Which playerbase are mechanics balanced for?

I guess SSF HC is for the masochists and those who play the game for a living.

But is SSF the baseline or the trading?

Because seems the endgame is designed for players who just sit in the hideout trading and gambling all day.

Because it is a pretty ragequit moment when
1. after hours (and for casual players who play 1-4 hours a day this can be 1-3 weeks) of farming maps you get 2 decent items with 1-1 good stat
2. you now grind expeditions for the specific currency
3. just to see both of your items turn to dust
(at least as It wasn't my main weapon)

I guess if you sit all day in the hideout being like a full time merchant and play CraftOfExile2 potentially it can be "fair"...


And now I am considered to change direction. Sorry... I really don't have the willpower to get two good suffix item.

So now I change direction back to the neck enchant.
1 Ire + 2 Isolation
So you gave the "generous" option to recombine 3 distilled emotion to a tier higher.

Currently I am stuck around t10 maps because seems there's no better loot.

To get 2 Isolation I need more emotions...
I try to juice up the delirium towers but up until now I got 50-30-10-5-3 (following each tier) Keep in mind that's like 3 week worth of gameplay so far.

Isolation is t10 emotion, so I need 3^9 x2
Absolute worst case scenario 12k, yes, TWELVE-THOUSAND ire to get my neck enchant? Yeah... the higher tier stuff can be used too, or I can pick a different enchant.

Or when I get to higher maps do they drop like rain?
Should I just bruteforce myself to t15 white maps because those drop better materials?
Should I just get 300 grind (currently have like 140 so another 2 weeks later...) splinters and fail, because I never seen the content before. Its more than likely I will just waste the 300 splinter, or is it so easy I will just oneshot it?
Or is it better to get lower tier keystones because I can bltz through those maps+ more kills more drop?


(sidenote... people are whinging about XP loss. Thats NOTHING compared to this insult when 3-4 week worth of materials just turns to dust)

Or I should just flip my 1 divine to endgame gear, technically skipping the mid tier map?
In this case how can SSF players progress?

They balance the game around the numbers of the highest achievers that skew the stats. Then everyone suffers as a result.

If 99% of players do 100K DPS with some ability but 1% does 1 to 2M DPS in absolute god gear/build that is what leads to mega nerfs that really become less fun for the majority. The overachievers/streaming factor is a new prob with gaming because instead of telling a few friends about your amazing discovery it is showcased on platforms reaching millions... now within a week the devs have an issue on their hands for exploits or anything non true exploit but leveraged....heck Im guilty of watching the same content, why not I weild no PHD in nerd (no offense meant there.)

See, because while I run event maps I was playing 0.1 and seems again I am hitting a brick wall around T10-12.

Chat and community doesn't help much, the answer is: "git gud"
Is this the "most welcoming and helpful poe" community the internet talks about?


And just got my very first breech ring. And now I looked into it, and I need to farm that until I get a good rng:
the pr0 gamz0r guide is just have a full inventory of those and hurl currencies at them until you get your desired outcome...

And I just got ONE! After 450 hours of gameplay (majority can be just afk count since I am whinging on the forum, or watching something)

Would be amazing if the game would give a direction, because what I see now:
ok... get t15 maps. But my gear limits me, so I need to brake this wall. (just got a decent glove at least that changed my ilvl from 62 to 75 on that slot not happy about the max mana, but better than the evasion that I had before)

So I moaned about reforging. Because it looks like that could help me a bit, but not really. 2 items and expedition currency wasted. Not as if the result would have been such a gamebraking either.
At least give us the option to make a guaranteed combine the more currency I throw at it.


Delirium neck enchant is out of reach atm, so that's unlikely will push me through this gear problem.

I still don't have 3rd ascend points, but while I rushed to [Local knowledge] atlas points I have like 5 tokens to sekhamas so far, and every guide I looked into recommend to overlevel it first.
Since my arse was kicked around in a 67-68 sekhama trial I don't even waste my last 4 tokens that are for 73+...

Chaos trial gives ascendency above 75, so that's a hard nope too...

I always check rituals for gears but those are also just hot garbage, at least I buy the omens, but those arent gonna push me through the wall either...


I could take the essence farm path, but... not sure. So far RNGesus hates me.
I am a warrior and like 11 out of 10 times I get evasion as defense attributes XD
Do I need mule characters? (aka need to start a sorcerer to gear warrior or a monk?)

It feels like a content is missing...
And pro players just use a broken build, and they can skip my issue by giving high tier loot from alts.

