Feedback on campaign

I think for me POE1 feels better because there are more but smaller acts. which has a better sense of quick progression

Especially act 3 is the worst for me in POE2. Act 4 is also long, but ok, due to the different bioms. But act 3 feels extremely repetitive, since you play even the same maps 2x (in different time zones), which is a cool idea at first, but not on subsequent playthroughs.

And if campain skipping would be a free choice (on your 2nd character per leaque) all would be happy!

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Conan_xxx#1131 wrote:

I think for me POE1 feels better because there are more but smaller acts. which has a better sense of quick progression

Yeah progressing in POE1 was pretty straight forward, The maps were pretty small, I do like that about it as well. Less fatigue, Less confusion, Less back and forth.

I barely have experience with POE1 but from my experience, there were some things in the campaign that I liked more.

I like the Ritual encounters in POE1 more. The Ritual Altar spawned totems in a cave.

Some of the clean cut lavish maps, like the ribbon ladies lair.

The gauntlet dungeons were much cooler than Trial of the Sekhemas.

I love, love, loooove campaign but even I agree there are a few places where it can kind of drag.
Sunken City/Utzaal and Apex of Filth/Aggorat?
Love the idea. Fantastic. Maps themselves are a bit too big though. Doesn't help that Act 3 is kind of dragging by the time you get there already (and I love Act 3) and Sunken City has some of the most annoying enemies in the game.

Deshar -> Path of Mourning -> Spires of Deshar is a bit much too.
Path of Mourning and Spires of Deshar are super similar, second one is absolutely massive, and I never seem to find the Sisters of Garukhan event (for the +10% Lightning Resistance) until I've gone through the entire map already. Deshar itself is pretty sprawling too.

A good weapon drop/find (or lack thereof) can absolutely make or break your experience, but I suppose that's kind of how the game kind of has to be. Temple is actually really good for upgrading your gear early Campaign, in like Acts 1-3. I love that it gives you "use it or lose it" currency where it's either like, okay, you get a free exalt or three to use on your gear that you otherwise wouldn't have or would be hoarding to buy something better with later.

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Sakanabi#6664 wrote:

I dunno. I play campaign 2-4 times per league and still enjoy every single moment. Actually the more I play it the more I enjoy it because my knowledge of the game increases with every playthru ane each of my chars is a little stronger than the one before. It's the same as in original PoE. I never really understood players who just want to skip the whole thing into boring and repetitive endgame.

Because that's how POE works. People playing endgame because of the freedom of choice what to do in the game. Big amount of activities, many goals to achieve. Make your characters stronger and push new heights. Campaign is just a stepping stone and probably just 5% of what the game is really offering.
Right now there is a disparity between campaign and the endgame pacing. Which means that the campaign feels way worse to play. Unless they are not going to double down on meaningful combat yet again by reworking the endgame that way which make you feel that you're never left the campaign.

I have never advocated for the campaign skip btw. But I wanted some alternative method for streamlining the early leveling experience. Like some toggle for experienced players that unlocks every zone in campaign where you can just jump here and there without any blocks and do whatever you want until level 63 hits.
That's why we complain about it since 0.1 at this point. Ppl wanna reach the endgame faster because not many are have that luxury to spend 10-15 hours on the campaign that doesn't even feels good to play currently.

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default_mp3#9394 wrote:

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Sakanabi#6664 wrote:

I dunno. I play campaign 2-4 times per league and still enjoy every single moment. Actually the more I play it the more I enjoy it because my knowledge of the game increases with every playthru ane each of my chars is a little stronger than the one before. It's the same as in original PoE. I never really understood players who just want to skip the whole thing into boring and repetitive endgame.

Because that's how POE works. People playing endgame because of the freedom of choice what to do in the game. Big amount of activities, many goals to achieve. Make your characters stronger and push new heights. Campaign is just a stepping stone and probably just 5% of what the game is really offering.
Right now there is a disparity between campaign and the endgame pacing. Which means that the campaign feels way worse to play. Unless they are not going to double down on meaningful combat yet again by reworking the endgame that way which make you feel that you're never left the campaign.

I have never advocated for the campaign skip btw. But I wanted some alternative method for streamlining the early leveling experience. Like some toggle for experienced players that unlocks every zone in campaign where you can just jump here and there without any blocks and do whatever you want until level 63 hits.
That's why we complain about it since 0.1 at this point. Ppl wanna reach the endgame faster because not many are have that luxury to spend 10-15 hours on the campaign that doesn't even feels good to play currently.

OK, I'm not against some options entirely but what you basically say is that some players don't have the time to play the game by it's current rules so the rules should be adjusted/changed to meet those players's needs? That's kinda wild imo. Also for every character after the first one each legue you have plenty of currency and gear which should speed the whole campaign part significantly so technically we have option for subsequent characters within current ruleset.

I agree with you on pacing and I hope that whole endgame rework slows it to be more in line with campaign. That's what many (maybe the most) of us are still expecting from this game after all.

+1

A straight up campaign skip will never exist in Poe.

If something that ever resembles it comes along, it will be some monkey-paw-esque skip-mechanic wrapped up in a collection of RNG-infused systems that 90% of the people asking for a campaign skip will hate without ever trying it because the perceived risk of having their time "disrespected" will feel worse to them than the actual 5% chance of an adverse outcome. That is, unless you make the mechanic (journey) so much fun that they don't mind bad outcomes.

A PoE-universe campaign skip would need:
- a form of upfront investment that only someone deep into endgame could have (a buy-in)
- a chance for both positive and negative outcomes (variability)
- it can't be a straight up better choice than doing the campaign. It could have the chance to be better, the same, or worse than the campaign - it could also potentially have a completely different outcome altogether rather than resulting in an additional playable character.

I've theory-crafted about what a PoE-inspired campaign skip might look like before in another thread about out-of-the-box ideas for PoE:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3908981


I doubt one will ever exist, but if it does, I bet the people who just want to "follow a build" will likely not prefer whatever system they have in place for it. In true Poe fashion, it would be something fun but you might not be able to "plan a build" until you're through and maybe do some massive respeccing and regearing. So suitable for those players who are level 95 with a full stash and want a change of pace. Not suitable for players who are level 70 and don't like the build they chose and want to choose another.