The Death of PoE 3.24 Necropolis League is Heartbreaking

In this video, we discuss the downfall of Path of Exile's 3.24 Necropolis League, which has one of the worst retention rates in the game's history. Despite many creative ideas, the league's numerous issues post-launch led to significant player dissatisfaction. We explore the timeline of events, from initial excitement to rapid decline, and analyze the impact of various patches and fixes. The video also touches on the broader implications for Path of Exile's future and offers personal reflections on the game's current state. Join us as we dissect what went wrong and what can be done moving forward.

Takeaways

• 📉 **Necropolis League's Decline**: Patch 3.24, known as the Necropolis League, has seen a significant drop in player retention, almost matching the lows of the Archnemesis league and lower than the Lake of Kalandra.
• 🎉 **Initial Reception**: Despite the league's decline, some players, including the author, enjoyed the Necropolis League for its creativity and new concepts.
• 💡 **Innovations and Issues**: The league introduced many new ideas, some of which were not fully baked or well-received, leading to a mix of powerful and broken game mechanics.
• 📈 **Unexpected Power Spike**: The use of lesser shrines and the lantern of Aramore led to an unintentional power spike, allowing players to rapidly level up, which was quickly patched.
• 🔨 **Patch 3.2.4.0 B**: This patch buffed graveyard crafting and made significant changes to tier 17 maps, aiming to address some of the initial concerns.
• 🚫 **Nerfing Strategies**: The map fishing strategy and the use of Einhar and Huck with tier 17 map modifiers were nerfed, impacting the economy and player satisfaction.
• 🔥 **Farming Strategies**: The ability to farm large quantities of valuable items led to a market flood, causing prices to drop and affecting the in-game economy.
• 😤 **Player Exodus**: The combination of nerfed strategies and economic impact led to a mass player exodus, with both casual and hardcore players expressing dissatisfaction.
• 🤔 **Developer's Challenge**: Grinding Gear Games faced a tough situation in balancing new ideas with player expectations, leading to a rapid decline in the league's popularity.
• 📉 **Economic Impact**: The changes and fixes during the league affected the trade economy, with some players becoming extremely wealthy while others felt left behind.
• 🌐 **Community Response**: The community's reaction to the league's changes was mixed, with some feeling that the game had become too focused on currency earnings per hour.
• 🔮 **Future Outlook**: There is a debate on whether to make large changes and mid-league alterations or to implement more cautious updates to maintain stability and player satisfaction.

Q & A

What was the general sentiment towards the Necropolis League in Path of Exile?

The Necropolis League was met with a negative sentiment by the majority of Path of Exile players, leading to one of the worst retention rates in the game's history.

What was the initial reaction to the patch 3.24, also known as the Necropolis League?

The initial reaction to patch 3.24 was mixed. While some players enjoyed the new ideas and concepts, many others found the league to be less enjoyable and it quickly lost popularity.

What were some of the new features introduced in the Necropolis League?

New features included tier 17 maps, the all-flame and lantern of aramore to buff monster packs, three new Atlas passive trees, split loot tables for bosses, powerful graveyard crafting, and a significant Scarab rework.

What happened after the launch of the Necropolis League that contributed to its downfall?

After the launch, several issues arose, including broken game mechanics, imbalanced strategies, and controversial fixes. These problems, along with the nerfing of profitable strategies, led to dissatisfaction among players.

How did the developers at Grinding Gear Games respond to the issues in the Necropolis League?

Grinding Gear Games released several patches and hot fixes to address the issues, including nerfing overpowered strategies, adjusting the economy, and making changes to the game mechanics.

What was the impact of the Necropolis League's rapid decline on the player base?

The rapid decline led to a significant reduction in the player base, with the league's population dropping to around 20% of its peak. This affected the game's economy and the overall enjoyment for the remaining players.

Why was the removal of certain strategies from the game controversial?

The removal of certain strategies was controversial because it affected the in-game economy and the ability for players to acquire valuable items. Those who had capitalized on these strategies felt the impact more severely.

What are some of the concerns raised by the community regarding the development of Path of Exile?

