Why POE2’s Direction Is Worrying for Veterans and Newcomers Alike

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theslavagame#6814 wrote:

Everything you're talking about in PoE 1 is unfortunately a consequence of freedom. The deeper the game and the more mechanics it has, the stronger the builds will be, because a lot of synergies lead to a lot of damage and stuff. Zoomers appeared in PoE 1 because the depth of the game allows it

You know why everyone in PoE 1 is actually obliged to play super-fast builds?

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Kaukus1#7461 wrote:

Let me break down some key issues:

1. Slow Doesn’t Mean Better
A slower-paced game can be good, but it doesn’t automatically make it better. If you’re tired of POE1’s "zoom-zoom," I get it. But removing movement skills entirely, especially in massive maps that often require multiple trips through the same areas? That’s not challenging—it’s tedious. Even with rolls and movement speed buffs, traversing the world feels like a slog.

2. Difficulty Isn’t About Tedium
I keep hearing that POE2 is “more difficult.” But is it? Difficulty isn’t about giving enemies inflated health pools and forcing players into a boring loop of poking, retreating, and poking again. That’s not engaging—it’s frustrating. True difficulty should come from well-designed mechanics and meaningful decision-making, not from artificially drawn-out combat.

3. Flasks and the “Vision”
Yes, flasks now refill on kills, which is better than the original POE2 reveal. But the addition of refill wells still feels unnecessary and redundant. The whole system feels like a solution to a problem that didn’t exist in POE1. Instead of adding depth, it just slows down the pacing. It’s another example of the “vision” overriding what’s actually fun.

4. Crafting Is a Mess
No deterministic crafting is a joke. The devs say they want us to craft more, but how? Without reliable tools like crafting benches or alt rolls, crafting feels like throwing currency into the void and praying for a miracle. If the idea is to encourage players to build items from scratch, it’s not working. The lack of control isn’t engaging—it’s exhausting.

5. Drops and Vendors
If you like the current loot drops, more power to you. But even if you do, they’re still poorly designed. Vendors have been given more power, but drops feel so sparse that crafting currency barely exists. The balance isn’t there. You can’t expect players to engage deeply with crafting when you’re starving them of the resources to do so.

6. The Skill Tree Is Disappointing
The new skill tree looks like POE1’s tree but feels hollow in comparison. The nodes are uninspired, and the restrictive layout makes it harder to create unique or unconventional builds. The inability to travel across the tree freely stifles creativity. And the absence of masteries? It’s a huge loss. Masteries gave builds flexibility and depth, allowing players to specialize and fine-tune their characters. Without them, the tree feels rigid and unexciting. Even basics like Life nodes, which helped define different defensive strategies, are missing, limiting creativity in ways that hurt the game.

7. The Gem System Isn’t Fun
The new gem system isn’t engaging. It’s clunky, and the fact that gems don’t stack just highlights how half-baked it feels. The uncut gem mechanic might seem like an interesting idea, but in practice, it’s just another layer of grind. Gems should feel like an integral part of progression, not a source of frustration.

8. The Campaign Is Too Long
Some players praise the longer campaign, but for leagues, this is a disaster. Every league, we’ll have to slog through this overly long campaign multiple times. POE1’s campaign is already considered a chore by many veterans, and POE2’s is shaping up to be even worse. A longer campaign doesn’t mean better retention—it just means more burnout.

9. Ascendancies and Trials
Why can’t we change ascendancies anymore? Is this supposed to be a challenge? It’s just restrictive for no reason. And Trials… who thought combining Ultimatum and Sanctum mechanics was a good idea? Trials are tedious, clunky, and far from enjoyable. It feels like GGG took the least-loved mechanics and doubled down on them, which is baffling.

I Want to Love POE2, But It’s Hard
As a veteran, I want to see POE2 succeed. I want it to be different, but it also needs to respect the core systems that have kept players invested in POE1 for years. Right now, it feels like GGG is prioritizing their “vision” over what actually works.

To the newer players defending these changes without understanding their long-term impact: you’re not helping. Ignoring valid criticism isn’t supporting the game; it’s enabling bad design. Constructive feedback is what helps games improve. POE2 has the potential to be great, but it needs to address these issues before it alienates the very players who’ve been its foundation for years.

