Can this game be played casually?

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datnatanboi wrote:

I am not just talking about finishing the campaign, I am talking about beating all pinnacle maybe even uber versions. Let's say a an hr or 2 a day.

1 - 2 hours a day?

It could take a "casual" up to a week or two to reach maps following a build.

By casual player I mean:
- Avrg 3-5 hours a day.
- Basic speed running techniques
- FULL understanding on how to pick a build a decent build from the haystack.
- FULL understanding on how to analyze a build for noob traps.
- Has already beaten the entire campaign slowly and has enjoyed the game for what it is, so he can skip it on subsequent characters.

Under that definition yeah, a casual can do it. If you only 1-2 hours a day you should really try hard to become a speed runner. Some can reach maps in a couple of hours. That means, that if you become really good you will be able to reach maps in 1-3 two hour gaming sessions.

The best of the best speed-runners are reaching maps in under 2 hours... it's a lofty goal and a skill I recommend everyone tries to develop. Not to mention the prizes. Not to mention that the first 24 hours are crucial for top tier players, because that's when they get the best items for the lowest prices and that just snowballs HARD.

Reference:
https://www.speedrun.com/poe

Of course this game can be played casually. You just need to adjust your goals based on the fact that you're a casual player. If your mindset is:

"I want to achieve the same things that a hardcore no-lifer achieves, but I can only put in 1/10 of the hours, and I only have 1/10 of the knowledge and refuse to accept that there's a difference there"

...Then no, the game cannot be played casually.

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Phrazz wrote:

Of course this game can be played casually. You just need to adjust your goals based on the fact that you're a casual player. If your mindset is:

"I want to achieve the same things that a hardcore no-lifer achieves, but I can only put in 1/10 of the hours, and I only have 1/10 of the knowledge and refuse to accept that there's a difference there"

...Then no, the game cannot be played casually.

+1, very well put

Probably not, in terms of completing ubers and pinnacles bosses are a maybe.

Caveat - If you play in a super smart, experienced way for the short amount of time you play, then sure.

But most casusals
-are not following a build guide
-are not optimizing using the market using PoB Find Best Item
-are not going to have the same knowledge of what to exploit from the latest streams
-probably barely follow atlas strats
-are not burning through maps at 2-3 minutes a piece, and might just run 3-5 per day

Nothing wrong with this, but I think its misleading to say you can complete the game each league in this short time but only if you play the same style as a nolifer.

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Phrazz wrote:

Of course this game can be played casually. You just need to adjust your goals based on the fact that you're a casual player. If your mindset is:

"I want to achieve the same things that a hardcore no-lifer achieves, but I can only put in 1/10 of the hours, and I only have 1/10 of the knowledge and refuse to accept that there's a difference there"

...Then no, the game cannot be played casually.

+1

of course. your first 500hrs you are nothing but a casual in this game.

I always play it this way.

As someone with 11 years of experience my strong advice for anyone who wants to be "casual" is to take it "easy" leveling for the first 2-3 days - do the chaos recipe and be ready to start maps with 100 or so chaos to spend. This will probably take 10-15 hours for a rookie so you are advised to put some time in, but that first weekend is fun so make the time.

Now the reason I say to take it slow (but not too slow) that is the absolute best bargains for cheap 1-2 chaos items is around days 3-5. You can assemble a very decent build (resists, life etc.) with that currency if you know what you are doing and then you can kick back and be as casual as you feel like and slowly progress as you feel like after that. Another advantage of that is it is super cheap to buy low level maps in weeks 2-3 (vs the first few days) so you will find it not only easier to gear out in decent stuff but to fill out your atlas.

There you go. The people who fail are mainly those who just don't see a way to gear up their characters sufficiently when they hit maps and then they are playing catch up and always worrying about resists/life/recovery/ yada yada. The bargains disappear quickly when players start focusing on gear - most don't worry too much for about a week and level and fill out their atlas. That 1-2 chaos item now is 10-15 chaos and you are (as I said) playing catch up.

Alternately, and this is very legitimate you can just go slow at your pace but just keep in mind my advice about buying a full starter gear set that you can use for weeks and take your time selectively upgrading vs (yes I keep coming back to it) playing catch up.

Yes you can play the game casually, no you can't game the play casually. And this game is most certainly targeted towards those Gaming the Play.

You can play any game casually. If you’re worried about whether you’re achieving absolutely everything that everyone else is, I would say that is not very casual.