.

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Nubatron wrote:

I might even start deleting characters rather than buying a slot.

Dayum. =@[.]@=

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Nubatron wrote:

[...]

Although the news about PoE2 sound good to me, I understand your feeling. I was in the same situation when they suddenly announced a console port.

However, I've never been a big spender on PoE, so I still spend some money if I feel like it and don't worry where it goes.

Anyway, hope you'll find your fears were unnecessary and PoE gets updates and/or you find that PoE2 is also a game you like.

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Mikrotherion wrote:

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Nubatron wrote:

[...]

Although the news about PoE2 sound good to me, I understand your feeling. I was in the same situation when they suddenly announced a console port.

However, I've never been a big spender on PoE, so I still spend some money if I feel like it and don't worry where it goes.

Anyway, hope you'll find your fears were unnecessary and PoE gets updates and/or you find that PoE2 is also a game you like.

Time could certainly change things. I mean look at the difference between ExileCon 1 and ExileCon 2 -- that was a pretty big shift in what was promised (yeah, that was a backhanded compliment....ugh).

POE2 currently looks like it took too many leads from Ruthless. I know some people enjoy Ruthless, and even I had some fun with it as a novel side thing. But as a main game, I don't find that fun.

I've spent enough money on the game to never feel guilty about never spending a penny again while riding POE1 into the sunset. So I'm good with regard to that. It's hard to not feel taken advantage of with one promised path, and then realizing your money has gone toward funding something completely different.

That's a hard thing to get beyond.

I appreciate your well wishes though, I do. I'm just in a bad place with this game right now.

My impression with PoE2 isn't 'terribly hot' either, but with 1 year until Closed Beta and probably 1.5y until release, I can easily just suspend my impressions because they're too early. The graphics, the art, the classes, the design concept (Spirit) look great, so I can easily ignore everything else until Summer 2024.

Looking forward to 3.22 and future PoE leagues in the interim! :))

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Mikrotherion wrote:

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Nubatron wrote:

[...]

Although the news about PoE2 sound good to me, I understand your feeling. I was in the same situation when they suddenly announced a console port.

However, I've never been a big spender on PoE, so I still spend some money if I feel like it and don't worry where it goes.

Anyway, hope you'll find your fears were unnecessary and PoE gets updates and/or you find that PoE2 is also a game you like.

Heyya, Mikro.

I dunno how much of the uproar (both sides) you've read, but some folks are experiencing a real "crisis of faith," if you will, after the announcement about PoE II not being the upgrade to PoE 1 it was promoted as. A lot of that comes down to having supported for the last four years based on what Chris told us at Exilecon 2019, only to discover that the bulk of that support was funneled off to make PoE 2 a separate game.

And now, especially having heard how Jonathan (team lead on PoE II) badmouthed PoE 1 in interviews at Exilecon, and the fact that Chris promised us that PoE 1 would receive ongoing support with the same mouth he made the promises he did in 2019, lend to sense of no confidence in GGG's long-term support for PoE 1.

I dunno where you stand on all of that, but I hope you're in a better place than many of the rest of us are, where these two games are concerned. ='[.]'=

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Gescom wrote:

My impression with PoE2 isn't 'terribly hot' either, but with 1 year until Closed Beta and probably 1.5y until release, I can easily just suspend my impressions because they're too early. The graphics, the art, the classes, the design concept (Spirit) look great, so I can easily ignore everything else until Summer 2024.

Looking forward to 3.22 and future PoE leagues in the interim! :))

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I love POE1 and will be playing that game as long as the servers remain on. And if they offer a way to fund purely the POE1 servers, I'll gladly pay. I just don't think there is a way to avoid funding POE2; and that feels like throwing money at the thing that very well may kill the game I actually like.

Legal Notice: Everything I'm typing right now is wrought with bitterness, so....yeah.

I want to support GGG but won't until they improve melee in some fashion. POE2 is too far away to worry about. I spend money to say I approve of today's game play. I like Crucible and it is worthy of a supporter pack, but I'm going to wait to see what is in store for 3.22.

If the next 4-5 leagues continue to be just test beds for POE2 and not to improve POE1, then I will be less inclined to spend any money. If weapon trees are just a "one and done" for POE1, then no support from me. If they go core or are in some way supported going forward: yippie kai yea!