The new league Delirium is doing quite well in the Hack and Slash Path of Exile (PC, PS4, Xbox One). However, criticism is slowly forming against the developers and their approach.
What is being criticized? Path of Exile (PoE) is not an easy game. And players love that. They enjoy the challenge. Yet currently, following the launch of the Delirium league, there is criticism because of this.
It seems that the situation with the difficulty level is slowly getting out of control. On reddit, user Kamantum asked whether the developers are only focusing on the top 0.1% of PoE players.
As I think about the last few leagues, I have the suspicion that many of the problems with the mechanics are due to the developers trying to make the game harder for the top 0.1% of players. Maybe just ignore these players for the next league. Forget that they even exist. Let’s see how it goes and use this data to take further measures to improve the game.
Kamantum on reddit
Is Path of Exile too hard?
What exactly does the player mean? Kamantum explains that he does not want an easy Path of Exile. He loves the high difficulty. He just believes that the new game mechanics primarily target the top players. And those are not many. He cites the effects of Delirium on death, which come with partly drastic penalties.
According to Kamantum, such harsh mechanics like in Delirium are simply aimed at the best of the best. Everyone else suffers as a result. According to him, the game mechanics are designed so that top players are greatly challenged. But for others, the difficulty level becomes unfair.
What are players saying about the situation? Kamantum’s comment sparked a discussion on reddit, garnering him some support. However, some are a bit more skeptical.
- Saboteur comments on reddit: “I believe the problem is that if they make the game too hard, they can take it back and people will be happy about it. But if they make it too easy and later try to increase the difficulty, people will be angry that they are now being punished and their build doesn’t work. At least psychologically, it works better to make the game too hard and unfair right now.”
- SkepticSMT says: “So many new players are starting to play this game and are being finished off by mechanics like Delirium and are quitting. The developers are really thinking only about the 0.1% and are losing many more players because of it. That needs to change!”
- claptrapMD has a different view: “It’s a double-edged sword. Make the game hard enough and players who love a challenge are happy. If the developers make it casual so everyone can succeed, then players finish it in a few days and then stop playing. Harder is better in my opinion.”
What do you think? Has Path of Exile become too hard? Or do you like these challenges?
- Despite the high difficulty Path of Exile is reportedly becoming more popular according to the head of the developer studio.
- Let’s see how the remaining PoE expansions this year will change the game further.
