New thoughts on the experience penalty from dying.

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Pizzarugi#6258 wrote:

I personally think getting to 100 sooner might encourage people to make new builds and explore beyond what they're comfortable with.

While I personally WISH this were true.....it isn't. Historical data shows us this isn't true. People are getting to level 100 far quicker than they EVER did in the past and......leaving the game. Rolloff numbers only get more steep, earlier league after league. Of course this isn't a direct function of lvl 100, but it certainly is a factor.

I actually think its a far greater impetus to "restart" if level 100 is a more unreachable and painful goal. As an example, in 13 years of gameplay I have never once reached level 100. By the time I get to 93-96 area...my build is nearly complete and I get bored, prompting a restart.

But if people don't like restarting and rebuilding, getting to level 100 sooner will have absolutely no effect. It will just mean they quit sooner.

I used to think the same way until I stopped setting lvl 100 as my goal. It's meaningless anyway because after you hit 90 it's all just about farming or doing achievements. Hitting 100 is just a badge for people who seek their validation this way. It has no meaningful impact gamewise unless your build desperately needs the skill points.

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cowmoo275#3095 wrote:

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Pizzarugi#6258 wrote:

I personally think getting to 100 sooner might encourage people to make new builds and explore beyond what they're comfortable with.

While I personally WISH this were true.....it isn't. Historical data shows us this isn't true. People are getting to level 100 far quicker than they EVER did in the past and......leaving the game. Rolloff numbers only get more steep, earlier league after league. Of course this isn't a direct function of lvl 100, but it certainly is a factor.

I actually think its a far greater impetus to "restart" if level 100 is a more unreachable and painful goal. As an example, in 13 years of gameplay I have never once reached level 100. By the time I get to 93-96 area...my build is nearly complete and I get bored, prompting a restart.

But if people don't like restarting and rebuilding, getting to level 100 sooner will have absolutely no effect. It will just mean they quit sooner.

Having finally hit 100 on a character, it wasn't pleasant and wasn't worth the effort. Even playing extra carefully still had 2 deaths in 99-100, one was easily avoidable but unexpected (hillock pulling sword and killing in two hits with a stun despite the stun immunity) while the other was a sudden drop and it would have needed a macro to prevent it.

But as for trying new things -- its not the leveling, its the mechanics. Comparing Poe 1 now to what it was when I started midway through abyss, it was so much "tamer" then. Seeing what's killed the tankiest character I've ever made (that actually saw play) it's not very motivating knowing most of my other options are going to have significantly weaker defense. Then you account for damage scaling and my only heavy hitters left that weren't nerfed to the ground is a hollow palm and an explosive arrow ballista. My RF lost a notable amount of damage and the chaos over time lost so much its not worth using. My old necro setup lacks the power it had when I made her and despite knowing far more now than when I originally made him, my lightning arc trapper struggled at the third stop in the first hallway when he used to clear the Hall of Grandmasters.

The biggest deterrent to playing PoE (for me) is how short lived the "fun" is - like the expensive herald stacker that lived and died in Delirium, yet they tacked on 5 more rounds to the simulacrum and made it even harder to survive but are seemingly quick to gut anything that is deemed "op". Delirium was one of my favorite leagues when it was active, but I sure do hate the content with a passion now, especially in its current state.

Basically I really hate how they move the goalposts. Sirus was a relatively welcome addition --- but Maven, the Searing Exarch, bleh. Then nerfing the rewards that "used to be awesome" despite the long road just to get to said bossfight.... me finally hitting 100 was one of those bucket list type goals to hit before leaving for good.