I knew you were going to say that, in an attempt to make it all encompassing. We could certainly quibble about the ‘impacts’ and whether or not that affects me as a singularly solo driven player, but I still won’t care about multiplayer.
My only multiplayer request is that no content (in terms of gear, achievements and what not) shouldn’t be gated behind multiplayer. Multiplayer should get stuff more efficiently because well, more players. There can even be unique monsters only in MP. And yes, I absolutely and totally recognize I’m in a very small minority and the devs should most certainly not listen to that minority as a matter of course. And I’m totally good with that because REFER TO PARAGRAPH 2.
This sounds more like a pre-development pep talk. I would state the contrary.
Majority of the hours by ARPG players go to the endgame and I’m barely seeing any of it. I would say that the devs shouldn’t fall in the “TRAP” of working too much on the story and acts. I can tell you that if the game launches with the endgame which it has right now with no improvements, I won’t be playing it again as there’s nothing special in the endgame.
If you believe that there are true problems, these can be solved by giving feedback on what exactly you think should be changed and why.
You have your prerogative for an opinion and I am not downplaying it but you should take it as it is - an opinion, a matter of taste; not a solution to a supposedly existing problem.
I for one would be totally fine if multiplayer would never be implemented. I like end-game actually, new builds, but all I really want is a loot filter. Everyone wants something else, and that’s why this is a tough decision for the devs.
Certainly, all phases of a game should be enjoyable to a range of audiences (casual, hardcore, co-op). But, the reason end game becomes a focal point for developers is that it usually defines the staying power of a game. In the old days, when you paid $60 for a complete product and never shelled another dime, that might have been less of a factor. But, in today’s gaming world of microtransactions (even if they are tied exclusively to cosmetics), a game has to stay fresh and interesting or your bottom line will suffer immensely.
PoE has a pretty good system – using seasons to add new mechanics, which freshen up the entire game, rather than focus on end game only. But, if they had never released the atlas system or shaper/elder how many times would the new seasonal mechanics work to compel you to play the story mode?
Last Epoch has done a good job so far making classes and skill trees diverse enough so there is inherent replay value before you ever reach the end game. I imagine that will continue even after Rogue is in, along with the other subclasses such as Runemaster. But, it’s probably far cheaper to add one new end game system (such as MoF) than it is to design, animate, voice and balance an entirely new class with subclasses.
If anything, the way in which EHG has phased in their content, they are overly focused on the campaign and replay value vis-a-vis diverse classes with end game content largely taking a back seat (until most recently – and MoF isn’t fleshed out entirely yet).
If I may give my opinion on this, as someone who loves arpgs since the first diablo, I don’t really care for end-game content, and I find it silly that a game starts there, like d3.
For me arpgs have always been about the journey, the leveling up and trying different builds/chars. I don’t care about multiplayer as well. I do like there’s an option to keep playing after you reach the end of the story, but it’s just never quite as satisfying to me as when you’re trying to make do with whatever you find at your own disposal.
With that being said, I’m fine with devs devoting resources into end-game, as long as it doesn’t turn into d3’s “the game starts at max level” shenanigans.
I think one of the reasons why an end game focused dyanmic exists is that ARPGs don’t typically have a detailed story and characters are not fleshed out in the way they are in other genres (such as pure RPGs like Mass Effect). Ironically, the Diablo series probably leads the pack on having an actual background story and cutscenes.
The strength of ARPGs is the positive feedback loop between hunting for stronger gear, then watching your character grow in power and overcome content. Of course, this takes place organically starting from level 1. But, the impasses and plateaus typically first start to show up in the end game phase. Where that line in the sand is drawn can vary from game to game or even player to player. Generally, though, this is why “the game starts at max level” (or better stated, “the game starts at end game”). Very few players struggle to reach the end game and for those players, they may even define end game as the upper levels of the story campaign.
I get what you mean, no doubt. The thing I loved the most about diablo, was how the story unfolded despite of your character, and not because of it. How, besides the cinematics telling you how the world was moving along, you had to puzzle together these little pieces to get a fuller picture. You were never the protagonist in the story, you were just the representation of the band of adventurers chasing Diablo.
Diablo 3 did away with all that, and became worse for it. I still played it a lot, got into the hc leaderboards at some point, even though I wasn’t actually trying. My point in all this is that even though I played a lot of D3, it never was really as memorable as the other two games, because the focus on the end-game meant the journey to get there was trivial, just a formality. And for me, it really is the journey that counts, that sense of discovery, of making choices and getting stronger. I’ll still play the end-game content as long as it keeps offering that feeling, but it usually doesn’t last, and leads to a new story, different char, different build, whatever. But if the game is trivial until you reach end-game, then there’s not much joy in doing it again (despite how fast you can do it), at least, that’s how I feel about it, and what ultimately makes me not play.
Obviously this is only my perspective on this matter, I understand other people enjoy different things, and that’s how it should be…!
in an attempt to make it all encompassing. We could certainly quibble about the ‘impacts’ and whether or not that affects me as a singularly solo driven player, but I still won’t care about multiplayer. 