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exsea#1724 wrote:

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theslavagame#6814 wrote:

Everything you're talking about in PoE 1 is unfortunately a consequence of freedom. The deeper the game and the more mechanics it has, the stronger the builds will be, because a lot of synergies lead to a lot of damage and stuff. Zoomers appeared in PoE 1 because the depth of the game allows it

You know why everyone in PoE 1 is actually obliged to play super-fast builds?

i think you may have missed out the part where i mentioned how poe1 started. it was never this fast and ggg never was fond of nerfing anything because they needed players to remain in the game and support them.

that's the real reason.

if was financially stable, they would be able to nerf any overperforming skills as you say theyre doing now.

players go fast because its arguably the best way to play.

think of it like mario but with rpg elements. some players found ways to permanently gain the flower buff (throws fireballs).

in poe1, the devs made more monsters or made tougher monsters to accomodate to the fact that you gained a flower buff. if you were NOT having the flower buff? too bad for you.

then players found a way to double jump. so ggg let players have areas that required you to double jump.

this list of player "innovation" and GGG catering to this innovation ends up where mario now can ascend to supersaiyan god form and kupa now is a grand demon that devours worlds.

in poe2, ggg instead just reworked it so if you have permanent flower power, your fireballs would have a short range and might have a cooldown and keep everything in the game still the same as ever.

if players discovered how to double jump, it would probably come with a cooldown and maybe the player would have a movement penalty once he lands on the ground and everything else would be the same.

i understand what you meant by the nuclear bomb. but this is not real life.

this is a game where limitations are set by the game designers.

poe1 ended up the way it did because ggg was not in the position to nerf. they needed players to play their game and keep giving them money and that worked our VERY WELL for them. poe1 is not necessarily a bad game for the zoom. people enjoy it and thats good for them.

poe2 on the other hand, is a fresh start. players are more accepting of limitation because it means we dont have the crazy amount of powercreep and zoom we have in poe2. if we wanted that, we would be playing poe1

if ggg wanted that, they would never have split the 2 games.

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exsea#1724 wrote:

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theslavagame#6814 wrote:

Everything you're talking about in PoE 1 is unfortunately a consequence of freedom. The deeper the game and the more mechanics it has, the stronger the builds will be, because a lot of synergies lead to a lot of damage and stuff. Zoomers appeared in PoE 1 because the depth of the game allows it

You know why everyone in PoE 1 is actually obliged to play super-fast builds?

i think you may have missed out the part where i mentioned how poe1 started. it was never this fast and ggg never was fond of nerfing anything because they needed players to remain in the game and support them.

that's the real reason.

if was financially stable, they would be able to nerf any overperforming skills as you say theyre doing now.

players go fast because its arguably the best way to play.

think of it like mario but with rpg elements. some players found ways to permanently gain the flower buff (throws fireballs).

in poe1, the devs made more monsters or made tougher monsters to accomodate to the fact that you gained a flower buff. if you were NOT having the flower buff? too bad for you.

then players found a way to double jump. so ggg let players have areas that required you to double jump.

this list of player "innovation" and GGG catering to this innovation ends up where mario now can ascend to supersaiyan god form and kupa now is a grand demon that devours worlds.

in poe2, ggg instead just reworked it so if you have permanent flower power, your fireballs would have a short range and might have a cooldown and keep everything in the game still the same as ever.

if players discovered how to double jump, it would probably come with a cooldown and maybe the player would have a movement penalty once he lands on the ground and everything else would be the same.

i understand what you meant by the nuclear bomb. but this is not real life.

this is a game where limitations are set by the game designers.

poe1 ended up the way it did because ggg was not in the position to nerf. they needed players to play their game and keep giving them money and that worked our VERY WELL for them. poe1 is not necessarily a bad game for the zoom. people enjoy it and thats good for them.

poe2 on the other hand, is a fresh start. players are more accepting of limitation because it means we dont have the crazy amount of powercreep and zoom we have in poe2. if we wanted that, we would be playing poe1

if ggg wanted that, they would never have split the 2 games.

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xechostormx#5789 wrote:

i feel like half of those points are you just complaining about it being too hard and wanting a feeder box to make you feel good.
If the game is that hard and that tedious, by all means play something else.
MLP: Friendship is Magic always needs league players, but you are going to be the guy to complain Twilight Sparkle is overtuned so maybe that's not even right for you either...
how about a nice game of checkers?

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theslavagame#6814 wrote:

[...] However, in an Action RPG, the opposite has always been the case - to find a thousand ways to play, and try each one. After all, the whole point of the game is to kill monsters, and killing monsters is pointless if you always do it the same way. Am I wrong? Isn't that the only reason we all come back to a new league every time?

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rob_korn#1745 wrote:

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theslavagame#6814 wrote:

[...] However, in an Action RPG, the opposite has always been the case - to find a thousand ways to play, and try each one. After all, the whole point of the game is to kill monsters, and killing monsters is pointless if you always do it the same way. Am I wrong? Isn't that the only reason we all come back to a new league every time?

You're talking to a guy playing exclusively flicker on the most zoomy way (nothing wrong with that). The problem appears when he starts blaming the game for that.
What you are talking about here is something beyond his comprehension.