update: turns out he accidentally installed PoE 1 LMAO

my dad's thoughts about PoE2:

"it's not Balatro" however is a very valid and real argument

i think a lot of it is just being in EA, i'm assuming more of them will get populated over time

i ran a unique chestplate for a good portion of my monk playthrough but yeah, the quarterstaves are in the same boat - nothing usable past act 2 or maybe act 3 normal

oh almost definitely, but the lack of uniques on advanced/expert bases is a problem imo

it means that endgame is totally devoid of usable uniques outside of a few slots or weapon types (ring, amulet, belt mainly)

i don't mind the more boring loot pool but at least bring along ALL the loot

if all that changes? I think the game will be in a better spot than PoE1 for me. the combat mechanics feel much better and the difficulty ramps up a lot faster and stays engaging throughout. i just want a bit more crafting and a bit less time waste.

i hope GGG take into account all this feedback and remove body block from allies, increase currency and base item drop rates, add a scour-type currency, shrink town campaign maps and increase predictability, and make enemy choices on endgame maps more predictable

overall? i had a lot of fun playing through PoE2 - this is the first time I played a melee character in years and it was not only fun but totally viable. crafting the perfect gear has never felt so satisfying. with all that said, there's still a *lot* of room for improvement

-maps are way too big and way too unpredictable. spending an hour searching for a tiny pickup to progress a quest is not fun at all
-why are endgame maps filled with totally random enemies? a lot of the enemy choices feel very out of place and it leads to huge difficulty spikes

-i don't mind rolling random attributes but the complete lack of alterations/scouring and a massive lack of currency drops overall makes it a big investment to craft anything (and even then you might just strike out every time). we need a way to actually craft more than once on a base

bad:
-body block. body block makes doing most content with friends a nightmare.
-no phase on roll. rolling is the best addition, but you get stuffed in a locker and killed more often than any other type of death
-the RNG crafting emphasis is cool but the utter lack of currency is NOT COOL (cont.)

-similarly, no "advanced" or "expert" uniques is weak
-the UI is laggy and a bit confusing, especially when trying to move between zones
-no hideout until you find one on the map and beat it is a little frustrating since public towns tank your framerate

-passive refunds for gold? thank god
-as a sanctum enjoyer I'm glad it's back and integrated into the trials of ascendancy - way better than the other trial

meh:
-having a handful of bases that go up to "advanced" and "expert" versions is kinda... weak, honestly

pros:

-bosses feel absolutely amazing. stun meters, much better attack patterns, insane arenas, everything about them was a joy (except the hyena adds)
-making a viable build is insanely easy to do compared to PoE1 - i never felt walled due to passive/skill choices

crossposting from twitter:

okay so i cleared PoE2's campaign and started the endgame and i have a lot of thoughts

tl;dr the game feels amazing and bosses have literally never been better, but it needs a bit of tuning (and some decisions are baffling)

finishing up cruel act 3 and moving on to endgame maps in poe2! having a great time so far

come check it out: cable.games

hop on deadlock

via the magical power of "not queueing for a week" and "another ranked rework" i have now achieved the top rank in deadlock

there's one argument against balatro getting a GOTY nomination that I can vibe with

specifically: balatro is too similar to crack to be a video game, it's some new thing that we don't understand the ramifications of yet

you win one warzone game and actiblizz hits you with the skill based ping /s

if balatro doesn't win GOTY something is very, very wrong

the most creative and addictive game of the year by far; i'd also be *okay* with astro bot or metaphor

if DLC or a remake or a mediocre soulslike wins I will riot

will my ranked teammates stay for a full game this time? let's find out: cable.games

The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible and it kinda slaps?

it's probably the most trope-y isekai I've watched in a long time but the gags just hit so well

my favorite way to discover new anime is to scroll through my tiktok feed until i get an AI-narrated supercut of the first episode of some isekai slop which i will then consume in one sitting

right now i'm watching (i need a second tweet because the title is so long)

some elbow grease and headlight fluid, please

played the new warzone today and was pretty blown away by how good it was and how improved everything from the UI to the UX to the audio was compared to MW3 WZ

so of course reddit is complaining about it extensively because bright colors + clean fonts = cheap

no this is Patrick

it's time to climb from spooky gross skull mask rank to spooky sun man face rank

cable.games

sorry that was me, I was trying to tell you your socks were untied

today I walked tuah the polls and voted on that thang