PoE 2 SSF - The constant chase for 0.001 upgrade chance and loot scarcity. (PoE 2 Review)

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lupasvasile#5385 написал:

Unfortunately, SSF is not something GGG are on board with. They only added the option because a bunch of people insisted on it, but even then they clarified that this won't affect the game balance. POE will always be a trade "simulator".

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holyblazeer#7712 написал:

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lupasvasile#5385 написал:

Unfortunately, SSF is not something GGG are on board with. They only added the option because a bunch of people insisted on it, but even then they clarified that this won't affect the game balance. POE will always be a trade "simulator".

I disagree. I’d accept your statement if this were PoE1, where the game was developed first and SSF was added a few years later as an option, without any optimisation.

PoE2 launched with SSF from the start, and the fact I’ve taken three SSF characters to level 90 is a testament to how SSF-friendly progression has become. The only major hiccup is in the very deep endgame. Some people will quit at 90 and reroll, but some of us in SSF want to push to 100 and have it be at least fair. Take note, FromSoftware: make the game hard, but fair.

I am 100% aware that the problems I have listed is in trade league too, but at least you can afford to waste a significant dozen more of orbs, compared to an SSF player.

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lupasvasile#5385 написал:

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holyblazeer#7712 написал:

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lupasvasile#5385 написал:

Unfortunately, SSF is not something GGG are on board with. They only added the option because a bunch of people insisted on it, but even then they clarified that this won't affect the game balance. POE will always be a trade "simulator".

I disagree. I’d accept your statement if this were PoE1, where the game was developed first and SSF was added a few years later as an option, without any optimisation.

PoE2 launched with SSF from the start, and the fact I’ve taken three SSF characters to level 90 is a testament to how SSF-friendly progression has become. The only major hiccup is in the very deep endgame. Some people will quit at 90 and reroll, but some of us in SSF want to push to 100 and have it be at least fair. Take note, FromSoftware: make the game hard, but fair.

I am 100% aware that the problems I have listed is in trade league too, but at least you can afford to waste a significant dozen more of orbs, compared to an SSF player.

I believe they just used the same idea for POE 2: just add the SSF option so people don't start asking for it. They're already copying way too much from POE 1.

And even in POE 1 SSF is possible, you can reach 100 and do all the content, but it takes way longer, and is unnecessarily tiresome.
Even if trade has some of the same problems, the solution to those problems comes 10 times faster than in SSF. Still a huge advantage.

Bottom line is that GGG has always wanted a trade based game. You are free to play however you want, but the game will always be balanced around trade.

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0.3.0
The following Uniques can no longer drop, and will be reintroduced at a later date: Infernoclasp, Forbidden Gaze, Thunderstep, The Wailing Wall, The Fallen Formation, Wylund's Stake, The Deepest Tower, and The Remembered Tales.

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arandan#3174 написал:

The Deepest Tower is drop disabled. You can grind for it until the heat death of the universe and it won't drop.

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0.3.0
The following Uniques can no longer drop, and will be reintroduced at a later date: Infernoclasp, Forbidden Gaze, Thunderstep, The Wailing Wall, The Fallen Formation, Wylund's Stake, The Deepest Tower, and The Remembered Tales.

Never plan/play builds that require items that cannot be target farmed. That's been the case in SSF for over a decade and it will not change - ever.

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holyblazeer#7712 написал:

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lupasvasile#5385 написал:

Bottom line is that GGG has always wanted a trade based game. You are free to play however you want, but the game will always be balanced around trade.

That’s what I’m saying: PoE2 isn’t balanced solely around trade. From levels 1 to 90, you’ll do fine despite loot scarcity because T10–T5 tier mods aren’t that rare and are still viable.

If PoE2 wasn't SSF friendly, I wouldn't defend it.

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The_Song#4903 написал:

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holyblazeer#7712 написал:

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lupasvasile#5385 написал:

Bottom line is that GGG has always wanted a trade based game. You are free to play however you want, but the game will always be balanced around trade.

That’s what I’m saying: PoE2 isn’t balanced solely around trade. From levels 1 to 90, you’ll do fine despite loot scarcity because T10–T5 tier mods aren’t that rare and are still viable.

If PoE2 wasn't SSF friendly, I wouldn't defend it.

GGG only provides SSF solely to avoid people complaining about it not existing. Period.
GGG designs and balances both games solely around trade league, and the loadouts traders will have. Period.
GGG does not care about the game being SSF friendly, and any extent to which it ever is SSF friendly is functionally nothing more than coincidence. Period.

Any success you've managed to have if SSF is irrelevant. You've succeeded despite a lack of SSF balance and design.
What you've been told here by me and other commenters is at a level of undeniable truth.

And it's blatantly obvious.
They haven't done any of the things they'd need to do for it to make any sense to act like SSF is accounted for in their decisions.

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holyblazeer#7712 написал:

I’ve been playing mostly SSF in PoE 2 and clocked around 500hours. It’s made one thing painfully clear: loot scarcity and “0.001% chase upgrades” just don’t mix. I’ve rolled three SSF characters; two of them hit around level 90 and basically pushed me into Trade because a specific “deepest tower” unique refused to drop.

SSF does not pair well with upgrades that sit around a 0.001 chance. Without trade, there is no way to smooth bad luck. greater orbs/rare omens are the main path to real upgrades, and after roughly 200 hours I still didn’t see the Perfect orbs or rare omens. to push a build into proper end-game. I ran Tier 15–16 maps with 150–200% item rarity and progression stalled anyway because the tools to craft a great spear or even have a level 20 uncut gem to drop is scarce too for some odd reason, despite giving minor Dps boost.

Several mechanics make the stall worse. The 10% experience loss on death is harsh when progress is already slow. Performance dips from about 100 FPS down to 10 FPS happen, servers stutter, and there’s little sign of major optimisation. The same kinds of issues existed in PoE 1. In dense mapping, single-core CPU performance still matters most, and that becomes a bottleneck during high-end content.

There are strong points. The campaign is excellent. Performance and the story was excellent. The game mixes vertical and horizontal progression well. Gem multipliers carry damage comfortably through Acts and early maps, so loot scarcity isn’t a big issue there. PoE 2 is friendly to league starters; you can reach maps on basic gear and feel functional.

End game in SSF is where problems stack up. If your build relies on a uniques or top-tier craft, progress can halt for 100+ of hours. Logging in and running maps doesn’t reliably move your character forward when the required items and orbs rarely drop.

My view: SSF needs some long-horizon safeguards. Examples let there be more higher chance in the recombinator at a cost of higher material requirement, increase the chance for perfect/greater orbs drops, more deterministic targeting for key uniques, and reconsidering the 10% XP penalty at high levels if performance issues persist. The combination of ultra-low drop rates, orb scarcity, and technical issues makes late-game SSF progression unreasonably inconsistent.