I think you have made a very insightful observation. I’m speaking from the perspective of a long time poe1 player. For me, I want to get to the endgame farming to put pinnacle bosses on farm mode and find all the best gear, asap. Buying my gear progression makes more sense personally, and it is definitely a fast and efficient way to trivialize the campaign content if you have the currency to do so.
For a new player, this probably isn’t the case, as you point out. Here’s why: I know GGG quite well after all these years, and what they actually intend for us is to play pseudo-SSF…they really want us crafting our own gear and/or finding good upgrades on the ground. However, they recognize that a live trade economy adds tremendous chase value to the best gear, and so they want that as part of the game too, which means they have to balance drops around it. This can put the players in a weird spot sometimes.
I think that if you enjoy doing things your way, by all means craft your own gear and have fun. It’s definitely possible to do this and be fine, if you have enough time. Many of the best streamers play SSF. If you are short on time or get stuck/frustrated while progressing, perhaps a few upgrades from trade would make more sense. Just have to find the right balance for you!
I think you have made a very insightful observation. I’m speaking from the perspective of a long time poe1 player. For me, I want to get to the endgame farming to put pinnacle bosses on farm mode and find all the best gear, asap. Buying my gear progression makes more sense personally, and it is definitely a fast and efficient way to trivialize the campaign content if you have the currency to do so.
For a new player, this probably isn’t the case, as you point out. Here’s why: I know GGG quite well after all these years, and what they actually intend for us is to play pseudo-SSF…they really want us crafting our own gear and/or finding good upgrades on the ground. However, they recognize that a live trade economy adds tremendous chase value to the best gear, and so they want that as part of the game too, which means they have to balance drops around it. This can put the players in a weird spot sometimes.
I think that if you enjoy doing things your way, by all means craft your own gear and have fun. It’s definitely possible to do this and be fine, if you have enough time. Many of the best streamers play SSF. If you are short on time or get stuck/frustrated while progressing, perhaps a few upgrades from trade would make more sense. Just have to find the right balance for you!