Can someone please tell me what slow gem leveling adds to this game?

Across the several characters I have been building since I started playing PoE, I have always run into the same problem: the gem leveling time sink.

Unless I know exactly what gems I'm going to be using from level 1 onward, I end up being screwed out of legitimate use of a gem because of how much time it takes for it to catch up to me in level.


I recently respecced my templar to a fire caster, and want to use firestorm. I spent the last hour or so leveling it up against level 56 mobs, and it is now level 9, which is a a level 33 requirement. It only gets slower from here, and the damage is simply not viable at its current level. Am I supposed to grind for another 4 hours before it becomes viable? Is this bettering the game in some way that I am not seeing?

Why am I being punished for trying new things?


Earlier this week I was leveling my bow marauder, and I realized I could probably make use of poison arrow. I equipped the gem at around level 25, and I was level 40 by the time it finally caught up to me. I leveled up 15 times before I could actually get legitimate use out of it. Fifteen.



Can someone explain to me what the point of this is? One of the most enjoyable things about PoE is the the vast array of skills available to the player, but once you hit a certain level, it means very little because it simply is not practical to expect gems to become usable if you havent had them equipped for the last 15 levels. As I said before, I cant help but see it as a punishment to players that try new things.





Does anyone else feel similarly? It would be one thing if gem leveling were significant in some way, but as far as I can see, there is absolutely no depth to the system. It's just another grind that can either happen side by side with your character, or otherwise become a time sink.

It is a time sink. It also gives leveled, non-quality gems value.
Also, gems don't have an exp penalty for being in low-level areas, so you did not have to spend 15 levels waiting for it to catch up.

I'm pretty sure it's intended to be a grind, not as a time sink but to motivate players to treat gems as items constantly up for trade.

Needing things and preferring convenience promotes exchanging things, at least that's the sense I get from the devs' language about the economy and bartering.

Whats the point of having to level to get passive points?

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Phonics a écrit :

Whats the point of having to level to get passive points?

Why do I have to actually play this game?
Cant I just play this like the Asian MMOs where it does everything for me?

Wow. Straw man much? Leveling up your character is completely different from leveling up something that is completely detachable from your character and is an intrinsic part of customization. If you cant see the difference, then there's not much point in discussing the issue with you.

Gem leveling after ~lvl60 really is a pain, though. While leveling does benefit the game as a scaling mechanic and a form of value addition, the endless endgame slog is tortuous and often not worth the end reward. Especially seeing as the max level req for gems is 59.

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BRavich a écrit :

Wow. Straw man much? Leveling up your character is completely different from leveling up something that is completely detachable from your character?

Are you able to take away skill gems?
Yes

Are you able to take away passive points?
Yes

Nope, pretty much the same thing only with skill gems they hold a value to everyone unlike the passive points.

Why would I want to trade for a level one skill gem, when I could trade for a higher level skill gem? Sure I have to pay more but I was lazy and did not feel like grinding those levels into that gem for myself. Therefor I pay a price, it is either in losing a ton of currency items, or a ton of time in grinding. It is up to you what you prefer, but me personally? Id rather keep those currency items so that when new gear comes out, or someone finally wants to sell that thing I need to make my toon perfect I have it, instead of a skill gem I was to lazy to grind out.

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Asmoday1232 a écrit :

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BRavich a écrit :

Wow. Straw man much? Leveling up your character is completely different from leveling up something that is completely detachable from your character?

Are you able to take away skill gems?
Yes

Are you able to take away passive points?
Yes

derp

if you feel it takes too much time to level up a gem, im sure there are people that have firestorm already leveled you could trade for...

a skill gem and orb of scouring will make a gem lose a level, maybe the devs can make a recipe that will make gems gain a level?