A POE1 player's thoughts on POE2's Druid League

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BaldCommander#3844 เขียน:

2. The gem link system is much more accessible compared to POE1 now as far as getting your supports up and running. I think there could be some more fine tuned changes but more on that later.

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maybe an unpopular opinion, but i hate the gemsystem in poe2. it may be easier to understand and more accessible at the first look. but it is in fact gatekeeping builds at every single corner. uncut gems are gated behind acts and map tiers, you cannot level them because there is no gem xp, gem a only works with gem b etc. yes, this on the one side is protecting new players from doing mistakes, but on the other hand it takes away every single bit of freedom and sandbox.

the promise was, players would use many more different skills with this system. thats simply not what happened. everybody and his mom is using the same skills with the same supports and every build that is played feels like ggg has planned it exactly this way. everything else is simply not working or if it does, its nerfed or changed in the next patch. there is no build cooking, nothing to discover, every build is planned and runs on rails.

in poe1 you normally run a single target gem-setup, a setup for clearing, there is a defensive setup with guard skills, an aura setup, something supporting your movement skills etc. there is much more customizing of my own build and how i want my character to play. in poe2 it feels like there is nothing.

on top, maybe some people will argue against or see this as something bad, gem sockets with colours links etc. are in fact adding another layer of crafting and customization on items.

all in all i highly prefer the poe1 system, while i understand its maybe not that easy to understand for new players. but in my eyes thats an explaining or tutorial issue that should have been fixed long ago.

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BaldCommander#3844 เขียน:

I definitely understand where you're coming from. I think the biggest upside to non colored gem system is that I don't have to spend 400 chaos getting jewelers orbs and chromatic orbs to get the 1 off brand socket color I need. I do wish that the POE2 gem system wasn't locked behind map tiers and act content. Those should have the same RNG for any level up to 15 from act 2 on.

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something on your 3. dodge roll. i personally dont care much about dodge roll, some times it feels like you do nothing else but okay. what i dont understand is, why the hell isnt dodgeroll a standard socketable skillgem that can be supported by other gems? faster roll, longer roll support, shorter roll support, flashy looking roll support, sprint after roll support, longer iframes support etc. i dont get it why it again feels half baked, cheap and boring.

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BaldCommander#3844 เขียน:

Howdy all, let me start by saying I am NOT a long time POE player. I started in 3.25 on POE1 and just picked up POE2 when 0.4 launched. My review here is coming from the average player who has been a long time gamer and played alot of D2 and D3 in my formative years. This feedback review is from a NEW POE2 PLAYER perspective.

Let me start with the things I like about POE2, because I don't want this to be a completely negative post.

1. The story is dark, gritty, and about as fantastic as you could want out of an ARPG off the rip. I enjoyed the story of the acts and the endgame lore is interesting compared to the lack thereof in POE1.

2. The gem link system is much more accessible compared to POE1 now as far as getting your supports up and running. I think there could be some more fine tuned changes but more on that later.

3. The addition of the dodge roll makes the game feel better in terms of not having to eat damage like you do in POE1 as well. More on this later as there are some drawbacks.

4. Hot take, but I do like that the Atlas is an actual map now with detailed environments. I love the visualization of where I'm going.

Now, for the things I don't like. Unfortunately, this list will be quite long so I'll put my main complaints at the top.

1. My biggest complaint with POE2 is that the dev's have put such an important focus on crafting with currency, but they have done nothing to increase currency drops outside of Aug's and Transmutes. I ran 50 T1 waystones yesterday and found 1 Exalted orb. I realize that rewards go up with using tablets and increased waystone tiers, but in t1 waystones, the rewards should be maybe 25% higher than what we have now. If the devs want us to craft with our currency and put such an importance on ground loot, then there has to be a compromise somewhere to increase the drop rate that doesn't involve getting rarity on our gear.

2. Expanding on ground loot and currency, there is obviously a focus on making vendors throughout the acts and the endgame a viable option for players to get better gear. I found 2 pieces of gear my entire way through the acts and engame(not gambling vendors) that were better for my build. I feel that the RNG for vendors is woefully low for some players and it makes it difficult to progress since everyone knows that gear is the biggest roadblock for any POE player. Using the gambling vendors, the gold cost is a little high compared to the rewards we get. I spent 200,000~ gold at 2 of the endgame gambling vendors and each of them gave me the same bow with the same stats 8/10 times and this is not an exaggeration.

