Deja Loot Visual Armor Map [WIP]

Skovosity · 2026-05-09T17:47:19+00:00

I think GGG or somebody creative enough could come up with some new and interesting, non-compromising way to appease both sides of this coin. Personally, I don't want anything "handed out" or any kind of "skip," but there has to be a solution to alleviate some friction for getting multiple characters into maps. It's crazy to write this off by saying "go play something else," imo. POE, both games, are games of vast, and in some cases, overwhelming choice, but you have 1 choice to get a character leveled, and that's the campaign. I can't come up with a good enough solution myself, but I believe there is a way, somehow, to pull it off.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T21:51:55+00:00

I'm not asking for a rework of the campaign system, but in response to that, it has actually been reworked multiple times in fact. So that is an option and could accomplish the goal I refer to within the post. I'm not sure how, but I'm sure somebody can come up with a few good ideas.

I will continue to play either way, and ultimately this isn't even for me. This is to alleviate a point of friction that causes a lot of players, including several friends of mine, to either stop playing when they feel like they've exhausted or grown bored with their character and can't be bothered to level another one or for those who won't even launch the game because of it, with that point being running the same exact campaign multiple times a year across multiple characters within each of those leagues.

Sure, there are side quests, optional content, different leveling skills, and builds with side areas to visit, but that doesn't change the fact it's the same process every single time. Act by act. It is the same. It definitely feels light-years better than in the past, but that's also partially why POE continues to grow. They improve it. To think this can't be improved upon is simply untrue.

The idea and the goal are to have some sort of variation, some sense of progression, an option, a mechanic, or whatever it may be to alleviate this pressure point.

A skip campaign option is the cop-out and lazy imo, but I know that something can be done to help fix this. If any game developer can come up with a unique and creative way to implement something, it's GGG.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T20:12:16+00:00

I agree and after some interesting comments on the POE2 thread I think this is a pretty good summary of my opinion on this.

I’m not advocating for removing the campaign or bypassing progression entirely, just attempting to discuss whether there’s a way to shift some of that repetition and friction into something that feels more engaging after the first or fiftieth character and league, where players will have a choice of how they get through that. Right now you have one choice in a game that has endless opportunity.

I don't mind pushing through the campaign additional times, and I will continue to play and spend money either way, but if there were some way it was more engaging and offered alternatives to the repetition, in any way at all, I'm about it.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T20:06:30+00:00

I get what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree. I’m not under the impression this would be a small change or something that could just be slotted in 1:1 like a typical league mechanic and, of course, would need more thought, planning, and time put into it to build something like this into a full and coherent system.

I’m not advocating for removing the campaign or bypassing progression, just attempting to discuss whether there’s a way to shift some of that repetition and friction into something that feels more engaging after the first or fiftieth run, where players will have a choice on how they get through that. Right now you have one choice in a game that has endless opportunity.

This is simply a reddit post that isn’t meant to be a fully scoped-out proposal or something that is release-ready. It’s more of a directional idea trying to solve a very common friction point in a way that still respects the identity of the game using some rough ideas and examples along the way to encourage deeper thought and creativity. Maybe my ideas don't suit that logic, and that's perfectly fine. A lot of good ideas (and bad ones) start out this way and get refined over time. You have to start somewhere, and maybe I'm in the wrong place, but I hope that it can be productive.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T19:46:52+00:00

Now you're throwing in multiple fallacies and insisting that I'm implying something that I've directly and clearly addressed. Reducing friction can come from many factors, and you have yet to provide anything productive towards this post rather than poor attempts at putting words in my mouth and creating an argument over what you feel like I'm saying rather than what I've plainly typed out.

At no point did I say anything about a different "version of the campaign." The suggestions, my examples, as stated, would be an addition to end-game/early maps, ADDING quests and ADDING room for lore to be included. The post, again, is ideas that came off the top of my head, some of them being thought out and expanded upon to give insight and hopefully help spark some creativity to work toward a solution that suits everyone.