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Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

See, because while I run event maps I was playing 0.1 and seems again I am hitting a brick wall around T10-12.

SSF player here.
For me in end game, you have 2 "walls" while playing : lvl 6-8 when you have to start to reach 65-75% rez, then T10-12 when you have to get more HP, chaos rez and ways to mitigate damage (evasion, armor, block,...).

Most of people think the best way to go through this 2 walls, its to have a better dps. Its not imo as a SSF player. The best way is to go through this tier of maps without dying, grab some ressources from that, then upgrade your stuff to go through end game maps.

And about your 1rst question, for me, GGG intends that the main experience of PoE2 is for SSF players. Actually it was the same for PoE1. They always were against having auction house. For them, at the beginning (I played in Feb 2013 during beta of PoE1 btw), trades were just here to exchange items looted from another classes for ex. Not "the only way" to go through game, like we can hear right now about PoE2.

I had thousands of hours playing PoE1 SSF, have 250h playing PoE2 as only SSF player, made 3 characters lvl 85-90 (so around 80h/character), all able to do T15 maps without dying (just not enough time to do Pinnacle bosses).
And for all of my 3 characters, I always found some ways to improve my character.
So for me, with my own experience, SSF is totally fine in PoE2 and Im sure, much more enjoyable with the good mentaility, than PoE2 with trades...

"

Legoury#0138 เขียน:

"

Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

See, because while I run event maps I was playing 0.1 and seems again I am hitting a brick wall around T10-12.

SSF player here.
For me in end game, you have 2 "walls" while playing : lvl 6-8 when you have to start to reach 65-75% rez, then T10-12 when you have to get more HP, chaos rez and ways to mitigate damage (evasion, armor, block,...).

Most of people think the best way to go through this 2 walls, its to have a better dps. Its not imo as a SSF player. The best way is to go through this tier of maps without dying, grab some ressources from that, then upgrade your stuff to go through end game maps.

And about your 1rst question, for me, GGG intends that the main experience of PoE2 is for SSF players. Actually it was the same for PoE1. They always were against having auction house. For them, at the beginning (I played in Feb 2013 during beta of PoE1 btw), trades were just here to exchange items looted from another classes for ex. Not "the only way" to go through game, like we can hear right now about PoE2.

I had thousands of hours playing PoE1 SSF, have 250h playing PoE2 as only SSF player, made 3 characters lvl 85-90 (so around 80h/character), all able to do T15 maps without dying (just not enough time to do Pinnacle bosses).
And for all of my 3 characters, I always found some ways to improve my character.
So for me, with my own experience, SSF is totally fine in PoE2 and Im sure, much more enjoyable with the good mentaility, than PoE2 with trades...

Well... I pick up nearly any items now and just hurls currencies at them.

Around t1-3 map I found my mace that 81-167dmg but with accuracy and crit chance (have resolute technique so its waste stat for me) It will be hard to beat this.

Now I have 50-50-75-10 resistances I know I need all 75, but tell this to the loot. (apart from my chest and weapon everything is resist rune)

So unless the issue is that I run the "meme thorn" not sure what else I am supposed to do?

I was even considering is this the time to learn about corrupting items?
The ones I used so far made my items worse. But I know its a tradeoff system where people pushing gems, rune slots over the item limits, but again... its the simple
"get 100 vaal orbs and toss it on 100 items until you get desired results"

or how does even the loot works?
I made a t11 map and got an expedition log.
Because if t11 map drops better loot then I force a level up and just die until I can sustain maps

Because of SSF, I only use my exalted for craft.

So everytime I got a good magic item, with life and 1 resistance for ex, I use regal and exal. That how I got most of my stuff.

I use my gold with Alva for rings and amulets mostly, and sometimes for an uprade of my current stuff.

I even crafter some very good boots, with 30% MS, 150 life and 2 x 40% rez. I got lucky with my fractured orb and got the 30% MS as fractured. I did it by buying boots with Alva, then recombine it, then used fractured then use all my 40 chaos looted and finally got it ^^


Anyway, if you use the tools game gives you, you can easily have some good stuff to go through maps tier. The main issue is, in my opinion, most player dont want to use exalted to craft, because they prefer to keep it to trade... And so, they mostly complain how bad the loot is, cause if you dont try to craft around this good magic item, how could you improve your gear ?

"

Legoury#0138 เขียน:

Because of SSF, I only use my exalted for craft.

