We welcome First Impression posts! Please be nice to those posts.

So I started PoE about 6 days after leage start or something. Dec,10. Since then I have put in just shy of two hundred hours. Pretty solid game overall. Very addicting. I commend your not pay2win mechanics approach for a free2play title. In the current gaming climate you should be praised on how a company can make great games without extorting your players base. I think I spend about 100 bucks so far in stash tabs even if i didnt really need them. Good stuff.

Things that I didnt like. It is way to hard to fix a mistake in your build. With my current character I had to sell almost everything I had of value to get enough respect points to un fuck my mistake. Even then if it hadnt been for a friend gifting me enough chaos to fill out my gear I would have had to grind for hours in content i was already bored of doing. The last coupel acts of the game feel completly uneeded. At that point I never really cared about what was happening and just wanted to get into the end game content I had heard so much about. This was also my fourth attempt at a character. I felt like I had hit a wall and changed to another toon and yet another guide. Wasnt until later I figured out why I was struggling.

Overall I think the game is great. Having a good time with it over all. However the leveling grind and the story grind feels a little fluffed. Which is putting me off from rolling another toon any time soon. The systems in place are awesome. mining, mapping, the lab, intrusions. I feel like there is enough content that if I ever get bored of one thing its easy to just go do another activity. I would recommend this game to any gamer who wanted a good ARPG. Good work devs. Cant wait for next league!

Hello,

I am new to the game as of May 9, 2012. I want to say, that I have had a ton of fun and have not regretted a dime that I have spent to support the game.

I enjoy the planning phase, the early game, the end game, the rewards of winning and the penalties of dying (even in soft core) The one beef I have is inventory management. Over the years, all of these mechanics have stacked up. I can, and have bought the stash tabs to help with this, but I truly believe it is time to add the dump, sort, filter, tab. Whatever you would like to call it!

First impression: what is the Labyrinth? its literally chess in checkers, you encounter nothing like it anywhere else. Its unnecessary punishing for required progression, and you hide the hook with the offering to the goddess entry fee. As long as its a requirement AND you also have to pay to enter its just wrong. You are worried about farmers fine, offering for reward, the rest of us just want to progress out characters.

This may not be a "first impression" per se but it's pretty close as I never bothered to make it past act 3 before.

Pros:
1. Lots of content and lots of progress in content over the years, the game keeps getting better.
2. Passive tree is awesome.
3. Lots of endgame potential. I'm really loving delving.


So, what issues do I have with the game?

Cons:
1. Too many 3rd party programs needed, this game is the only game where I've felt they were required.
2. Trade is horrible. Please integrate a trade system that people actually want to use. It doesn't need to be easy, just not annoying/no 3rd party requirements.
3. TRASH MOBS DIE TOO FAST. This is a major one for me. When trash mobs die in 1 hit to pretty much everything (regardless of whether you're playing a very defensive build) there's a problem. For one, utility skills and tactics like crowd management in this game are almost non-existent and are not needed because of things die too quick. Where is the hard CC in this game? Things like curses are, more often than not, used automatically because clicking an extra button is simply not worth it.
4. Not enough defensive options. People often suggest things like "cast when hit + immortal call" plus things like fortify and some other skills. There is simply not enough options. You need max resists, tons of HP, plus tons of other mitigation. There needs to be more purely defensive spell options akin to storm shield and molten shell- except actually more defensive than offensive. The closest thing we have are auras but why is there so few options? Why not more active defense skills or support gems that act like "Soul of Tukohama"?
5. Spike damage and rarity of chaos resistance on gear (at least for those that don't trade for it). Bosses also hit too hard and punish you too much for standing still, even for half a second. I understand that you should dodge things but this severely limits the viable playstyles. I actually think Diablo 3 does this better, they offer enough defensive options to allow for a wide variety of playstyles and you still have to dodge some attacks. At least in Diablo you have the option of channeling/standing still or face tanking if people prefer that playstyle and it usually involves some investment.
6. Item drops seem to be balanced around trading and RNG on sockets is too frustrating. All this amounts to is people not being able to play the way they want without significant time investment. This is probably why I got bored and quit the first 10 times I played this game. Playing SSF to 75 I am still using mostly garbage and looting has become more of a chore than anything. If I was able to trade I'd be decked out with great gear though- which is sad because this suggests that the best way to play the game is to trade currency rather than kill monsters and find gear. An ARPG should always be about getting drops from monsters.
7. TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON FLASKS. Another issue I had with the game -I know it will never change. Why do I hate it? You're using more buttons to use flasks than for using skills. I'd say most builds only use 2-3 active skills (1 being movement) at any given time (most other skills are pets you click once every blue moon or auras you never click), meanwhile every flask slot feels essential. I need a flask to cure every ailment and it feels like the game is balanced around that fact, it feels like an unnecessary inconvenience. I'd rather be teleporting around, managing packs with several skills, and then debuffing and destroying them than clicking 1 button to wipe everything and hitting 1-5 buttons to cure ailments/add defense. Say what you want about Diablo 3, at least you're actively using every one of your active skill slots- even pets.
8. Do I really have to go through the story every league to unlock the endgame? I hate to bring up Diablo 3 again, but in that game you can start playing adventure mode right off the bat and start greater rifting within a day or two. This is a bit quick but why can't I map earlier in PoE? PoE has too much of a time investment in the campaign and that's really my least favorite part in these games. Let up do maps before act 10 and let us get our skill books by other means.

