so ive been playing d4 for a while now and though I like it in general, its only a poor excuse of what PoE offers.
d4 only offers a few cookie cutter builds, feels even more streamlined and dumbed down than d3 did and i dont see myself replaying it alot since its open world, from what ive seen so far, is biring and bland.
For me, I enjoyed D4 as a nice campaign. Played through a few times, once with my partner and another solo.
D4 pros: Impeccable game feel, moment to moment combat, graphics and even some nice storytelling. Enjoy the QoL features for alts and the myriad of endgame loops; Helltides are a lot of fun.
D4 cons: Dungeons are boring to me. Builds that feel fun and powerful are limited to 0-2 per class; a big letdown. Weird network / instance lag which stands out among the otherwise polished aesthetic. Middling open world re: exploration to reward ratio.
PoE pros: Deeeeeep. Hardcore. Aspirational? Still haven’t cleared the campaign despite getting closer each league. Lots of builds and skill variety.
PoE cons: Feels like the oldest baguette ever to exist. Wildly stiff gameplay. Ugh its such shit compared to D4. Like DMC vs Skyrim level of difference. Disparate, cheap feeling UI and tacked on storytelling. Exudes HardXCore__Statzz.xls energy and feels practically impossible to navigate a viable build without a guide.
In the end I think Grim Dawn outplays both D4 and PoE. Check it out if you love ARPGs
Grim Dawn gang
Can I also offer you a Grim Dawn in this trying time?
I don’t think PoE and Diablo 4 have the same target audiences. I for one had a lot of fun in the beta (haven’t bought it yet) because it was so streamlined and dumbed down. I’m not looking for a game where I have to theorycraft for hours with help from guides to find the right items to help create the perfect character, I just want to smash some zombies to bits with this cool new club I found 2 minutes ago
I played a lot of PoE and a bit of D4, IMO both are bad.
PoE has a lot of things, but everything is too complicated, theorycrafting is pretty much impossible without 3rd party tool, trade is annoying. Meanwhile D4 has is more streamlined, gameplay is too slow and there are not enough mobs. Open world feels empty and the game isn’t as polished as it should be.
I hope other Hack and Slash games will be developed in the future, because I think PoE and D4 won’t become better games.
Plenty Diablo players called for D4 to be closer D2 than D3 was. Fewer mobs than PoE is result of that - while in PoE you clear whole screens, D2 wasn’t nearly as fast or full of mobs, encounters were a bit more unique and demanded strategy. So in that way, I would say D4 succeeded.
I could never get into POE. I hate the skill gem system, it’s just so annoying.
That’s a valid stance to have, I’m just curious: what do you find annoying about it?
Why annoying? There are tons of resources to load up a build if that’s what breaks the deal for you.
The whole system is just so convoluted. If you have a build you like upgrading gear is just a chore. You need the right amount of sockets and the right type of sockets to fit the skill gems you’re using. Like just give me a skill tree with skills in it instead of tying the skills to gems. On top of that the talent tree is just a huge mess of utterly boring passives.
Whats PoE? The only thing i can think of is Power over Ethernet but i don’t think thats it.
path of exile, a free (as in beer) diablo like game
Ive played a lot of POE and also now am level 80 in D4, and in my mind they offer different experiences.
I completely agree, POE is definitely more hardcore and caters to a much grindier mindset than D4 does.
D4 is much more streamlined and designed for the ‘everyday person’. Which is historically what Blizzard did best. Think Civ vs Warcraft. Everquest vs WoW, CS vs Overwatch.
I am enjoying D4, and hope it will have a bit of longevity… but it certainly is not the same ‘itch’ scratch that a season of POE is.
They do different things for me.
PoE satisfies my creative side in the sense that I can find say, a great unique item, or support gem, want to make a cool build out of it, and give that a shot. I also love that the endgame experience is highly customizable (in the form of hideout, as well as map-running choices, atlas passives, etc)
I’m only level ~40 or so in D4 so take this with a grain of salt – although D4 doesn’t appear to have nearly the same level of customizability that PoE does, what it does offer me is an enormous world I can explore pretty much from the get-go. PoE is extremely linear, all throughout. Another thing D4 does really well is the feeling of its combat. Basic skills being a free, but weaker skill to help generate resource to more infrequently use a Core skill is a satisfying recipe, IMO. PoE would often feel like a screen clearing stomp-fest (and, at times, require it) and even though that can be satisfying in its own way, it’s more fun for me if I feel like I have to struggle and claw my way into wins.
Grim Dawn is better than both!
Seriously, though, PoE just feels terrible to play. Then again, I feel the same way about most Diablo clones, so if I’m in the mood for shinies I tend to play roguelites, looter shooters or Nioh 2.
I’m not sure I can change your view but will say that PoE was one of the most frustrating, clunky experiences in gaming I’ve ever had. I can’t remember how far I got but I remember ultimately feeling like the game was ugly and the story was boring and gameplay was irritating.
I like crafting my own builds and trying to mess with things on my own and PoE actively seems to prevent you from doing that effectively. The skill tree is so bloated and convoluted that to try and make something on your own with having an immense amount of experience in the game would be an exercise in futility.
For me, Diablo IV has been a great experience. At worst, it’s about as good as Diablo III, which I also happened to enjoy a lot. There’s no comparison on my end. I enjoy one of the game and wouldn’t download the other again unless I had a gun to my head.
POE has also been in development for 10 years.