So everytime I got a good magic item, with life and 1 resistance for ex, I use regal and exal. That how I got most of my stuff.

I use my gold with Alva for rings and amulets mostly, and sometimes for an uprade of my current stuff.

I even crafter some very good boots, with 30% MS, 150 life and 2 x 40% rez. I got lucky with my fractured orb and got the 30% MS as fractured. I did it by buying boots with Alva, then recombine it, then used fractured then use all my 40 chaos looted and finally got it ^^


Anyway, if you use the tools game gives you, you can easily have some good stuff to go through maps tier. The main issue is, in my opinion, most player dont want to use exalted to craft, because they prefer to keep it to trade... And so, they mostly complain how bad the loot is, cause if you dont try to craft around this good magic item, how could you improve your gear ?

Nah... I burn exalteds both on items and keystones. But I usually get hot garbage...

I try to avoid trading if possible.
I only purchased the Pale King unique, since its mandatory for thorn build.
I think the thorn reflect should be a key node on the skilltree and the unique power should be to "free up" the skillpoints that leads to it.

I use Alva too, but as discussed, not much skill involved there either...
Thats why I made the topic. What is the intended way?

because if SSF is the baseline and trading is "easymode" then mid tier maps should need serious balance redesign or game needs more guides of what to do.

I really hope once the special atlas points unlocked materials are dropping better, but you know it feels kinda weird that we get teased with breech ring, neck enchant yet each map drops like half a dozen unlock material
and so far I only got 1 breech ring and 2 catalyst?

They arent even that gamebraking upgrades. At least I don't think a neck enchant would yeet me off the chart XD
I think a lot what even to pick?
Because [Goring] like the top tier choice for offense
But kinda thinking about defense option too, but the game punishes you for being defensive. (have multiple threads in that topic too)
And many of those notible passive that you can pick from are only powerful enough if you have the stepping skills before them.

The atlas points seems kinda shaked up too.
Now that we have multiple attempts on maps
last rare almost guaranteed keystone
and Doriyani now sells stone of your level

sustain atlas points are unneeded.
And I like that we have multiple attempts. XP loss is just an inconvenience. Losing every events of the map was more detrimental. breech and Delirium I still idea few times, because its a forced speedrun...

Greater Essences are just another RNG. (or at least my luck shines as usual. Ie: defense essence 11 out of 10 times gives evasion for my warrior)

Wisps are admittedly not working as intended, so wont give any feedback.

Strongboxes... not sure again about it.

I picked the exile pvp. But no wonder if I destroyed the warrior with those items. (or he is a reflection of my rng and wears whatever available for him XD )

Oh... and there's the cleansed areas. Another stupid rng layer.
I mean... cmon... even a guaranteed Fractured orb of each map would be hard to spare?
Ive done like 20 cleansed maps and a single fractured orb so far, and after that its another RNG of wich item mod will be chosen. Yeah... that's what I wanted... a 1/7 chance... after weeks of playing.


I start to have more fun on the forums now, sadly I have absolutely no idea if anyone reads what I give as opinion. Doesnt help that in 10 minutes your thread goes down to page 5...

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Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

Nah... I burn exalteds both on items and keystones.

Yeah I understand that and I feel when you reach end game, we need more maps with already 6 affixes, specially with the new tower system. I personnaly dont want to use my exalted to add affixes to map for towers... I prefer to keep it to craft stuff.

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Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

so far I only got 1 breech ring and 2 catalyst?

I personnaly got a lot of catalysts, but no breech ring ^^

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Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

breech and Delirium I still idea few times, because its a forced speedrun...

Totally agree with that. Dont like a lot of end game content is about you, cleaning the map as fast as possible.
I really like new unique map with boss rush and I think we need more content like that, killing big bosses than just killing thousands of mobs to get something.

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Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

Strongboxes... not sure again about it.

I took atlas nodes with reseachers strongbox (for currencies). I find almost always 1 reseachers box per map, few exalted and chaos but nothing more, but its still a good add for a SSF.

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Kraivan#1745 เขียน:

I picked the exile pvp. But no wonder if I destroyed the warrior with those items. (or he is a reflection of my rng and wears whatever available for him XD )

Same here. Was pretty excited at the beginning of maps with rogues. I got a lot of uniques then in end game, almost nothing interesting. Kind of a disappointement...


In general, I found some useful tools in end game the get some stuff until you reach T15 maps. Then, its pretty hard to get some upgrades but seems logical and okay imo.
GGG would still add more ways to craft and have better stuff I guess.