The vision is dying

If POE 2 ends up being similar to POE 1 in terms of gameplay, it will probably still be a great game and one of the best ARPGs on the market.

However, I can't help but feel disappointed. Not because the game is bad, but because it is wasting the potential to become something much greater.

Combat is a complete mess. It lacks visual clarity, and the main solution to this problem is, once again, surprise surprise, nuking the screen. Unfortunately, this approach prevents the game from ever offering a solid multiplayer co-op experience.

There are so many issues holding the combat back that I don’t even know where to begin. I won’t repeat the obvious ones like pack density, but consider things like items with massive power disparities, enemies with wildly varying toughness, or character stats designed for stat-based combat systems, such as evasion. How can you create great and meaningful combat system with such an inconsistent experience defined by stats and RNG?

On top of that, I get the impression that GGG is shackled by the expectations of the POE 1 community. My hopes are fading.

100% accurate

i'm not afraid of them loosing the vision. if its lost its already done. but i think they are trying new things if you look at the recent patch, combo play even for casters, some active block changes. this is the right direction imo.

I have no issue with existence of OP screen explosion builds myself but the current league is balanced around those (im very happy its not designed around that tho) which is worrying. why wont they let them just explode screen and therefore be immortal? and let us play slower?

that said i think the bigger risk than what poe1 fans want is them working on poe1 every 2 months. there is bound to be cross pollination of game deign and neither side will appreciate this.

The vision wasn't ever honestly clear to begin with. Just buzz words like meaningful combat, and using "fun" as a metric. Lol

Pretty obvious to me they are iterating now they feel they have the game in a better state. Wouldn’t shock me if they were just stress testing how combat scales with mob density.

"

KaosuRyoko#1633 wrote:

The vision wasn't ever honestly clear to begin with. Just buzz words like meaningful combat, and using "fun" as a metric. Lol

I still just cannot believe players are okay with Dodge Rolls being a core element of combat. If GGG were ever to put that in PoE, I would quit. It's not "meaningful;" it's a direct lift from another genre of game which has no place in a PoE game. ='[.]'=

I think the devs are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They set out to make a slow, methodical game, but at every turn their players keep finding ways to get around it. And when those options are blocked, the player base complains, or just finds the next overpowered option. Its telling that in a game that everyone claims they want to be hard, the most popular options (the "best way to play") is to make a build that ignores all mechanics and trivializes content.

I'm not saying either way is right or wrong, but I keep feeling like POE2 should have been an entirely new game. One where hand crafted levels, balancing, and game feel can be really honed in.

It feels like that's the game they were trying to make, but made it as a POE sequel instead. A game that apparently was not supposed to appeal to the hardcore POE1 fans, but also hasn't found enough support from a new player base to sustain it.

"

If POE 2 ends up being similar to POE 1 in terms of gameplay, it will probably still be a great game and one of the best ARPGs on the market.

But PoE2 already is a great game and one of the best ARPGs on the market.

"

Unfortunately, this approach prevents the game from ever offering a solid multiplayer co-op experience.

I've played the better part of 0.3 with my son and it's been incredible; he's loving it.

"

How can you create great and meaningful combat system with such an inconsistent experience defined by stats and RNG?

What's inconsistent about it? Can you try and be a little more specific? What do you mean "defined by stats?"

"

100% accurate

Oh. Okay. Can you clarify?

"

The vision wasn't ever honestly clear to begin with. Just buzz words like meaningful combat, and using "fun" as a metric. Lol

Why is that funny? Should fun not be a metric?

What are your metrics?

"

I still just cannot believe players are okay with Dodge Rolls being a core element of combat.

One of the best parts of the game. What's the problem?

"

If GGG were ever to put that in PoE, I would quit.

They did put it in PoE though... what is going on?

"

It's not "meaningful;" it's a direct lift from another genre of game which has no place in a PoE game

Yet here it is.

We'll have to see where it ends up. I still have some hope that the game will have meaningful combat even in the end game.
But at this moment the game does have an identity crisis.
And it is kinda ironic that this game the game was supposed to solve visual clarity and 1 shots but those problems hit back hard in mapping.

Added to that they are at odds with two player bases.
Personally I started playing around beta. I remember when they added Vaal side areas, back then it was a very different game.
but it started getting faster faster and faster. There were some hefty
discussions going on the forums regarding pacing and challenge even back then. I stopped playing after I saw an interview where GGG discussed difficulty, and they stated (parahrasing here): the game was supposed to be a game where while playing you could watch netflix and ocasionally had to pay attention when fighting certain rare enemies. Unfortunately I can't find that interview anymore. I think that was also a point were quite a lot of other players who like the pacing what the game initially had left.

Now It does seem that at some point GGG realised that what the game had turned into was not something they really liked. And they have tried to slow it down on some occasions but it was already too late the players who were looking for that kind of gameplay were gone already, and the type of players who were fine with a game that required minimal attention and had minimal involvement in the gameplay naturally responded heavily against attempts to slow it down and reel it back in.


So yeah I do believe quite some former beta players were looking forward for POE 2 since, but there is also the player base who stayed and like blowing up screens with a single button with zero involvement and loot showers.

We will have to see where the game will end up. For now the identity crisis is still here, I just hope they will make clear decision soon where they want to go into, instead of staying in this weird limbo.

"

Payne0087#3524 wrote:

I think the devs are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They set out to make a slow, methodical game, but at every turn their players keep finding ways to get around it. And when those options are blocked, the player base complains, or just finds the next overpowered option. Its telling that in a game that everyone claims they want to be hard, the most popular options (the "best way to play") is to make a build that ignores all mechanics and trivializes content.

I'm not saying either way is right or wrong, but I keep feeling like POE2 should have been an entirely new game. One where hand crafted levels, balancing, and game feel can be really honed in.

It feels like that's the game they were trying to make, but made it as a POE sequel instead. A game that apparently was not supposed to appeal to the hardcore POE1 fans, but also hasn't found enough support from a new player base to sustain it.

Because they don't actually want it to be a challenge. If they did, they would make the choices available at character creation or self impose challenges. Plays CLAIM they want the challenge but refuse to do it. Most common response as to why is trading. They value trading above everything else. This is the choice they make that conflicts with what they claim to want. So the only way they can have both is force it on everyone.

They cant stand a game where one button is possible as well as slow and methodical / parry / combo gameplay. So they demand the one button builds be removed forcing ALL to play THEIR style.