It’s a narrow thorny path filled with difficulty
Path of Exile has been around for about 8 years, give or take. It’s gone through highs and lows, players skipping leagues only to return on the next. Players farmed PoE currency or hunted for items they wanted. Later, good gear became super accessible with league mechanics left behind. Oh, the players were ecstatic. All kinds of viable builds came about. When good gear is accessible, it lets them play around and experiment.
Then the nerfs came. The more commonly used builds were reduced to almost uselessness, and other builds just don’t have the oomph to take over. Plus, they took away the mechanics that made crafting easier. Making builds isn’t fun anymore, mainly because it’s frustrating to fight RNG for something viable for the build.
‘Slowing Down’ the Game
So GGG wanted players to slow down. They release skills that are on a delay among other things. Except they did nothing for the enemies to make it viable. Enemies move too fast, matching the player’s offensively speedy builds (when they were still viable). When targets move too fast, skills on a delay just end up missing.
The other method is to be as tanky as can be, but the only reliable way to be tanky is Life and Energy Shield. Armor mechanics are too demanding, and Evasion, Block, and Dodge can’t be 100% reliable. There’s no way to be tanky and reactive since you can’t attack with the slower skills, and you won’t survive getting hit.
RNG vs Choices
A big part of why players liked the former crafting mechanics from past leagues is because it gives them a bit of control to get what they want. RNG is too fickle and it takes ages to get something viable. This was also a bit of a problem before when players would use so many Exalted Orbs and other currencies because it was the only way to craft.
That, combined with the decreased drop rates, gave players no choice. They’re stuck, with no way to farm the PoE currency to craft or have anything to craft at all. There are like two viable builds at the moment, and that’s not promoting variability in builds.
Where Does That Leave Us?
Well, with the upcoming live stream interview, let’s hope that Chris Wilson will have a good explanation for the future of PoE. Sure, sometimes things have to take a turn for the worst before getting better, but this has been going on for long enough.
The topic of PoE trading hasn’t even been touched on in this article. It’s a big part of the game, yet nothing has been done to make it smoother for the players. Currently, they have to juggle multiple windows and guess whether the seller is online or not. That means waiting for a reply for a confirmation on the PoE trade. Overall, it’s a hassle and players only do it for the necessity and not because they enjoy it.
Conclusions
The game is at a very low point currently. There are still a few things to enjoy about it, but those that find it are rare. GGG can’t seem to find the balance of rewarding yet challenging tasks, and what to compromise between their vision for the game and what the players want.
Players have some good ideas, being the ones who spend more time playing the game. Not that they will always be right, but some ideas can be adapted to the plans for the game. On the other end, even developers can make mistakes. What’s happening to the game right now seems to be all of them all at once, though.
At any rate, you can try playing it for a fresh perspective of what can be changed or improved. That is, if you can get past the loot that attacks you, enemy projectiles from off-screen, and gameplay that somehow both punishes but necessitates speedy gameplay.
Hope you find what you can enjoy in Path of Exile, but don’t force yourself to enjoy it.
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