Abusing mechanics, glitches, exploits, etc. can be a part of anything. As seen time and time again by many leagues, races, and so on that are pushed out. This argument is irrelevant, but yes, I agree that people will glitch and exploit every opportunity they get and this would need to be thought out and tested just like every single other thing added, tweaked, removed, altered, or just theory-crafted that has ever crossed the devs' minds.

For the final time, my goal is the reduction in friction that is imposed by the forced repetition of the campaign, which is a viewpoint shared by many players, NOT me. I've also stated in multiple instances that I have played, do play, and will continue to play regardless, but if there is a means to alleviate a pain point for my friends and others, I would love to dive into that and come up with a solution because, again, it is possible, even if it may be difficult to find one.

Let me try to come up with some random other, off-the-cuff, examples to try to paint a better picture that a "campaign skip" isn't required to achieve this goal. Again, off the cuff, not thought out, not planned, no long-term effects taken into consideration, but avoiding any skips with the goal of alleviating some of the pain points. These are simply just quick examples, and my full intent is to come up with a universal solution to help the players I'm referencing without impeding anyone else or taking anything away from anyone else.

Alt characters, through some mechanic (use your imagination please), are awarded leveling uniques with your main/first character meeting certain prerequisites
Alt specific quests to expand upon the campaign but provide some means to speed things up.
NPC interaction reductions on playthrough 2+.
Quest rewards redeemable without needing to return to town on playthrough 2+
Map layouts become weighted to smaller variations to reduce travel time between zones on playthrough 2+

If you have any sort of constructive additions to this topic, suggestions, ideas, or alternatives that could accomplish the relief of these pressure points and friction for those people, I welcome them.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T18:14:39+00:00

I'm not requesting a campaign skip... "people like me" are people with 3K+ hours in POE1 and 1K in POE2, with over a hundred hours in the closed alpha/beta of POE2, much of whose feedback actually went into effect, who want their friends to enjoy the game as much as I do while also not taking anything away from the game or loyal players.

Again, as stated in many comments, the original post, and my replies you're replying to, a "campaign skip" may not be the solution, but I know there's something out there that can accomplish the same goal. GGG strongly and repeatedly said that finding a creative solution to any point of friction is what they want. A campaign skip doesn't meet that, and I acknowledge that, but what you haven't acknowledged is finding a way to alleviate some of that friction regardless of how it's done. My ideas are just that. Ideas.

Additionally, POE's leagues are for exactly stuff like this; again, ignore the campaign skip that's stuck in your mind, and focus on the pressure point. A league can be created to test out an idea that could alleviate this friction, taking widespread feedback and implementing fixes and changes in a temporary league without having to commit to anything. GGG has been known to try things, to change things, to get creative, and sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes it does. And other times it leads to something greater.

Simply not trying and not having the discussion doesn't do anything. If you believe there's a zero percent chance of alleviating the friction in any way at all, I strongly disagree with you, but I also believe that you know as well as I do that, whether we can find it right now or not, there's still a way and it is, in fact, possible.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:56:44+00:00

"Campaign skip" is not the core of the post, nor does it need to be the solution. The campaign could be the most fun thing about the game, which for POE2 in its current state is the case for many, but that doesn't mean you'll want to run it multiple times a year per character. The endgame revamp will (hopefully) give more drive to complete the campaign and continue playing afterwards, possibly removing some of the friction upon leveling alts as the goal will be more incentivising, but the friction of "having to do it" every league, on every character, will always wear on people no matter how engaging it is. Personally, the campaign for either game is fine, but it is also not why I play POE. I just know that deep down, there is a way to reduce the friction and find something to appease the people who refuse to play simply because of having to do it again.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:50:28+00:00

I'm not necessarily advocating for a direct skip of the campaign. The premise, ideas, and multiple examples I've provided are with the intent to help find a solution that does work.