Concerns include the fear of missing out on strategies that are quickly patched, dissatisfaction with constant updates that alter gameplay, and a shift in the game's focus towards currency earning rather than gameplay enjoyment.

How does the speaker suggest players should approach their enjoyment of Path of Exile?

The speaker suggests that players should not let others dictate their enjoyment of the game and should focus on their own experiences rather than comparing themselves to others.

What is the speaker's opinion on the future development of Path of Exile?

The speaker believes that Grinding Gear Games should continue to make large changes and additions to the game but only make alterations if they affect server stability, to ensure the integrity of every upcoming league.

What is the 'POE1 Flashback Series' mentioned by the speaker?

The 'POE1 Flashback Series' is a set of videos that the speaker plans to continue, focusing on an overview of what was added in each Path of Exile patch, starting from the game's inception.

Outlines

00:00

🕰️ Necropolis League's Rapid Decline and Player Retention Issues

The Necropolis League, also known as patch 3.24, has experienced a significant decline in player retention, rivaling the lows of the Archnemesis and Lake of Colandra leagues. Despite being filled with creative concepts, the league's reception was poor due to a combination of half-baked ideas, powerful yet unbalanced mechanics, and a series of post-launch issues. The video aims to explore the reasons behind Necropolis's downfall, the sadness it brings to the community, and potential solutions for future leagues. Key additions like tier 17 maps, new Atlas passive trees, and the Scarab rework were intended to innovate but instead contributed to the league's problems. Post-launch issues, such as the unintended level 100 speed farming exploit and the nerfing of valuable map modifiers, further alienated the player base.

05:02

📉 The Impact of Patch 3.24's Changes on Necropolis League's Economy and Player Base

The narrative continues with a detailed account of the patches and hot fixes applied to address the issues of Necropolis League. These changes, including the introduction of new reward modifiers, adjustments to the farming strategies, and the nerfing of certain mechanics, had profound effects on the game's economy and player satisfaction. The most notable incident involved a farming strategy that allowed players to generate an excessive amount of valuable items, leading to market inflation and dissatisfaction among players who could not exploit the strategy. The subsequent removal of this strategy by Grinding Gear Games led to an exodus of players and a vocal backlash from the community. The constant mid-league changes and fixes resulted in a significant reduction of the player base, with the league's population dropping to around 20% of its peak numbers.

10:04

😔 The Emotional Impact of Necropolis League's Failure on the Community and Developers

This paragraph delves into the emotional repercussions of the Necropolis League's failure. It discusses how the rapid demise of a league negatively affects the experience of remaining players, leading to slower trades, less active global chats, and diminished community engagement. The situation also poses challenges for Grinding Gear Games, as their efforts to innovate with new ideas and items did not resonate well with the player base. The discontent has led to a rift between the developers and the community, with many players and content creators expressing their unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the direction of the game. The video creator empathizes with the affected community members and the developers, highlighting the sadness and heartbreak felt by those who once loved the game but can no longer enjoy it due to the issues that have arisen.

15:05

🛠️ Reflections on Necropolis League and the Future of Path of Exile

The final paragraph reflects on the Necropolis League's issues and contemplates the future development of Path of Exile. It suggests that Grinding Gear Games may be undergoing a shift in their approach, as evidenced by the new leadership and the way they have handled the 3.24 patch. The video creator proposes that while making significant changes and additions to the game is necessary, alterations should only be made if they affect server stability. The creator also addresses the community's fear of missing out and the pressure it puts on players to constantly compare themselves to others, which can detract from their enjoyment of the game. The video concludes by inviting viewers to share their thoughts on the Necropolis League's demise and to subscribe for more in-depth analysis of Path of Exile and other ARPGs.

Keywords

💡Path of Exile

Path of Exile is an online action role-playing game developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. It is known for its complex gameplay mechanics and extensive endgame content. In the context of the video, it is the central game being discussed, with the focus on the Necropolis League and its impact on the player base.

