Hardcore Mode: Press "ESC" to Be Immortal

Playing in hardcore mode is definitely a different experience in games of this genre, and the debate about ways to cheat death isn’t new, as they’ve been used since forever.

With the implementation of the ESC key to pause the game in PoE2 and even return to the waypoint after pause, this type of trick has become even easier, which makes it valid, in my view, to bring this discussion back.

The goal of this topic is not to demonize or remove the use of the ESC key or the pause functionality in hardcore mode, but to suggest a solution to prevent this type of "cheating" altogether.

Why is solving this problem important?

1. the hardcore ranking system
There is a hardcore ranking system where players who survive to higher levels are at the top of the leaderboard. Having a way to escape death in this case is make the challenge extremely unfair for honest players

2. less bots
One of the appeals of hardcore mode is knowing that bots are virtually nonexistent (or at least not prevalent), as death results in the permanent loss of the character. Placing the character in the exact position they were in when they logged out or implementing a timer (let’s say 5 seconds) before the game pauses after pressing ESC discourages the development of simple bot scripts like "press ESC when health drops below X%.

3. discourages playing in a group
once that playing solo ends up being safe, since you can pause the game.

It goes against the Hardcore Spirit
Using the UI or any other exploit to avoid death completely undermines the spirit of playing in hardcore mode. The fact that such options are readily available in the game only makes the issue bigger

Why not just play without using the ESC key or other ways to exit the game?
Again, once there is a ranking system, the game becomes unfair to those who avoid such tricks.

The game's design, especially in hardcore mode, should encourage strategic decision-making—be it through positioning, builds, or playstyle—rather than providing easy escapes from poor choices in these areas.

All the inherent characteristics of hardcore mode are mitigated by using this kind of trick. Seeing a high-level hardcore player is no longer a big deal because it’s highly likely they cheated. Inflation and prices in the market are also affected.

But if it’s possible to leave the game in other ways, what’s the definitive solution?


The way to resolve this cheating and make the game equally challenging is to keep the player in the exact instance point where they logged out for longer.

This functionality already exists in PoE2, but the difference is that the player returns to the waypoint instead of where they logged out. Putting the player back in the problematic situation they were in before quickly exiting the game would address this issue.

For example, if a player is surrounded by mobs and is about to die, they can press ESC, pause, or use ALT+F4 to quickly exit the game. But upon logging back in, they would be placed where they were on the map, in the same situation they were in.

How long the instance should remain open in hardcore mode will depend on the implementation and the developers’ choice, but this functionality already exists in the game today.

worst-case scenario, adding a timer (for example, 5 seconds) before the game pauses after pressing ESC might mitigate the issue somewhat but wouldn’t fully resolve it, as it would still be possible to log out quickly by other means. Upon relogging, the player would appear at a waypoint, safe from the situation that prompted the logout in the first place.

Anyone here playing hardcore? What do you think of this solution?

This is on point. Pausing is very nice, but exploiting it to take the hard out of hardcore should not be a thing.

This was a huge topic discussed on this method with Zizz and Chris I believe.. To them they believe to counter deaths from lag this is one of those solutions instead of Alt-f4ing im sure the video is out there somewhere.

Hardcore APRG originally came from single player games which meant you could pause also and leave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNPH29DUPRY&t=80s

This was followed up somewhere for POE2

If you're not a fan of it do not use it.. its that simple play however you want to play but the game is clearly balanced around it according to a majority of the HC community instead of using logout macros.

I would limit number of pauses during boss fights to 3. It would prevent at least some over exploits.

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QticaX#4168 wrote:

This was a huge topic discussed on this method with Zizz and Chris I believe.. To them they believe to counter deaths from lag this is one of those solutions instead of Alt-f4ing im sure the video is out there somewhere.

Hardcore APRG originally came from single player games which meant you could pause also and leave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNPH29DUPRY&t=80s

This was followed up somewhere for POE2

If you're not a fan of it do not use it.. its that simple play however you want to play but the game is clearly balanced around it according to a majority of the HC community instead of using logout macros.

I watched the video and found it quite interesting. However, I think the discussion presented there has become somewhat outdated given the new functionalities and improved server stability.

It’s not feasible to simply say, “just don’t use the pause if you’re not a fan of it,” within a system that is currently ranked. Choosing not to use the pause will only leave you at a perpetual disadvantage and make higher rankings inaccessible.

It’s also undeniable that the video’s debate doesn’t address all the points raised in the post. One example is the discouragement of playing in groups in hardcore mode.

It’s safer to play solo because you can pause and avoid death more easily. Most people (in my experience, all) choose to play solo for this reason instead of playing in a group—when it really should be the opposite.

The core argument that “it’s part of the game” no longer holds in my opinion, given the various downsides this brings in terms of game design.

The video also discusses adding a delay before the game pauses after pressing the “pause” button, but the main suggestion wasn’t this. Instead, it was to respawn the player at the exact point in the instance where they logged out.

A game that has instant logout will always only ever kill players via one-shots.

Pausing is not the problem, the ability to log out instantly is. The game will never have slower, technical fights as long as you can get out of any sticky spot by exiting the game.

I have no idea why they added so many good features but kept logging out in the middle of a battle. If you log out in battle, you should log in right back on the tick you logged out, even if you're facing death.

What if I can't defeat the boss and decide to leave the fight?

I don't believe that pausing is cheating or that pausing makes players immortal. The HC ladder is filled with many dead exiles. Your solutions would make the game worse IMO.

If there were a timer before pause, this could favor certain builds or classes even more than it currently is.

If you could log out but log back in the same situation with grace, it could be open to abuse. If you didn't have grace - you would be dead, I just plainly don't like the idea either.

It's engrained in me from d2 and poe1. Pausing is essentially logout macro from poe1 and now everyone has access making it fair, not only for those who choose to download 3rd party tools or make it themselves. Though I guess for certain bosses where pause is disabled sort of makes the macro users at an advantage(if allowed, idk).

Lastly, if you could logout and wait out the instance, that is no different than what it currently is. The only difference is essentially a time penalty.

Also the new DC protection is a life saver and I'm grateful that it got implemented in poe2. I don't have that luxury in poe1 (7 second delay on DC) and that is rough because my internet drops every other day and in bad weather :(

We had instant logout macros in hc for 10 years lmao how is this a new problem?