This Game may not be for you and it most definitely is not Dark Souls

Hello and welcome young reader.

I shall try and use language that you may or may not understand.

This game is fire. Fire no go out because you cry and feel under the pressures of white privilege. (Dear PC police. Do not worry I shall refrain from further micro-aggressions. As hard as it may be)

If you say your final goodbye, feel free to stick to it.

There are 100s of posts that are equivalent dumpsterfires like the 100s that are here already. All citing the mindless mantra of "GGG if you do not do X,Y,Z then this game is going to fail".

A few months from now at least 70% of you will return to sink in more cash, more hours and then jump back on the forums to release some liquid human salt from your tearducts over X,Y,Z mechanic, boss move, "uNfaIr PunIsHmEnT" that you do not enjoy.

Guess what? Time to grow some digital you know what (see PC police? No baddy words used for the fluffy ones!).


And for the love of everything stop comparing this game to Elden Ring or Dark Souls. This is an ARPG. Not a RPG. If you do "no comprende then read up on it.

Anyhow.

Here is some actual feedback:

This excludes any bugs, unfinished endgame experience (because Early Access-read up on the definition fluffy ones), or lack of content

1. Maps

Maps need a definite overhaul. Nobody likes circling back to kill some randy rares. I suggest making them visible right from the get-go or have some proximity detection going (even though that would still be worse than just having them lit up on the map).

Mapsize:

Should really be its own point but whatever. I do not mind the size of a map if the layout is good. Currently, size is really annoying when paired with say Mire or Backwater.

2. Mapclutter

Essentially all tied to the point of maps but for sake of overview etc:

There is way too many things to get stuck on. You had good map-layouts in PoE 1. You do not need to divert all that much from what you had going there. Use your own advice from GDC "Recycle textures and layouts" but with a fresh design. No need to get crazy creative.

3.No deterministic crafting at all

I have learned throughout my life that the answers to problems tend to never lie on either side of an extremist spectrum.

Thus, having exclusively deterministic crafting is just as bad as none at all.

Currently this is a "grab a base, magic, rare and pray. If stats come out semi-okay maybe regal and/or exalt slam." - kinda situation. It is not horrible but it also doesn't feel pleasant.

Alterations are okay to be in the game. So is a crafting bench.

4. Vendor Recipes

Well essentially what it says. Reforging bin AND vendor recipes can exist simultaneously. That is ok and simple QoL. Or give options as in vendor recipes being able to be executed in the reforge bin. Same result. Also won't lead to some crazy overpowering but can offset current abyssmal early game droprates

5. Breachshards/Delirium Shards

Have regular loot such as exalted, divines, maps etc drop along the way. Have shards, catalysts and deli pots drop collectively at the end of a cycle. Reduces clutter, visibility issues and urge to stupidly pick up stuff along the way because you do not want to run backwards constantly.

6.Genuine Travelabilities

You know the ones. Flamedash, Leapslam, ShieldCharge, etc

Note how I called them travelabilities because the sheer current mapsize has nothing to do with movement and more like planning a family vacation in a foreign country. I plan things. I plan my sparetime and I plan being spontaneous too.

This might just be a me-thing. Nonetheless, I feel the need to stress the importance of slowing down overall game pace feels ok but not being able to efficiently or quickly traverse a map by developing map-knowledge etc and utilizing travelskills efficiently, is really a chory kinda vibe. Not fun in the longrun and, as Chris said during GDC "leads to players burning out and not returning" (Obviously taken out of context)

Back to the drawingboard on that one imho. Doesn't hurt the vision to move efficiently.

7. Early game droprates

They are terrible. I have leveled 3 characters to maps thus far and maybe plan on doing so for all basetypes just to see how they feel.

If it weren't for my couple of late(r) game characters being able to farm some gold etc it would suck as bad as doing the first character.

Have it drop a little more or have the crafting bench? That made PoE 1's campaign tolerable.

Also: Time for some level-uniques such as goldrim, tabula (find a new way to make a new tabula equivalent) etc Some early chase items are always good fun.



That's honestly all I can think of for now when ignoring the obvious things that happen with Early Access titles.

Toodles.

PS: If you read this far, betcha you thought it was gonna be a pure trollpost. Clickbait works apparently.

+1.

I think map checkpoints were the right idea just poorly implemented. But someone said in a video "if maps need checkpoints then it means something is broken". And anything that resembles a rats nest of tunnels and pipes sucks.


I think all the classes should have some kind of movement skill to jump a screen.

Like I didn't like what they did with blink. Dodge roll should not be confused with blink.

The difficulty is fine except for league mechanics like breach that don't work well in tiny spaces.

The bottlenecks really help some classes like sorceress and really hurt some classes like warrior.

I think a lot could be done just buffing base movement speed.