I don't mean to be harsh on the game, I simply added more cons because there's not much point in making suggestions for what you already do well. I compare a lot of things to Diablo 3 because it's one of the most popular competitors and a game I have several thousand hours in (same for Diablo 2), I've also played many other ARPGs as well. I know Diablo 3 lacks content but what it does have it does very well, it's very well polished. There are a lot of things PoE could learn from Diablo 3 (and a lot of things Diablo 3 could learn from PoE), like the importance of QoL improvements. Identify all, easier to navigate inventory tabs, crafting materials stored as you pick them up (no need for a $15 stash tab), easier swapping of skills, etc. Things like that go a long way and don't ruin your game. PoE seems to go the opposite way, it seems like a design philosophy to try to make things more complicated or more cumbersome than they need to be.

This league is the no return point ! online shops killed the drop rate of valuable items and currencies, there is no other ways than buying to be competitive, just waiting for LOST ARK to come in EU and i quit this dying game, i can pay to play and i did several times but i won't pay to win, GGG took the diablo'3 path since the last 2 leagues for now. Next league you all be taken for sheeps. I'll come back on a few servers to announce a few ads about lost ark.

"

Madix wrote:

Spoiler

This may not be a "first impression" per se but it's pretty close as I never bothered to make it past act 3 before.

Pros:
1. Lots of content and lots of progress in content over the years, the game keeps getting better.
2. Passive tree is awesome.
3. Lots of endgame potential. I'm really loving delving.


So, what issues do I have with the game?

Cons:
1. Too many 3rd party programs needed, this game is the only game where I've felt they were required.
2. Trade is horrible. Please integrate a trade system that people actually want to use. It doesn't need to be easy, just not annoying/no 3rd party requirements.
3. TRASH MOBS DIE TOO FAST. This is a major one for me. When trash mobs die in 1 hit to pretty much everything (regardless of whether you're playing a very defensive build) there's a problem. For one, utility skills and tactics like crowd management in this game are almost non-existent and are not needed because of things die too quick. Where is the hard CC in this game? Things like curses are, more often than not, used automatically because clicking an extra button is simply not worth it.
4. Not enough defensive options. People often suggest things like "cast when hit + immortal call" plus things like fortify and some other skills. There is simply not enough options. You need max resists, tons of HP, plus tons of other mitigation. There needs to be more purely defensive spell options akin to storm shield and molten shell- except actually more defensive than offensive. The closest thing we have are auras but why is there so few options? Why not more active defense skills or support gems that act like "Soul of Tukohama"?
5. Spike damage and rarity of chaos resistance on gear (at least for those that don't trade for it). Bosses also hit too hard and punish you too much for standing still, even for half a second. I understand that you should dodge things but this severely limits the viable playstyles. I actually think Diablo 3 does this better, they offer enough defensive options to allow for a wide variety of playstyles and you still have to dodge some attacks. At least in Diablo you have the option of channeling/standing still or face tanking if people prefer that playstyle and it usually involves some investment.
6. Item drops seem to be balanced around trading and RNG on sockets is too frustrating. All this amounts to is people not being able to play the way they want without significant time investment. This is probably why I got bored and quit the first 10 times I played this game. Playing SSF to 75 I am still using mostly garbage and looting has become more of a chore than anything. If I was able to trade I'd be decked out with great gear though- which is sad because this suggests that the best way to play the game is to trade currency rather than kill monsters and find gear. An ARPG should always be about getting drops from monsters.
7. TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON FLASKS. Another issue I had with the game -I know it will never change. Why do I hate it? You're using more buttons to use flasks than for using skills. I'd say most builds only use 2-3 active skills (1 being movement) at any given time (most other skills are pets you click once every blue moon or auras you never click), meanwhile every flask slot feels essential. I need a flask to cure every ailment and it feels like the game is balanced around that fact, it feels like an unnecessary inconvenience. I'd rather be teleporting around, managing packs with several skills, and then debuffing and destroying them than clicking 1 button to wipe everything and hitting 1-5 buttons to cure ailments/add defense. Say what you want about Diablo 3, at least you're actively using every one of your active skill slots- even pets.
8. Do I really have to go through the story every league to unlock the endgame? I hate to bring up Diablo 3 again, but in that game you can start playing adventure mode right off the bat and start greater rifting within a day or two. This is a bit quick but why can't I map earlier in PoE? PoE has too much of a time investment in the campaign and that's really my least favorite part in these games. Let up do maps before act 10 and let us get our skill books by other means.

