Poe 2 further away from the ''Broader Audience'' goal

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Sakanabi#6664 a écrit :

So everyone who is not "hardcore" is automatically "casual" now? Nothing in between?

And by "exploits/bugs" i didn't mean spirit ashes and over-leveling. I meant real exploits/bugs like Giant Jar exploit where you let enemies fall from the cliff and die which is used by casuals to get over challenges.

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NightZombie_SA#6811 a écrit :

this post is pretty much what i was saying in my angry rant that deleted and i just put it back on the forum. the moment you start telling the truth that the devs dont know what they doing it gets removed.

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Japonbu#0742 a écrit :

I need to vent a bit because, honestly, I'm confused about the direction of this game.

We were told for years that PoE 2 would be the game to fix the "barriers to entry" of PoE 1. We all know PoE 1 is niche; it requires a PhD in spreadsheets to understand fully, and that scares away new players. PoE 2 was supposed to be the answer—a game with better combat, cleaner mechanics, and a more welcoming experience for the "casual" or broader audience, while keeping the depth for us veterans.

So why does GGG keep adding layers of unnecessary frustration and complexity?

Look at the current Fate of the Vaal mechanics. Why do I need a degree in architecture just to run a temple? Why is the system designed so that if I make one wrong connection or create a loop, my entire progress "destabilizes" and gets deleted? This isn't "hardcore" or "challenging"; it's just tedious. Instead of making the game fun and accessible, they are doubling down on convoluted systems that punish you for not knowing obscure mechanics. If the goal was to bring in new players, scaring them away with a temple mechanic that bricks itself is definitely not the way to do it.

It feels like every patch adds more "friction" instead of fun. Here is a breakdown of why the community (and myself) is losing patience;

1. Druid: The "Bear" Trap
Everyone was hyped for the Druid. It was supposed to be the heavy hitter. But the reality? It feels clunky.
We wanted to smash things as a Bear. instead, we realized that shapeshifting animations are too slow and lock you in place. Most "optimal" Druid builds right now are just staying in Human form and casting spells like a wizard because it’s 10x smoother.

The class highlights the ongoing issue where being in melee range is a death sentence compared to ranged.
It’s mid-February and we still have bugged interactions with Herald of Ash/Ice and Spirit Gems on certain forms.

2. The "Fate of the Vaal" Disappointment
This league mechanic is arguably one of the worst in terms of respect for player time.
Why spend 4-6 maps carefully planning and building a Temple of Atziri, risking a "destabilization" that deletes rooms, when I can just run a random Ritual or Abyss and get better loot in 5 minutes?
As I mentioned, the mechanic is needlessly complex. It kills the flow of the game. It doesn't feel like a modern ARPG mechanic; it feels like a puzzle game where the punishment for losing is wasting an hour of your life.

3. Endgame is Still Missing in Action
We are more than a year into Early Access, and the "Endgame Rework" promised back in 0.2 is still a ghost.
The map layouts are still plagued with dead ends and backtracking. Feels like a running simulator.
The drop rates for currency in T1-T10 maps are abysmal. You can’t craft because you don’t have the mats. Running 50 maps to find 1 Exalted Orb isn't a "grind," it's a job.

4. Technical State & The "Ghost Town" Effect
The retention numbers for Patch 0.4 are alarming. Historically Low.
We are seeing drop-off rates worse than some of the worst PoE 1 leagues. People are quitting not because they are "done," but because they are frustrated/bored.
Crashes are still frequent, especially for controller players or when interacting with the cosmetics panel. It’s 2026; these should be ironed out by now.

5. The Fear of "Soon™" (Patch 0.5 & 1.0)
With Jonathan confirming that the 0.5 showcase isn't until late April, we are looking at another 2+ months of this stale meta.
The constant pushing back of features (Act 5, Endgame rework) makes us worry that the 1.0 Full Release won't actually happen in 2026.
What are we supposed to do until May? The current content isn't enough to hold the player base, and the "Vision" seems to be getting blurrier with each update.

I love this franchise, but GGG needs to stop confusing "tedious complexity" with "depth." We need the fun back.

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stkmro#2432 a écrit :

Hi there,

POE2 is the king of ARPG and the game completely demolishes all the competitors.

In order to be the king of ARPG, the game needs to be as complex and challenging and difficult as much as possible.

If people can figure the mechanics in 24 hours, then the game becomes worthless and nobody will want to play the game anymore.

Are high end Rolls Royce and Ferrari more premium than the cheapo Kia and Suzuki? I believe everybody knows the answer better than me.

If poe2 degenerates into a cheapo game, then I believe it's pretty much that the game will die soon. Better to be a high end Ferrari than to be a cheapo brand.

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Japonbu#0742 a écrit :

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Sakanabi#6664 a écrit :

So everyone who is not "hardcore" is automatically "casual" now? Nothing in between?

And by "exploits/bugs" i didn't mean spirit ashes and over-leveling. I meant real exploits/bugs like Giant Jar exploit where you let enemies fall from the cliff and die which is used by casuals to get over challenges.

The middle ground exists, but you do not hit 459,263 concurrent players or sell 25 million copies without the casual demographic heavily participating. The sheer volume requires them.

And regarding Elden Ring, you are cherry-picking cheese tactics while ignoring the massive, intended accessibility mechanics. Spirit Ashes and open-world freedom were not bugs; they were deliberate design choices by Miyazaki to help the broader audience beat the game without needing exploits.

PoE 2 lacks those intended safety valves. It relies on friction and punishment, which alienates both the casuals and the mid-core players who do not treat gaming as a second job.

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Babonzo#0016 a écrit :

I think a big part of the frustration comes from the fact that PoE 2 often feels like two separate games packed into one: the Campaign and the Endgame. They don’t really "talk to each other".

The Campaign allows experimentation, closer combat and a certain rhythm, but once you hit Endgame, that same build progression often gets undermined and you’re pushed toward safer, long-range, off-screen playstyles.
And the problem, in my opinion, isn’t that the Endgame is hard, but that it changes the rules of the game without warning.

When the systems you’ve learned and enjoyed suddenly stop being viable, it doesn’t feel like meaningful difficulty: it feels like your time and choices were invalidated.

Until GGG closes this gap between Campaign and Endgame, disappointment is kind of inevitable.