Why do y'all revere the atlas so much?

"

OCB_fr#7196 wrote:

This is from Final Fantasy and many old players like the sphere grid.
For me it's like copying FFX.

This is somewhat true. I played FFX when it launched many years ago and I was in awe of the sphere grid.

Great game.

For me, the two most important features of the Atlas are:

1) Progression visualized: the Atlas is easy to navigate and objectives are apparent (maybe not to brand new players, but to everybody who's played at least a bit of endgame). In my opinion, the Atlas in PoE 2 isn't as easy to navigate (especially after playing a while) and objectives aren't nearly as apparent as in PoE.

2) Customizing your experience: in PoE, I feel that the Atlas + tree allow players to basically create their own game. Completing (fully or partially) the Atlas yields points that can be allocated on the tree. From there, each player can run/block whichever mechanics and/or maps they like/don't like (or whatever is most profitable). At the end of the day, it really is all about player agency: choose your own mix of mechanics and maps, and if you're not having fun/not getting expected results, choose a different mix and try again. PoE 2's atlas seems way too restrictive at the moment. There is practically no way to choose which maps or mechanics to run/avoid. It feels as if there is hardly any agency for players at all.

i wont say i like the atlas or revere it, but i would say i hugely prefer it over whatever poe2 has currently.

my main reasons:

1. i have minor OCD. the completionist within me hates seeing spots that are not green.

2. i dont like the idea that i have to explore the world map and just hope to uncover special areas. ironically it made me appreciate poe1's unique map drops even more.

3. i am really not a fan of setting up stuff. going to a watch tower or 3 and setting them up and only AFTER that i get to have fun? too much work.

4. infinite maps is just a clusterfuck to me. why do i want to see areas i've already cleared? what does empty nodes with 0-1 mechanics matter to me? i want more juiced up stuff.

i prefer if it was more akin to LE's monolith system which is intended to be be reset but you potentially get rewarded every reset.

Yes the interactive checkbox game is awesome! The Atlasmap looks sooo nice and it feels really great when you plonk a voidstone down buffing all maps!


Always enjoyable to "HAY! i got G,H,T,Å,X,Y,C,Ä map! wanna join in?"


PoE 2 Endgame currently feels like delve any-direction but without the spicy nodes all over.

For now atleast, once i complete campaigne, ill try and sort the accendency points then i make a new character.

Love the story and campaigne, i will let them cook on the end-game and give ideas for it. Its just not for me.

mine is so buggy. the lil paths change or disappear all the time. i end up at places that are no longer connected even if they were previously (obviously).


would feel a lot better with more zooming out also.

"

teksuoPOE#2987 wrote:

mine is so buggy. the lil paths change or disappear all the time. i end up at places that are no longer connected even if they were previously (obviously).


would feel a lot better with more zooming out also.

we're talking about poe1. not poe2. the atlas in poe1 is the atlas tree, not the map.

Still not sure if 1 or 2 lol

"

Beavith#5056 wrote:

It's min-maxing the end-game. Before, we had to do this mini-game where we had to push influence around on a map. It was a bit more like POE2 in that regard, you had to run certain map layouts to "box in" the influence so you could run the guardians. If you EVER had to run that version, holy shit dude. You'd love the Atlas too.

You want to complete the Atlas because of the points it provides. They are WAY more impactful here than they are in POE2 (gross). The points then allow you to juice your favorite mechanics. So, the reward or the purpose of the Atlas is ultimately to get all of the potential farming power for whatever you want to do. You don't necessarily NEED to complete the Atlas but if you're going to be doing some end-game farming, you'll definitely want that power.

Furthermore, it's a sense of progression and the more you do it, the less it seems like a mountain and more like a hill. Completing the Atlas, at least a portion of it, are usually in the challenges for a league's MTX rewards.

Now the real kicker... Old scarabs + Sextants were even better than what we have now with new scarabs. It was even more granular control and without weird mechanics like grabbing a wisp while you're in a Ritual... which is just really fucking stupid.

So, current Atlas isn't THE BEST iteration of "The Atlas", that was before they removed Sextants in my opinion.

On top of that wish many og PoE changes/reworks which been pushed in the planned patch 4.0 direction, would be reverted now, due to games being separated.

But is it really the actual point that people love completing the atlas? Isn't it a straw-man and more common argument is that - campaign = bad, endgame/maps = good, but it's not necessarily about getting your atlas points or completing your Atlas. At least that's how it is for me.

Some would say that campaign is the same maps, but the difference for me is that one provides choice and agency and the other doesn't. During the endgame I control what maps/layouts I run, how I roll them, what content I do. If I'm bored I can switch maps and farming methods. Campaign on the other hand is linear and gives no choice whatsoever - you have no choice to skip areas or acts that are boring to you. Maybe it is not that long per se, but it feels long for something that is stripped from this choice and agency and that you feel forced to do in order to finally get to the part of the game that you enjoy.

Then again PoE 1 campaign feels absolutely god sent and top notch after suffering through the abomination that we have in PoE 2. At least PoE 1 campaign felt exciting the first few times.

personally i think the poe2 system is far better, i like the sense of exploration etc, i love that in delve i think delve is a better system than poe1 atlas mapping.

but delve and poe2 just dont have enough content in them to make them interesting enough, poe2 will eventually get that and it will become the best system. i think its the best base for a system its just not had years to cook and expand like the poe1 atlas has.



i think either way tho poe1 and poe2 have the 2 best endgame systems in the arpg genre, by quite a long way. poe1 is probably in a better state, i think poe2 has a better foundation, but its debating a close 1st and 2nd place in a genre where 3rd place is miles away. theyre both great systems.


i dont even really like the whole rolling maps thing, but arpgs are a multiplicative type experience. in order for an endgame system to feel fun the gameplay has to be fun and that requires a skill system with a build system and item system to support it, and the reward structure comes from that item system, the item system enables a wide range of content systems which in turn provide a diverse item system, its all feedback loops. thats why poe1 is so good and why poe2 will be amazing too when it reaches a launch state and starts expanding.

LE are trying their best, everyone else like Diablo, GD etc? none of their systems are good enough to support each other. for all the flaws in parts of what poe does each part is good enough to reach this critical mass where the whole thing holds up and becomes more than the sum of the parts. i dont think any other arpg manages this in 2025. thats an achievement worth all the revere the arpg genre has to offer imo.