From Hype to Disappointment: How Patch 0.2.1 Ruined the Chase

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I am happy that you feel that way. This game should not be a second job and maybe you will understand someday that wasting your time on mindless grind is not a good thing.

Well, maybe it is his job exactly, if you know what I mean.

GGG should pay more attention to grinder player than casual player(that only 15 minutes a day) then close the game to complain in the forum about there are no lot

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Mr2888#3516 wrote:

GGG should pay more attention to grinder player than casual player(that only 15 minutes a day) then close the game to complain in the forum about there are no lot

Its the people with a job and no time on their hands cept a couple of hour at night that pays the bills, i.e. casuals. Take that away and welcome to 1k ms+ servers, oh wait we are are almost there already.

PoE 2 Cooked

Fun toilet read lol

I'd consider myself a casual I guess. Some weeks ill put in 40+ hours, and sometimes I'll go a week or two without playing. Too many other good games to play, and too many hobbies/social activities IRL for me to even care about chase items. I suspect a giant chunk of the "casual" segment (i'm assuming so perhaps not) feel the same way. To that point, though people are saying this change is good for casuals, I honestly don't think it's even on their radar in the slightest.

I can't be bothered to care about chase items, trade chads, or anything of the sort. I want the game to function well, feel great, and respect my time. That's it. The only gear I care about is what is applicable to the classes i'm running in a given league, and will elevate me to higher tier difficulty. If I come across something I perceive as potentially valuable I'll check the trade page to see if it's a big ticket item (it almost never is) otherwise I'm just dismantling/selling for gold to gamble on good bases. Though admittedly, it was nice when stellars had value and you could save up a handful to sell and slam it on other gear..

The idea of farming/selling items just to trade currency for a valuable item i'm not going to use or lord over others is just so foreign to me. Especially in a league-based game that resets progress. Maybe if this was a persistent game that allowed me to carry that progress forward it would matter to me, but when a new league comes out I want to play that one, and everything that goes into standard league might as well turn to dust. I never go back and play those characters.

I don't mean for this to come off as a personal attack. If this is what you enjoy out of the game then more power to ya. Just my casual two cents. I just want to play the game and find better gear that's useable to me. I'm all for a good grind, but IMO most of it feels pointless in this game. I just like making fun builds and killing stuff, and chase uniques have never been a barrier to that so I don't pay attention to them..

I get where you're coming from, and yeah, casuals will always have a different lens on things. But to be honest, 0.2.1 didn’t make the game better, it made it worse.

You mentioned it's a league-based game and that resets are normal, but this isn't just about seasonal resets. The issue is player motivation. Just look at the player charts: 0.2.1 caused a noticeable drop. People want to feel rewarded for grinding, not drowned in loot, but at least have a meaningful chase.

The excuse of “I don’t have time” is understandable but if a game is designed around grind and progression, then that's what it is. Wanting top-end results without the time investment turns it into something else entirely and it risks catering to a pay-to-skip mindset.

I’m not asking for unfair advantage or streamer-level RNG, but when even the grind itself feels pointless, then something’s wrong. Even casuals want to feel like their time is valued, not just steamroll through 5 acts, toss everything in a vendor, and move on.

In the end, yeah, everyone plays differently. But I think what made PoE special was that even the smallest drop could be meaningful, whether you were hardcore or casual. That sense is fading, and it’s a shame.

All I can say is: 0.1.1++ was a much better update than 0.2.1++. Even if the end-league playerbase between 0.1 and 0.2 is totally different, the difference in game quality and player retention is just too obvious to ignore.