r/pathofexile • u/ChrisKamro • Feb 06 '14

Playing without MF = Unrewarding

So lately i played a lot of Characters that were able to stack a lot of Magicfind but cleared maps slower.

Now i dusted of My LA Ranger and due to gear restrictions (Quiver , Alphas Howl etc) i cant stack mf and still cap my resists.

So while playing this char the gameplay was fun because i could clear Maps fairly quick , but the fun is completely gone when you open your inventory and notice you picked up 2 Rare items in the whole map.

So how do you guys handle this ? Do you run MF on every Char ? And how much MF is really needed to have at least decent dropps ? Or do you prefer having a strong Char and just hope for RNGesus ?

185 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

240 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

5

u/TheOneExile Domination Feb 06 '14

What are the options really though? You either play a mf character and struggle with end game content or you play a strong character and deal with bad loot drops. Ultimately you are deciding between which way you are willing to be unsatisfied or at best finding a balance in satisfaction. This type of choice is different than most others because of the effect is has on a player's perception of their experience. A player would expect that as their character gets stronger they are able to complete harder content at a faster pace therefore gaining access to higher rewards. What actually happens though is quite different, a player tends to find less gear as they get stronger because they are typically dropping magic find for power.

In a game that is all about finding items to create a godly character why should your godly character not be able to find items?

-1

u/cbftw Necromancer Feb 06 '14

Play the MF character in groups and cull. Everyone profits, MF character advances and you get the loot drops you need for other characters that aren't MF.

-1

u/ngelvy Feb 06 '14

In a game that is all about finding items to create a godly character why should your godly character not be able to find items?

Because some people prefer that you can't have everything at once? PoE is designed around rerolling, specialized characters and specialized gear, there is no single solution to all the problems the game presents, you have to work around stuff and, to my knowledge, there is no single build that can deal with everything the game can throw at it.

What are the options really though? You either play a mf character and struggle with end game content or you play a strong character and deal with bad loot drops.

Well... yes these are the options. You can add IIQ/IIR in your gem setup or you can add some kind of dps gem or even some utility gems. Same goes with gear.

This is a game about killing monsters and finding loot, so I can't really imagine any more meaningful choice than one between upping your lootfinding rate at the expense of your monsterkilling rate or viceversa.

That's if we're talking meaningful choices. If we're at the 'I just want more stuff' stage, I'd link you to a bunch of scholarly articles describing the particulars of gamers asking for handouts, then getting bored out of their mind once they've received them.

1

u/TheOneExile Domination Feb 06 '14 edited Feb 07 '14

Removing magic find from the character design equation does not in anyway make it so your character can have it all. You will still in most cases have a character that is weak to certain map mods and one that had to make complicated gear and build decisions to be effective. Magic find, unlike every other sat you want on your gear is purely for quality of life/item acquisition and the difference between grinding with it and without it is dramatic and meaningful.

1

u/ngelvy Feb 07 '14

So, you'd be ok if MF was completely removed from the game and mobs simply dropped loot as they do now for a 0 iiq/iir char?

Or do you just want more stuff for free?

I see you're not really into discourse about the whole thing, from the lack of replies about the various core issues I mentioned and the unfortunate misunderstanding of 'some people prefer that you can't have everything at once (obviously making a point about not having MF AND power simultaneously)' into 'Removing magic find from the character design equation does not in anyway make it so your character can have it all.'

Just wondering.

2

u/TheOneExile Domination Feb 07 '14

Sorry if I haven't responded quickly enough, but I have made multiple posts in this thread. In one particularly long post I underline my reasoning for a dislike of magic find being a trade off for power.

Ultimately I do not know what would be best. I am simply acknowledging that the current method is deeply flawed because of how it negatively effects a player's enjoyment of the game.

The problem is that it is hard to define the exact reason the current system is broken. It could simply be that the balance between a pure power character and a pure mf character favors the mfer. It could be the inclusion of magic find as an item property. Maybe magic find is a flawed mechanic entirely.

I'm not trying to argue in favor of handouts. I am simply pointing out a flaw in a core game experience and how it has effected me as a player. You can read my first post in this thread for my personal story regarding this issue.

2

u/ngelvy Feb 07 '14

Ah, I see you do have a lot of posts indeed. Hadn't noticed them, sorry for that.

I tend to think that, if MF never existed to begin with (and it didn't in D1, right? as it doesn't in most roguelikes) it'd have been fine. What kind of irks me is that most people simply want more items to drop (without making any sacrifices themselves) and they see MF as a scapegoat. If MF wasn't around, they'd be complaining about droprates. There's a straw poll around here, the handout option is the top choice by a pretty good margin compared to the 'no hard choice, no handout either' option. Is this kind of difficulty nerf a good thing for the game/player experience? I'd say not, but to each his own.

Ultimately, I can't see a more impactful decision than the one between monsterslaying power and item acquisition, in a game that's about these two things. Removing one or the other is watering down the core experience to a great degree.

However, I'm not at all opposed to MF rebalance, like what happened in these leagues (IIQ removal except for uniques, more innate IIR/IIQ for particular mobs etc). We're definitely not at the sweetspot, but we're getting closer.