POE 2 balance for FUN versus CHALLANGE is interesting

So,

Some say the game is boring, maybe, or is it just annoying at times?

Some say the game is too hard, maybe, or is it just frustrating at times?

I'm level 32 so the Act 2 level 32 boss should be a fun fight, right?

But my gear isn't level 32, most of it is under level 20 and blue at best.

I don't have the needed resistances, my weapon is bad, all my items are bad.


I attempted the act 2 boss anyway, over and over again and I couldn't kill it.


Was I bored, or just getting annoyed?

Was the Boss too hard, or was I just getting frustrated?


Jonathan said once "players keep banging their heads at the wall"

Yes, we do. However, you determine RNG of items drops during the campaign.


My only option was farming the highest level I could to try and find items.

But that highest level was Dreadnaught, not the most fun in the world, right?

I farmed for 3 levels, and now my Character is level 35. I managed to get 3 level 9 skill gems to drop and overpowered my way past the act 2 boss.

The end result wasn't fun, it was relief. All my items are even worse now that I am in Act 3, because all I did was brute force my way past the Act 2 boss.

My character sits at the start of Act 3 now while I decide if I will continue.

For the Devs to Balance Fun Versus Challange when every player is dealing with their own RNG drops and skill level is going to be difficult/impossible.

Elden ring is a challenge, but it gives you spots where if you want you can farm exp for your weapon for an hour or two and brute force past that boss.

POE 2 (ARPG) doesn't have that mechanic built in. You can't sit at Dreadnaught and gain weapon level/tier exp till your weapon can one shot the Act 2 boss.

POE 2 "Challange" content means you can get stuck in a RNG farming loop where if nothing good drops you may be hard stuck in a campaign act for a long time.

If I didn't get those 3 level 9 skill gems, I may have quit altogether by now.

I would not have quit because it is boring or too hard, in a game where RNG determines your ability to pass "Challange" content, BAD RNG could = QUIT.

Jonathan if you want "Challange" in an RNG game. When people reach the Act Boss, they have to have the items drops needed for the "FUN FIGHT" to happen.

You cannot give people rubbish RNG all the way to the ACT "Challange" boss and expect that they will have a "FUN" experience.

... you know town vendors sell very solid gear at all levels, right?

"

Nubman#6211 wrote:

... you know town vendors sell very solid gear at all levels, right?

Sure, I checked the vendors at every level up but that's also RNG, right?

Example as a Minion Build, I need a scepter with + to Minion Skills and High Spirit at least. If it does show up, I'm having a good day.

If not, then I have to keep the best one I have even if that's till end game.

That's just 1 item, the weapon. Important but there is a lot more.

Challange content makes all your RNG result in a "FUN" fight or you're now "HARD STUCK".

Aside from levelling up, poe has ALWAYS been rng. Sure poe1 has a few ways to mitigate it (crafting bench), but rng has always been a huge part of poe..

we have magic find for a reason.

I have a 2 legendary drops, mostly rare gear now, and i am in act one.

Being all blue and low level blue, makes no sense to me unless your rng luck is that bad or you don't use magic find and finn and vendors.

"

Nubman#6211 wrote:

... you know town vendors sell very solid gear at all levels, right?

Gear you can't get without gold.

Gold you can't get in proper amounts unless you pick up every single magic and rare item which means constantly porting back to town to sell them.

Right now my character is at the Act 1 boss. I've checked the vendor on every level up and even gambled a few times with Finn.

She's level 17 and the only item that's above level 10 is the weapon I got just as I entered the manor.

Not gonna spend hours farming XP and hoping I get good drops or the vendor spawns appropriate gear.

"

Dragonfire#8575 wrote:

we have magic find for a reason.

I have a 2 legendary drops, mostly rare gear now, and i am in act one.

Being all blue and low level blue, makes no sense to me unless your rng luck is that bad or you don't use magic find and finn and vendors.

Magic find that has been nerfed into the grave.

Magic find that's only 1 possible mod out of dozens.

Magic find that's useless if it spawns on an item that isn't proper for your build and you can't equip due to attribute requirements.

I've gotten 3 legendaries, none of which work for my build in any way, shape or form.

I have 3 rares. One is an okay weapon I just got, 2 of them are level 4 with shit mods.

The rest is all magic items, the highest being level 8.

If you guys get to endgame, T1 and even T15 mobs are so fast they'll kill you instantly before you even get the chance to see them, and not just stuns that are the problem, these white mobs can literally one hit you.

Unless we revert back to 0.1 and start again the changes from there, me and my other friends will stay off of poe2 or GGG in general. They really messed up on this and I am sad as I thought I found a game me and my friends can waste our time for years. All that goodwill built up in 0.1 came crashing down in 0.2.

We are playing a game to have fun and be entertained, make memories. Not get another job, if I wanted a 2nd job I should at least get paid for it.

"

Nubman#6211 wrote:

Aside from levelling up, poe has ALWAYS been rng. Sure poe1 has a few ways to mitigate it (crafting bench), but rng has always been a huge part of poe..

Sure but you're missing the point.

POE1 was not being balanced around "Challange".

You could never be hard stuck in POE1 because you could craft past the "Challange".

Make it simple.

POE2 Act2 Boss does Lightning and weak to Cold.

You can craft both the weapon and armor to defeat that in POE1, craft past it.

POE2 if you can't RNG lightning resistance then you are hard stuck until you find it. If you can't RNG good damage, you may not sustain your life flasks from the damage hits you are taking.

They are balancing the Boss "to kill you" with no in game mechanic other than RNG or trading to get you past it.

I'm trying to explain it will be difficult to get the game to a point where the "Challange" fight will ALLWAYS be "FUN" without reducing the possibility of BAD rng.

You ALMOST need to have a vendor outside the BOSS ROOM that sells the Minimum requirements just in case the person has had zero luck for RNG to that point.

Maybe it sells a crafting material that guarantees to add some extra lighting resistance to any item (other than a rune or that needs a socket) and another that adds some amount of cold damage to your weapon/spell.

The added stats vanish from the items once you arrive at the next Act.

You don't need lightning resistance, if you can consistently dodge the bosses attacks. You can solo the boss with a vendor bought weapon and 0% lightning resistance without issues. You also don't need cold damage - any single target damage build from any class kills the boss effectively.

If people complain about RNG its basically always they do not dodge effectively or don't use a meaningful synergy that leads to good single target dps (e.g. they use AoE skills versus the boss instead).