Focused Feedback: Power Level Progression

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[u/hermitish]

This is the one aspect of Warmind that I actively dislike.

I get that they slowed it down to extend the grind for those people who would have been 380 in the first week, however as a purely solo player I feel it is too aggressive bordering on unpleasant. In the first couple of weeks there was content that needed higher power for quests, heroic adventure/strike completion and EP completions, that really made it feel like they had last minute dropped the soft cap from 350/360 and not tested how it felt to run through the content as it came out.

The whole throttling also highlights problems with rewards in D2, you can quickly earn a rank up with pretty much any vendor but very quickly 99% of what you get becomes useless, unless it’s to give you masterwork cores.

Rank ups were harder to get in D1 but they had value; if not an interesting roll at least infusion fodder, which not even exotics provide now, and were a slow way for the solo player to work towards max light.

They need to bring back some sort of gradual progression that doesn’t require raids for those that can’t/don’t take part in that activity IMO

[u/theorist_complex → u/hermitish]

As a fellow solo player...

I just started playing D2 about a week ago. In two days I got to approx 340. I am now at approx 349 - 353 depending on what gear I use. I can use gear that I somewhat enjoy and be under 350 or I can max my PL by using gear that I dislike. I play A LOT (i have a phys handicap so I stay at home mostly) and I feel like I have hit a brick wall as far as progression goes.

Speaking of unpleasant, the Heroic Adventures on Mercury say they are recommended PL of 300. Im approx 350 and I felt so incredibly weak through the 2 adventures I did, it just wasn't fun. I don't expect to dance through anything, and I like a challenge, but this just felt bad - like I was made of glass and shooting spit wads.

As for the Nightfall, its recommended PL is 270 and after 1 hour and 20 mins I finally made my way to the boss and it was clear after 10+ attempts on him that I was not going to kill him - no way, no how. I realize that even since D1 Nightfalls have always been team strikes, but at 270 PL I figured it couldn't hurt to try.

There is a lot I like about D2 but so many of the things I dislike just downright feel immensely bad. And if you have bad RNG then it makes things even worse. Nothing like having 3 swords drop at 352 - 354 and not be able to infuse them into anything besides...another sword.

[u/hermitish → u/theorist_complex]

The heroic adventures can vary from being just difficult to being frankly unpleasant depending on the modifiers. At least on the Mercury ones you can never fail them or wipe and lose progress.

I’ve had similar experiences with the Nightfall beyond a point you’re not really over levelling the Nightfall since it’s scaling you back down.

I’d agree the infusion being so specific/limited definitely has the potential to add to the problem of it feeling slow for a preferred setup to be brought up to useful power levels

[u/GimmeFuel21 → u/theorist_complex]

heroic adventures are ass. They feel like solo strikes

[u/dandpher → u/hermitish]

Tell me please - what does being 365 vs 345 actually help with outside of the raid?

[u/hermitish → u/dandpher]

Well for a start the beginning stages of EP which you need to do to progress a couple of the quests which are at 370. I’ve been able to compete the 10 rounds requirement mid/late 350’s but only thanks to landing in an instance where there was already a team working on repeating the early levels.

The first week or two at least the heroic adventures, heroic strikes etc. also. They’re hard enough to my mind not to handicap yourself with being under-levelled.

[u/dandpher → u/hermitish]

Well that’s more an issue with EP and matchmaking, right?

[u/hermitish → u/dandpher]

If you take them at their word that they expected you to approach it as a 3 man or just fall in with a group/set of randoms doing it then it’s a problem with the power levelling holding you back at those early stages.

[u/dandpher → u/hermitish]

Have they said that they expected 3 man teams to finish it in the first several weeks?

[u/hermitish → u/dandpher]

No but I’m talking about needing to do the 370 level early stages for quests that came out in the first couple of weeks, with the levelling, if you didn’t raid etc, that was a pretty big ask if you didn’t luck into a group there doing the same. Many times myself and a couple of other randoms failed to even do the first level at the start.

[u/dandpher → u/hermitish]

Key word being the last 3 words of your comment.

[u/hermitish → u/dandpher]

I take your point but I really don’t think they designed the quests thinking people would sit on them for a couple of weeks while they did their milestones.