Search the Community

I'd love it if the design team could address this question at some point. I'm not in the habit of using message boards, so apologies if I'm missing some of the etiquette or if this is addressed elsewhere (But I don't think it has been). If a veteran of RPGs plays PoE 1 with all the latest updates and expansions on the highest difficulty level, its entirely possible for them to advance levels very quickly relative to the core game content, particularly if they seek out and pursue lots of challenging side content. This is paradoxically offset by the frustration of *not getting XP* for kills, either because they hit the XP cap for monsters very quickly (as there are so many enemies on Path of the Damned) or because they out-level hostile NPCs. The main drawback of this is that it means a large handful of encounters become unchallenging for experienced players. Is this going to be addressed in PoE 2? Obviously its a relatively complex design issue; but, for example, probably the simplest solution would be to add an option that makes you level up more slowly (i.e. by requiring more XP). I'd love to ask this question directly of someone on the design team; I understand it's only relevant to a small group of veteran players but I just wanted to get this out there publicly. So excited for PoE 2! Edit: The title of this post should be: "Question about Making the Game Challenging" but I forgot the "M" and don't know how to fix it!

The reason I'm asking is because I followed the advice in this steam guide to get the companions early, only one problem, I ended up triggering a map encounter which is three levels higher than my party's actual level. The particular encounter is avoidable, so, it's not a gamekiller (I do have to be careful however) So, basically I'm asking, is it worth it to try and grab them quickly (at least the first four anyway) or if it doesn't matter? Like if the problem that the person who posted the guide (which is over two years old, don't know why I didn't notice that the first time) doesn't exist anymore.

I don't particularly enjoy playing with Monk characters. Will there be a way, I wonder, to respec the priest/monk character Xoti and yank out the Monk class levels? Or are we stuck with that?

The suggestion is pretty straightforward. In a level based game, the player has to be provided level information on the adversaries he faces. First, levels are a total abstraction. There is simply no real world skill that links to what Obsidian's designers decide a mob's strength to be. Sure, I can sorta guess a bear is going to wtfpwn my newbie self, but how soon can I come back? And what exactly is the difficulty level of a shadow which has no real world counterpart at all? And what about humans? How am I supposed to know how strong that sellsword is compared to my sellsword self? Now you can argue it adds difficulty and rewards learning and experimentation. And I'll counter that all it adds is save-reload when you guess wrong. And worse, it is a guess. I like being strategic in my fights and decisions. I hate save-reload. And yet, here I am, playing massive amounts of save-reload because I took on 3 high priests that could heal each other faster than the 6 members of my party could bring them down or because I took on what I thought was a group of ordinary bandits who turned out to be anything but. And don't even think about trying to guess when you can do your bounties. Just go straight to the web to get their levels. I also have this crazy dream where I'll finish this game on Path of the Damned. Except that changes all the levels and makes save reload impossible. So how exactly, short of constantly alt-tabbing to guides, am I supposed to know what I can and cannot fight at my current level? (as a side note, I like the game. This isn't bitching. This is wanting the game to be better.)

I'd like to suggest that the Devs strongly consider the PS2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and it's optional Labyrinth of Amala as inspiration for how to best implement the huge mega dungeon. For those that haven't played Nocturne here is a quick overview of how it worked. - The Dungeon first unlocks as a direct result of in game progress however entering it is strictly optional. - The first level of the dungeon is VERY hard for the level it unlocks but entirely do-able. Successfully completing it immediately grants very useful items for that point of the game. However if you wait until you're stronger to complete it the rewards will become progressively less useful. - Subsequent levels are unlocked by defeating difficult but (usually) optional bosses that become available as you progress through the game. - If you enter a dungeon level as soon as you're able too (by defeating the optional boss as soon as he is available to be fought) then completing said level will be difficult but do-able and you will be rewarded appropriately. The benefits for this I believe is as follows: 1. Every level has the potential to be challenging and rewarding -- but not overpowering -- for the time in game it becomes available. 2. It gives players basic gameplay ques as to when a new level is worth attempting (alternative to increasing difficulty of a dungeon without any real indication when you might consider trying it for a challenge), the player can then decide if they want a challenge and go immediately and not accidentally out level the difficulty curve of that level. 3. The game developers have an idea when a player will attempt the level at the earliest and may be able to work story progress both in and out of the dungeon. 4. Starting the dungeon at max level and then getting more difficult may sound fun -- but is there really that level of scalability for high level encounters that allows for 14 levels of increasing difficulty from the max level? 5. It gives the player a sense of progress as they get deeper into the dungeon and will look forward to the next time a dungeon level unlocks. 6. It prevents the dungeon by feeling like a grind by giving the player incentive to only tackle 1 or 2 levels at a time. Interested in hearing others opinion on the subject.