Leveling for Hardcore/Veteran players

The only reason as of today I quit.

I never played anything other than HCSSF and I've more than a total of 1400 hours of gameplay on two accounts with no endgame character alive.

Long story short, I've naturally memorized and created the most efficient way to level possible without any guides because half of that gameplay time was within the first 8 weeks of the release so no guides were better than my own.

So I've played 12 hours a day while maintaining work and gym that's how I'm obsessed with this game. It was fun and all but then I've realized. Most of my gameplay time is leveling and that is an absurd friction that is unnecessary and adds no value to the gameplay, at all.

It should be faster, less repetitive and void of storytelling to level up after you reached a certain treshold. Like some sort of a heirloom system or even shortened campaign, say last three acts for reaching level 60, ffs it's 2025.

Yeah, you can criticise because I play only HC and that's what I've signed up for etc but considering I've more than 2k hours in another ARPG that has released a decade worth of content that I wouldn't otherwise bothered with if not for the "mapping" system present for leveling up.

Its not the same with poe2 and should be fixed because as a solely hardcore player for these types of ARPGs this stopped clicking for me.

Ive probably leveled more characters than the %0.5 of poe2 players and I'm not exaggerating so I believe I've a say in this.


This is a feedback so don't come over here to tell me how it's meant to be as hardcore etc

This is for the devs.

They should add/change this leveling system or it has to be a done deal for me.

Suggestion:

Make a leveling system similar to mapping. Let us just ARPG the f our way through the levels rather than doing hundreds of campaign runs over and over and over and over again.

Give us the freedom to take risk for better xp at the expense of losing the character or the progress unless the map is completed fully once started etc. The sunk cost risk will feel more fun than just mindlessly following a campaign that you already memorized.

Also:

I forgot that this is a RMT game(oh you think it's not? lol) so yeah, pseudo economy exist. Worried you would break it despite the fact that it's almost always broken ?

Make new leveling system with maps take approximately same time as the average campaign completion and adjust the loot accordingly. Make risk modifiers give more xp not drops.

Edits: better phrasing and trimming

I played HC from back when the game had 3 Acts till Abyss. I quit playing it in Abyss.

I quit because it had become painfully apparent they no longer even tried to balance the game for what used to have a fairly healthy HC community. I still remember the exact situation that made me quit. Soul Eater on an invis/Invulnerable Abyssal rare hiding behind a wall.

There was nothing I could have done as melee in that situation at that time.

There were meme gifs of that same enemy floating around swinging at 1000% Attack speed.

Take it from an ex HC player. It's not worth your time.
Esp in PoE2 where they can't even get basic skill design right.

I'm sorry but we are not on the same page.

As I've put this is for feedback and suggestion and not complaining of your cause of death.

And I do think poe2 got their skill design quote alright.

It is worth my time hence I played it 12 hours a day for 2 months straight and I look forward to keep playing if they make changes to the leveling system.

Because you will die and you will level another toon. And this cycle will never end. That's hardcore.

So please let's not saturate this feedback thread with your complaints.