I don't mean to be harsh on the game, I simply added more cons because there's not much point in making suggestions for what you already do well. I compare a lot of things to Diablo 3 because it's one of the most popular competitors and a game I have several thousand hours in (same for Diablo 2), I've also played many other ARPGs as well. I know Diablo 3 lacks content but what it does have it does very well, it's very well polished. There are a lot of things PoE could learn from Diablo 3 (and a lot of things Diablo 3 could learn from PoE), like the importance of QoL improvements. Identify all, easier to navigate inventory tabs, crafting materials stored as you pick them up (no need for a $15 stash tab), easier swapping of skills, etc. Things like that go a long way and don't ruin your game. PoE seems to go the opposite way, it seems like a design philosophy to try to make things more complicated or more cumbersome than they need to be.

Fantastic contribution.

I especially agree with #3 and #7.

First Impressions after making 2 chars to level 80

Pro and Con

Pro
The forum and related sites are really helpful, my 2nd char now is quite a lot of fun (first wasn't my playstyle)

Overall there is a lot of fun to be had in the game and it does remind me on diablo 2 just with better graphics

Con
The Bank is rather small, i guess that is by choice to force buying more stashes. I still would be happy if orbs could at least be stacked higher.

The "trade", i really wish there was some sort of auction house that i can just post my stuff and not have to be the "trader". Perhaps that is just a personal thing though, but waiting till someone texts you isn't exactly the most exciting thing.

Quite a lot of "wtf did kill me moments" i now have over 4k life, yet some "things" just oneshot me and i don't even know what. So a deathlog with the last 5sec would be great to know why i died, that might help to get some better items

The item quality of the "rares"
Personally id love if the rares had more colors, based on how good they are, so far my gear that i got ranges from 1 orb of augmentation (i.e trash) to 30c, yet they all share the same color. Really would make life simpler for "new" people.

"

darkminaz wrote:

The item quality of the "rares"
Personally id love if the rares had more colors, based on how good they are, so far my gear that i got ranges from 1 orb of augmentation (i.e trash) to 30c, yet they all share the same color. Really would make life simpler for "new" people.

The thing is, same mod could be useful for one build and useless to another. And even for the same build, the same mod could be godsend on rare X but utter trash on rare Y. It's all about mod combinations.

I've been playin for several months now. I was a past diablo player, playing many thousands of hours in d2 and d3. I finally decided to try poe after d3 basically lost all its replay value when the easy meter was cranked to 5 about 20 times over lol.

Started playing and I was impressed at how much better this game is. The play through took me awhile and the 10 acts was very enjoyable. I also thought the maps were a bit larger than diablo 3's in the story mode. When it got to atlas mapping thats another story, similar size.

It's unfortunate we cannot play the rest of hte games content over on a harder monster level, like was a trend in the diablo games, GGG didn't incorporate that one aspect of diablo, although there are a plethora of similarities. So that's unfortunate you basically play through those acts and maps once.

You guys have done an amazing job making a truly deep and self motivating experience with more versatility than the playerbase can handle. Im impressed with how much the game grows and changed for the community. I started my first character when betrayal started and its now a lvl 92 pathfinder. I put a lot of time and effort into personally making my build by scouring everything made available and doing my best. I ended up doing alright and havent had to change my build or restart but it wasnt easy. When you guys released the class population list it kinda bothered me to see that i was one of the few rangers past lvl 90 and there wasnt even a percentage for hardcore. Seems like they arent as priority as the other classes. If its not seeing much play then it must need a bit of a buff. I think adding a little more health to their side of the grid or a node tree that gives a small amount of phys damage reduction. The survivalist tree could give health instead of evasion since There is tons of evasion from other sources. Also the heart of oak tree could give 3-4% health instead of movespeed. Could you please extend the timers on portals to maps. A map shutting down when you are checking an item out or trying to buy a breachstone off poe for a syndicate bench where the hideout was opened in the map. I lost the map and i missed out on stuff in the hideout because i could only access the hideout from the map. Just take away the ability to open safehouses in maps so people dont suffer my fate.