3. Out of the 50 waystones I ran yesterday, 37 of the bosses I encountered (I did die a lot, due to a gear roadblock) had a gimmick that would instakill most new players entering maps. While I understand the "git gud/skill issue" comments I'll get from this, think about it this way. If you're over level 50, you lose 10% of your gained exp every time you die. That's a huge disappointment for new players or inexperienced players. I'm used to this with POE1, but there's a huge difference in leveling gains between POE1 and POE2.

4. Map owners being the only players to get completed Atlas points is a huge turn off to running a party with friends or randoms. In POE1, anyone in a party that hadn't completed the atlas objectives for a map would get it if the parameters were satisfied. Now in POE2, you're essentially just getting the exp. While exp is definitely needed, since the Atlas is now infinite, it's more of a hindrance to play with your friends or others compared to POE1.

5. This is a big one in the community that I have to agree with. I understand that the devs want to make ground loot and vendor loot more relevant, which is fine(going back to my point above that rewards and loot need a bit of a buff). But not having scouring orbs or something similar outside of the Orb of Annulment is a huge mistake. Some of the white gear bases sell for anywhere from 1 divine all the way up to a Mirror. We need scouring orbs to make crafting viable, especially if you're a casual player that doesn't drop 40div/hour.

6. The game really needs a reoptimization resource wise. We all know that going into the ini of POE1 and setting sound to false helps with CTD's, but even doing this with POE2 has no effect on performance for me. I have had at least 40 CTD's since the league start, and a few BSOD's from how often the game checks the anticheat. I didn't think in 2025 that I wouldn't be able to play a game without sound or some oddball settings turned off, but here we are.

7. Monster pack size being decreased has shown me virtually no change from 0.3 to 0.4. On average, every 15 paces there are 2 packs of monsters in a t1 waystone. If the pack size isn't going to change, at least space them out further.

I think that covers my biggest complaints so far with 0.4. I know, I know, I complained a lot about loot drops and currency but it isn't that I'm "poor" in game. It's the fact that if GGG wants new players and casual players to play their game and spend money on MTX's, the rewards have to match the level of commitment that we as the player have to put into the game. I hope that GGG sees this and takes some of mine and the communities complaints to heart and makes some changes. I'll leave GGG with one final thought:

As beautiful and fun as POE2 is, the desire to compare your game and design it to be like Diablo 2 needs to end. I realize that D2 is considered one of if not THE best ARPG to ever exist, but that doesn't mean that the players have to suffer through mechanics from 25 years ago. I fear that if some things don't change, when the game releases at 1.0 that a majority of the playerbase will go back to POE1 or another game.

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Well thought out and much respect for it. Since its a long post Ill just copy your number system and comment on each part of the dislike part as I do feel most of it can come to simple solutions.

1. Did you juice your maps at all or were they normal maps? IN POE 2 currency increases with mods. I can run 50 maps at t1 and find 40+ exalts cause I don't run no mods on maps. I find even just putting 2 mods on the maps really helps a lot so maybe try that?

2. The vendors for POE 2 and even in POE 1 are really for the campaign. In end game trading is king but if not you can def use vendors for bases and craft items accordingly. POE 2 since the Abyss patch has been wayyyyyy better for crafting. It still has some way to go but the direction is going is positive.

3. You don't lose xp over level 50. Its once you enter Endgame do you start to lose XP. The game is meant to be punishing. You need resistance and negatives in any game to make the player be forced to learn the mechanics. Death is just part of the game and at endgame the XP number doesn't matter. Its just getting your gear better. By level 80-85 you should have a fully fleshed out build that can handle most content. If not...its the build not the game.

4. Group play isn't as common in the game or even in POE 1. So the game is designed for single player not group play. Which is a bulk of players.

5. I've never seen a base go for a div so idk what you're talking about.

6. I run on a laptop and it runs perfectly smooth at High settings. I have some problems rarely but thats every game.

7. I've noticed a huge difference in pack size from .3 to .4

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Hyperspacing#5593 เขียน:

3. You don't lose xp over level 50. Its once you enter Endgame do you start to lose XP. The game is meant to be punishing. You need resistance and negatives in any game to make the player be forced to learn the mechanics. Death is just part of the game and at endgame the XP number doesn't matter. Its just getting your gear better. By level 80-85 you should have a fully fleshed out build that can handle most content. If not...its the build not the game.

4. Group play isn't as common in the game or even in POE 1. So the game is designed for single player not group play. Which is a bulk of players.

5. I've never seen a base go for a div so idk what you're talking about.

6. I run on a laptop and it runs perfectly smooth at High settings. I have some problems rarely but thats every game.