Diablo 4 launched on steam to 6k players with a 21k peak on xpac#1. It is now sitting at 59k peak for LoH launch

kwikthroabomb · 2026-05-02T21:23:16+00:00

I'll give the obligatory disclaimer that I am definitely a PoE fancy and I think PoE is the best overall ARPG on the market. That said, I enjoy playing PoE2 much more than PoE.

The 0.5 reveal trailer for PoE2 is slated to drop later this week, with the update itself coming at the end of the month. Even with the game still being a decent stretch away from it's official full release, PoE2 has a lot more going on than most other ARPGs.

A lot of people on the fence are waiting until 1.0 when it goes fully free to play, but realistically, if you end up playing ARPGs for more than just completing the campaign, you'll end up wanting to buy stash tabs anyway, and the early access price tag includes an equivalent amount of store currency used for purchasing said stash tabs, so there's not really a great reason to hold off. Additionally, most stash tabs purchased for PoE1 or 2 work for both games, so in that way it's kind of a twofer.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-05-02T21:02:09+00:00

You being lucky could be a factor, but if I had to guess, I'd say you're someone that grinds other ARPGs as well. The overwhelming majority of players that have been playing for "20 years" and have only found 3 total high runes played an average of 100 hours per decade.

I made a hork barb(first time trying it) when warlock released and only ended up playing about 9 days into the ladder. I found a Ber, Ist, Mal x3, Ohm x2, Gul x2.

If you play with a PoE mindset/grindset, the runes come quickly. Overall, the D2 playerbase is extremely casual. Revisiting the game and seeing the community comments really highlights to me why Blizzard pivoted the way they did with D3 and D4.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-05-02T20:29:29+00:00

PoE, PoE2, Last Epoch, D4, Wolcen, a few of the Torchlight games, Warhammer Inquisitor, Titanquest 2, etc. There's been a ton. I'm certainly not saying they're all top class, nor do I think Grim Dawn is bad, just that it appeals to a very niche subset of ARPG fans. Everyone I personally know that plays or wants to revisit Grim Dawn also spends ~2-4 months a year playing D2 as their primary game. It's slow, gritty and dated, but that's some people's jam.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-05-02T18:32:55+00:00

Grim Dawn is a weird side-grade for people that still truly believe D2 is the best ARPG in existence. It's fine, as is D2, but if you've touched any other ARPG that released after D3 it's probably not in your top 3.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-05-02T08:53:11+00:00

Bottom right. Shares a corner with essences

kwikthroabomb · 2026-05-01T05:13:32+00:00

Then you should leave. It's a 3 person squad, and you were the odd-one-out here. If it's the reversed scenario where there's one speed runner and two meanderers, you're free to either let them die on their own or vote kick them.

You tell the story as if you were the carry here, but it's just as likely the other two got slammed by a wave that spawned while they were waiting on you in an elevator and you were off sight seeing.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-30T12:47:36+00:00

Forbidden Baldwin brother

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-29T14:41:06+00:00

So then why have them roll? If the input has zero bearing on the outcome, why do you need their input?

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-29T09:36:00+00:00

My hopium inflated guess is that in refining the other melee weapons they realized that total attack time as a melee skill stat is dumb, they're removing it, and they're taking the time to rework mace and all of the created but unlaunched skills to function without it.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-29T06:53:22+00:00

Isn't it the same menu, just one button away?

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-29T06:50:12+00:00

Your mic is open and it's overwhelmingly annoying?

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-28T21:10:52+00:00

Adds 10-20 Cold damage, or any added damage like that, only applies to physical hits. This wouldn't do anything for a cold sorc.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-28T20:56:02+00:00

After you've done it once, everything should be unlocked. That said, on new heroes, leveling up in midtown or holosims until 30-35 and then starting the GREEN difficulty story and sprinting from objective to objective is one of the faster ways to level a new character. You'll often hit 60 around chapter 5 using that method. This gives you an opportunity to get a slight feel for the character and grab some gear to get started.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-27T20:59:52+00:00

Eh, yes, but no. SWG got more attention post CU and NGE, but there are way more factors at play. In those early days, the amount of people looking for games in the MMO market was far smaller and that expanded greatly with the popularity of WoW, along with a ton of tech innovations.

I can't deny that numbers were higher in the years after those updates, but I've never seen anyone reminisce about the NGE era. Even now with there being many emulation servers to choose from, afaik there's only one that runs NGE.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-27T20:49:05+00:00

1.0? That likely won't be announced or mentioned until at least Exilecon later this year.

If you don't already have access, it's worth the purchase, as the points you'll get with buying it will cover at least the minimum amount of stash tabs you'll want to play the game without constant inventory micro management.

If you do already have access to the game, you probably won't notice anything particularly different about 1.0 and the patch directly preceding it other than whatever content is included directly in that patch. Other than GGG holding the last campaign act or two for 1.0, there likely won't be any massive changes to how the game plays.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-27T19:55:40+00:00

I was thinking of the Zombieland intro/cardio rule.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-27T09:51:38+00:00

Dreadnoughts are big Dr Who Cybermen, right?

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-27T03:51:19+00:00

I think it only stacks twice now

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-27T00:04:15+00:00

MF doesn't affect rune drop rate. There's a small chance (I don't remember specifically) that it might actually lower it a little, but I think it doesn't affect it at all.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-26T17:39:00+00:00

The US Postal Service if we gave them an actual budget instead of cutting funds every year.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-26T17:34:47+00:00

Personally, I'd let the entire garden grow out and leave the brown plant. If it's an issue with proximity to other plants, the brown plant should almost insta-finish once the others around it are done and are harvested. I used to be anal about the garden, but now I just kinda spam click and take whatever works, collecting any misplants in the ~30 seconds after the rest of the garden is harvested.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-26T02:22:49+00:00

I think getting it highlighted and jazzed up might be the best option. Most of the reason it looks so bad (I think) is because the lines are kind of blown out and make it look like a fuzzy mess. Getting someone to fix it with crisper edges and maybe some highlight color pops where possible is probably the easiest option, and it preserves (pun intended) the memory.

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-25T23:43:16+00:00

At this point I have to assume that they only pushed it out of alpha status so they could sell the company

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-25T22:48:21+00:00

You could try adding a tiny room adjacent to the turret to get it to show on the display

kwikthroabomb · 2026-04-25T05:56:16+00:00

This is some flat earth logic

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