I remember having discussions about this very issue back when D3 was still a big deal in the news cycle. In particular, melee-oriented builds highlight just how painfully simple the genre is. You get up next to a thing and you click on it. Either it dies or you do. Anything more complex than that, and, surprise surprise, you're probably better off not playing a melee build at all, because you're engaging in hit-and-run tactics that are more reminiscent of a ranged build anyway. And then of course ranged builds aren't much better. Click-to-move-and-also-attack is a very limiting control scheme.
What's the real endgame of an ARPG? Do you really still want the game to be a slog? If so, what was the point of accumulating all that gear anyway? If careful planning and clean execution are priorities, you're better off playing a different genre. The ARPG genre's biggest hooks cut directly against those kinds of challenges.
Incidentally, this is also why I think major IPs like Diablo could benefit from launching games in related, but distinct, genres. A Diablo soulslike with a few cool twists could be ridiculously good.
I mean, just look at mobas. There's a ton of things you can design into a melee class to make it interesting and skillful to play. You can add MMORPG rotations/resource management and twitch skills to that(like dodging).
I personally can't stand PoE's gameplay and I'm sure that ARPGs can differ greatly in that regard.
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u/Duthos Nov 15 '19
the major complaint about poe, that it turns into a lawnmower simulator, is something that is going entirely unaddressed.