💡Necropolis League

The Necropolis League was an expansion for Path of Exile, introduced in Patch 3.24. It featured new mechanics and content, but as the video explains, it had a high player drop-off rate and is considered by many players to be less enjoyable than previous leagues. The league's reception and the reasons behind its unpopularity are a major theme of the video.

💡Retention Rate

Retention rate in the context of online games refers to the percentage of players who continue to play the game after an initial period. The video mentions that the Necropolis League had one of the worst retention rates in Path of Exile's history, indicating that many players stopped playing after trying out the new league.

💡Tier 17 Maps

Tier 17 Maps are part of the endgame content in the Necropolis League. They were designed to serve as a progression step from Tier 16 maps to more challenging content. However, as the video explains, these maps and the strategies associated with them became a point of contention due to perceived imbalances and subsequent nerfs.

💡Grinding Gear Games

Grinding Gear Games is the developer of Path of Exile. The company is responsible for creating and maintaining the game, including the introduction of new leagues and patches. The video discusses the challenges faced by Grinding Gear Games in balancing the game and responding to player feedback regarding the Necropolis League.

💡Scarab Rework

The Scarab Rework refers to changes made to the Scarab mechanic in the Necropolis League. Scarabs are in-game items that can modify maps and provide various benefits. The rework aimed to mix up the endgame, but as the video details, it led to unintended consequences and was a source of dissatisfaction for some players.

💡Divination Cards

Divination Cards are items in Path of Exile that can be used to obtain various rewards when turned in at designated locations. The video mentions that certain strategies in the Necropolis League allowed players to farm these cards, which had a significant impact on the game's economy and led to changes in later patches.

💡Hotfix

A hotfix in gaming terminology refers to a quick patch released by developers to address urgent issues or exploits in the game. The video discusses several hotfixes that were released for the Necropolis League, often in response to player feedback or to fix unintended game mechanics.

💡Economy

The in-game economy of Path of Exile involves the trade and value of items within the game. The video highlights how certain strategies and hotfixes in the Necropolis League affected the economy, leading to an imbalance where some players became very wealthy while others felt left behind.

💡Community Feedback

Community feedback refers to the input and reactions from the game's player base. The video emphasizes the importance of community feedback in shaping the development of Path of Exile. It discusses how the dissatisfaction expressed by players influenced the changes made to the Necropolis League.

💡Public Test Realms

Public Test Realms (PTR) are game servers where players can test upcoming features and changes before they are released to the live game. The video suggests that using PTR could be a potential solution for developers to catch issues before they affect the wider player base, although it acknowledges the potential drawbacks of such an approach.

Highlights

Necropolis League, patch 3.24, has been deemed 'dead' by the majority of Path of Exile players.

Necropolis has one of the worst retention rates in Path of Exile's history.

The league's reception was poor due to its original design and player communication.

Post-launch issues contributed more to Necropolis's downfall than its initial launch.

Tier 17 maps and Uber boss access were significant additions in the Necropolis League.

All flame and the lantern of aramore were introduced to buff monster packs.

Three new Atlas passive trees were added for greater endgame customization.

Loot tables were split to encourage relevance of all bosses.

Graveyard crafting was introduced to craft powerful items.

Scarab rework aimed to mix up the endgame experience.

3.24.18 patch addressed shrine issues and unintended level 100 progression.

3.2.4.0 B introduced significant buffs to graveyard crafting and tier 17 maps.

Map fishing strategy was nerfed to prevent excessive profit.

3.2.4.0 C hotfix addressed a t17 cheese strategy with Einhar and Huck.

3.2.1 patch made significant changes to tier 17 maps and farming strategies.

3.2.4.2 hotfix introduced new Scarab types and minor controversial fixes.

3.2.4.2 hotfix 5 fixed a bug with item crafting that allowed for six sockets.

Necropolis League's rapid decline affected player experience and trade economy.

Grinding Gear Games faced challenges in balancing new ideas with player satisfaction.

Content creators and players expressed dissatisfaction with the league.

Fear of missing out and comparing to others affected player enjoyment.

Grinding Gear Games may shift their approach to game development and league changes.

Public Test Realms are suggested as a potential solution for future league testing.