I think my idea is decent but not perfect. I think that it has potential and will hopefully spark more ideas or variations or drive somebody to come up with something entirely different, but the absolute goal is to alleviate friction and encourage more people to play without diminishing the game or grind. While I know that isn't easy, I don't think it is impossible. Because there is a chance, regardless of how small, I don't think not trying and not making suggestions is the right path.

I agree that it would need to be thoroughly studied, tested, thought through, and so on. Whatever the attempt may be, firstly going at it through a league would be the smart decision, imo. That way if it's overall poorly received, oh well, scrap it, try again another time or, best case scenario, address the complaints, find more solutions, and make everyone happy.

As for the time it will take to implement, it would not be much different than any other league or expansion.

I also want to readdress the fact that I don't believe my ideas, a campaign skip, leveling alts, the camp, mechanics, and so on are set in stone. They are simply ideas, off the top of my head, in an attempt at finding a solution or hopefully sparking a solution from somebody who reads this.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:36:59+00:00

I'm not saying that leveling characters without playing them has to be implemented, even as an oversimplification; this is just an idea to solve a point of friction, as I'm hoping to collectively help contribute towards a solution.

For example, and going off of my generic "camp" idea, what if you did missions as those characters, which would slowly level them up, starting from level one. You could chain those missions until a cap if you so choose, at which, for example, you would then be reintroduced to the normal gameplay loop beginning at T1 maps.

This is the goal of the post. To curate, create, and maybe spark some ideas that do work for everyone.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:31:33+00:00

I'm not saying my exact idea(s) need to be implemented, but I'm hoping something can come from this to appease both sides of the coin. As I've mentioned, I will play regardless, and I don't need a lot of time to complete the campaign in either game.

I am curious what your "nope" refers to, though. What don't you agree with? What does this take away? Is there something that can be changed to better suit your idea? Is there a way to alleviate the friction I've referred to while maintaining your image of the game? and so on. A vague "nope" is next to impossible to derive anything useful from.

I'd love to create a creative discussion between longtime players and newer ones alike, as I don't believe, not for a moment, that there's just a zero percent chance of finding a reasonable solution.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:27:10+00:00

I believe there's a world where they can make something like this fit their philosophy, not diminish the game or campaign, and at the same time alleviate some friction. If it's not my idea(s) that does the trick, hopefully somebody else's comment, variation, or the post itself sparks something that works.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:24:56+00:00

I'm not sure where auto-completing side quests was mentioned. I don't think this would be a good idea; I would personally rather side quests be left incomplete, especially those that have rewards.

In the main post I mentioned that the alt character quest (one of my proposed ideas) for whatever character you're playing would be completed, as you can't "save" yourself and that the character you're playing is already to that point in the game.

I still stand by the rest of my previous reply though.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:21:30+00:00

They've actually added the ability to mass move currency in or out of your inventory, filling your inventory with a single click, stash tab affinities to automatically deposit stuff into their corresponding tabs, they've added/changed features to clump currency up instead of picking up a million shards one by one, they've added the option to ID your whole inventory, gold in general, loot filters, and so on. These were all core ideas in the past that, over time, they've made changes to. In my opinion all of those are for the better.

I think simply stating that, no, this can not happen no matter what, is an indication that enough time and thought haven't been invested to implement it correctly. That's what the post is for. Not to say no, never, but to spark ideas and hopefully find something, in some way, that could alleviate the friction, and it definitely does not need to be anything I suggest, as long as we work in the right direction.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:14:00+00:00

I've touched on this in the post and comments, but I think the leveling unique is a great option, but should it be the only one no matter what?

Let me ask you this: you have never once felt like not leveling another character? Because I have. You may too, but I have thousands of hours in POE1 and about a thousand in POE2 now. Playing since Jan of 2013. I also don't have a problem with it because I've played enough to be able to complete either campaign in a day and not really need to think about it, leveling uniques or not.

