Feedback on PoE 2: Fundamental confict in game designs
" So, like, release an EA build with no definitive end date that could extend through 2025 and potentially encompass all of 2026 and beyond wherein the gradually introduce new content and interact with the player community to balance and perfect it? Holy shit man, if only GGG had already thought of that and then did it and that's exactly what they're doing wow that seems lucky. |
|
" If we already had the beta....but early access is an expanded pre-alpha....why did we have the beta? Why is there a MTX shop and MTX lootboxes? Certainly feels like a beta since all we're doing is bug and balance testing for them, they certainly haven't say revamped a class because it isn't working great or isn't all that fun to play; they're doing little adjustments because what they want is already there...the Alpha is over. The idea is there because the industry has muddied the intention, early access can mean anything from "play 3 days early" to "help fund this indie project from the ground up"; PoE 2 is neither of those, especially with their claim to be release ready in 6 months to a year, which we're now at 5 months so that's not looking too great for them. We're in beta testing range, which is why there have already been beta tests. Core principles aren't going to be scrapped and replaced at this point in time. Let's be honest, it's not like GGG came up with the idea of a live service model with new content and additional updates; so, let's not glaze them for being able to adjust things over the next decade. |
|
|
I'll actually give them credit, accessing the MTX shop has never given me issues, I daresay it's release ready!
But, the rest of the game is still, over 5 months in, like playing bug/glitch whack 'a mole. Luckily, Act 3 no longer gives me headaches to play through as it was continually visually glitchy to the point of being unplayable. Skills just stop working randomly, floor tiles just disappear, whole screen goes solid colors frequently until you relog or manage to change areas. Still get teleported randomly if I get hit by big monsters while in certain animations. Still have issues partying with friends...tho they haven't played in like 3 weeks so I guess GGG actually solved that one. |
|
" Agree. One issue is that the game wants to be soulslike, but its like saying you want a metroidvenia with generated maps: wont work. As metroidvenias are about exploration in a handcrafted world soulslike are about slow, telegraphed risk-reward mechanics where each enemy is deadly, but avoidable. POE2 is as soulslike as vampire survivor. XD To the endgame it expands to a full collapse and implode, because early game and on the campaign you see deadly attacks, but its your focuspoint. A slam ability by a goliath, a death knights slowly casting a nuke, a spellcaster sending a meteor... each... separated has like a 2 second window to react. Endgame however the game just opens a floodgate. You have dozens of these oneshot mechanics AT ONCE! Each screen has like 4 enemies who prepare those nukes at the same time. You cant create "meaningfulness" in that environment especially that players will pick the easiest solution: "nuke the problem before it even builds up" And that logic will be against combo playstyles, because why use all skillslots when you only need a single skill you can spam and clean the screen? Current skill expires in "just overgear it, build up so much res and defense until you just plow through enemies like a jungle explorer with a machete that cuts a path... Which works until you find the next level of enemies that outscale your defenses and you get oneshot again... However... I think it is possible to create meaningful combat, and not even difficult to implement: Just add defensive skills that comes with a tradeoff and cooldown. Dont make a skill that will be defensive and to be able to replace the autoattack. Crowd control abilities and "oh sh*t" buttons needed. Like: Change warriors shield wall to work as an actual wall: enemies instead of attacking it would try to walk around and would be able to absorb aoe damage Give berserker spirit gem an active use: your hp cant go under 1 until you have rage, but you cant generate rage, depletion starts + 3 seconds. Smokescreen abilities should give LoS not reduce accuracy, so ranged enemies would walk to try to get you. This would give enough time to handle them after you sorted the other half of the screen. Quagmires to counter speedsters Knockbacks that would have collision with terrain: aka if it hits a wall they would get stunned. (giant enemies could just be stunned) Skills like these that shift the battleground |
|
|
The actual conflict they have with game design is that they try to make a completely new game with a foundation of well-established game.
No matter what kind of changes or balance GGG try to do, mixing "meaningful, tactical, moment to moment combat" with Path of Exile 1 game design foundation will not work. EVER. The game is all about resource acquisition efficiency to progress your character. It doesn't matter about what you find fun, and your fun is irrelevant and will be objectively wrong way to play the game, if its not efficient. Being slow = can't access better quality / higher amount of resources fast enough = can't establish power in the market early = have low purchasing power = death sentence to your character progression. As long as the game still tailored and balanced around trading / itemization / randomization, there is no room for tactical and meaningful combat. Kill things fast or you lose. |
|
" +1 On point |
|
|
I kinda agree with the assessment. If GoG wants to appease both player groups, I think there is a relatively simple solution: design the game around the "slow and meaningful combat" first, but then also create a lower difficulty for both campaign and maps that has an entirely different gameplay feeling to it. E.g. do things like lower mob hp by 50%, so that players can farm them really quickly and do not need to use extensive combos.
|
|
" I think you get too easiliy distracted by words just look what historically an alpha / Beta state means for a video game Alpha POE2 already happened: Early testing phase focused on core gameplay systems, stability, and basic feedback with a very Very small, handpicked group—developers, QA teams, sometimes twitch streamers that were all under NDA (and were all lying to you how bad the game felt to play, as they all trashed the game on EA verbally,) Early Access blurs the line between development and release—often used as a monetized beta with no strict time frame. The idea of EA was to shrink the downpayment and to get revenue faster for indie game studios The reality is Early Access lets big studios like GGG monetize failure. There are even cases where games re-release at full price after Early Access, without meaningful changes. That’s not just a design choice; that’s a business model. Early Access, while sometimes sincere, is often a soft launch disguised as collaboration. When abused it hurts the entire industry. |
|
" Fast this, fast that, fast everything. We get it, some of you want to zip through everything and PoE2 doesn't really allow you to do that unless things are broken, bugged or unbalanced. I think that's fine. There's nothing wrong with the game, and there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that you're probably not the target audience for this game like I'm not the target audience for PoE1. Embrace it and stop fighting it. There are so many other blazing fast ARPG's for you to enjoy including PoE1. The ARPG genre doesn't NEED to be about fast clears and speedruning. That's just what some players enjoy while some others don't. แก้ไขล่าสุดโดย rifraf-_-#9478 เมื่อ 7 พ.ค. 2025 08:39:54
|
|
" But the game IS designed, balanced, and tailored around speed. What are you talking about, are you even playing the game ?? Oh probably campaign gamers. |
|