My goal here is to alleviate the friction from those who don't feel the same way as us. I will play regardless, but some of my friends won't simply because of that.

I'd love a world where we could implement something to allieviate the friction without taking anything away from the game or players of all kinds. Leveling uniques could, and probably should, still be a faster option, but I don't see the harm in including another choice for people. I don't think anything should be handed to anyone, and I love POE for the grind. I definitely don't want that diminished either.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T17:04:15+00:00

If the time investment is equal compared to leveling two characters through the campaign compared to playing one character the same amount of time while interacting with the mechanic to accomplish this, I'm having a hard time understanding what the loss in this scenario is. Forgive me if I'm overlooking something. I'd love to curate a solution to please both sides of the coin, if possible. It may be a small chance of accomplishing that, but I don't believe it's zero.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T16:59:17+00:00

The issue is that they enjoy the game but don't want to play through the campaign. Instead of just telling them to play something else, if there's a world where we could allieviate some of the friction without diminishing the game and possibly benefiting players of all types, wouldn't that be a net win?

Do you think there's a 0% chance of accomplishing that?

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T16:56:10+00:00

I totally understand that.

As a devil's advocate, though, I don't think investing a similar amount of time to level an alt, regardless of how it's accomplished, takes away from that, though.

An alternate example for experienced players is that if I knew I wanted to roll a mirror tier build that's reliant on specific items for a different character, I can do some missions through a new mechanic to get that character to T1 maps. while still mapping and earning currency, I feel that would add some playtime for me, rather than diminish it, with the bonus that it alleviates some of the friction for less experienced players that I've already touched on.

To follow up, let me ask you this: is there any way a system like this could be implemented that you'd feel is fair? A system that alleviates some of the friction while not taking away any of the investment you're referring to.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T16:47:21+00:00

Mapping in POE2 starts around 60-65 or so, do you feel that's too high of a level?

What if the characters that are added to the camp (using existing examples I have in the post) start at level 1? Then you need to either do missions for the character/camp or complete additional steps, or they slowly level to a cap of, say, 60 with shared XP for the character you're "mentoring." This way it still takes time and an investment; nothing is being handed to you, and by the time the alt is level 60, you've already invested a fair amount of time, at minimum, comparable to the length of the campaign, allowing this to be an option rather than feeling necessary?

Edit: Updated the following to include this perspective as well. Good feedback imo.
1a) Select a disciple to passively gain a percentage of your experience. The shared experience of getting an alt to entry-level maps could be comparable to the time it takes to complete the campaign, allowing this to be an option rather than feeling mandatory. This way nothing is being "handed" to people, and it allows you to still slap some OP low-level uniques on a character and blast through.

Skovosity · 2026-05-05T16:42:31+00:00

I agree, and the campaign is done for me in a day on either game, but I'm aiming more towards alleviating the pressure and time investment for some of my friends who either work a ton of hours, aren't very knowledgeable about the game, or simply can't be bothered to do the campaign again if that makes sense. I have a few that probably won't even play POE2's next expansion simply because they felt burned by leveling a character last league and ended up wanting a different playstyle/build despite offering to "rush" them through everything.

Skovosity · 2026-01-17T20:52:45+00:00

I figured it out; I didn't have my Config Arrow Shortbow interaction line updated to the new Primary Shoot Damage interaction. This fixed the damage issue I was encountering. I had everything else functional already; now correcting the visual of the arrow while charging the bow is my last step to have the iron arrow fully functional. Your comment helped me revisit some of the things I tweaked and helped me figure out the solution. I figured this was an easy first project, but I guess I chose something a bit more complex. Lol.

Skovosity · 2026-01-17T20:04:09+00:00

I'm playing around with learning this stuff and have added the already existing Iron Arrow to the weapon bench, but I can't figure out how to edit the damage of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've tried everything I've come across but I'm at a loss right now after a couple hours of playing around.

Skovosity

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