Source
r/pathofexile•
GamerBeast

Blight encounters are not really party friendly.

Feedback

I am playing with a friend and whenever we do a blight encounter ( or a blighted map for that matter), we usually split in 2 directions and cover our front.

Now here is what irks me. Cassia needs to be close to you to build a tower. If my friend is the one who opened the map, she is always following him. So for me to build a tower on my side, he needs to come all the way to me so Cassia can build the tower. And in the meantime the side that my friend was supposed to be defending is getting overrun.

Can we make it so Cassia doesn't have to be close to you to build a tower?

Posted Sep 16, 2019, 1:21 PM UTC

37488
Ashmedai•

Quite a reasonalble request, TBH. Not sure why they implemented that restriction in the first place.

147
JorjUltraRaider•

It's supposed to prevent Blight encounters from being totally trivial in groups. On the dev Baeclast before launch, they were talking about disallowing party members completely from building towers (other than the map owner). I guess they decided that this was a compromise.

41
bennyr•

I don't really see being able to build the towers your party has the resources for as "trivializing" the encounter. Everything in PoE is easier in parties, this isn't really any different. This definitely seems like an instance of GGG overthinking and overengineering things.

52
GrasknAscendant•

Same crap as Einhar. You sit and wail on a red beast while spamming your life flask as your health keeps getting alarmingly low, looking for the net toss... only to realize your partner is across the map with him.

53
ShaperIsAHobo•

Doesn't even need to be a whole map, "nearby" at its best ... Not sure if this is line of sight , I had some really weird "not-captures" recently

5
passatigiOccultist•

I mean Blight is at least playable in party (and somewhat easier), in Bestiary it was a total disaster. Decided to play with GF, after we encountered 2-3 beasts we decided to split up and just play separately because it was so awful for party play.

In Blight it's the opposite, we only do Blighted maps together because it's easier to defend from different directions.

2
redditfortc•

I think they are afraid 2 people clicking at once duplicating or overspending. Like guild stashes

1
jacky910505•

Thus server end up unable to cope with the monsters load because we can't clear them fast enough. And they worry about it being too ez.

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
Zieg0reJuggernaut•

Lorewise, iirc she's the one actually building that stuff so if I'm not totally mistaken here, it makes sense from that perspective.

7
epharian•

While I'm fine with lore being part of the game, and influencing gameplay to an extent, this is going a bit too far. Stuff like this is why people complain that it's not worth it to play in parties.

11
Ashmedai•

It's funny. Someone else though that the devs mentioned (in a baeclast) something about the bottleneck being by design, to prevent trivializing party play. What's interesting to me, is that they failed to grasp that they need to incent party play first. I'm thinking there would be a lot of T15+ blighted maps played with parties, given their relative difficulty.

16
epharian•

Party play is either done by a group of friends (in which case you usually get a bunch of solo-focused builds just loosely working together) or by a party focused group that tends to trivialize even the most difficult content.

It's really hard to balance that out in any way that makes sense.

2
papa_sigmund•

She could still run to the last requested tower and build it.

7
Thundercunt_McGeeAssassin•

That's exactly what she's doing now? She just doesn't have 250% movespeed like the average player so it takes her like half a week to traverse a map.

3
papa_sigmund•

I mean even the towers other party members want to build, not just the host.

2
CycloneSP•

just have her stay and 'guard' the pump, and extend her 'range' to affect all towers.

2
vileguynsj•

Because nothing is designed with party play in mind.

6
MustbhacksLeL•

PoE is essentially a single player game with some multiplayer elements slapped on.

3
Darentei•

I hate to confirm this but I see almost no appeal in playing with others. I've tried to introduce people to the game, not always successfully as we'll try leveling together, then stop after a couple of acts. So either I gotta wait for the next time they are available and wanting to play, or continue on my own, much faster pace.

Sure, we can map together regardless of levels but that requires them to get that far in the first place. As for my friends who already know the game, they are usually far ahead of me in turn. Also I like killing stuff and getting loot, killing only half of stuff and getting half of loot is a downgrade.

tl;dr differences in pacing makes PoE not very multiplayer friendly to me

3
Dellychan•

My favorite part is when my friend casts detonate dead and crashes both our clients

74
BillehBearNecromancer•

Same here but my GF uses Vaal Summon skeletons

It's like a 50/50 chance on whether it'll crash the game for us

This is just the Map encounters, we're yet to get a Blighted Map but I can see my Xbox screaming during one

23
springloadedgiraffe•

We've banned one of our friends from using MTX on his summons, and also banned from pressing vaal summon skeletons for this reason. I also have a character I'm not allowed to play in our parties (poet's pen volatile dead).

Feels really bad man. I'm hoping with the upcoming fix to VD targeting AI that the server lag will go away when you have more than 20 VD balls up at a time.

20
Cole-187BERSERKER | WTT Legion for Synthesis pm•

reminds me of OG mjolner discharge, the party killer.

enter a 5/6 mapping party, crash 3 people insta.

6
SneakyBadAssThank you for visiting Yer Ol' Spooky Shope!•

Did you play Warcraft 3? One of the lines is "For the 'End of the World' spell, press CTRL+ALT+DEL".

PoE should have an equivalent with ALT+F4.

6
aznanimality•

Am I the only one that has no issue with this? I did a t8 blighted map with 5 other summoners for fun and we all timed our vaal skeleton at the same time and there was some major lag but it didn't get close to crashing at all. We each went down to about 15fps which was still playable considering we were trying to stress the game to max. Gtx 770

2
Darthy69•

Wait Cassias location matters for your tower building not just poiints? Never realized that but I barely play in parties.

35
StokeYdralUnique flasks are the worst part of PoE•

I didn't even realize she follows you. I just assumed she stayed at the pump.

38
Unforgiven-wanda•

This
The screen is such a mess of colors and effects I literally have no idea what is happening. I just keep spamming my skills and hoping for the best.
That I play a summoner compounds the issue.

39
clinkzsSaboteur•

Screen ? you mean the Gameboy simulator thing ?

1
MaritMonkey•

I ran into an issue because we didn't realize the resource pool was shared, but have never been restricted from building a tower for a reason other than not being able to afford it (that I was aware of).

And I was far enough away from my BF that he was pretty regularly yelling "TOO MANY DOTS" for portals whose paths weren't on my screen at all.

3
pwnagraphicWitch:carbonphry_witch:•

Jokes on you, PoE as a whole isn’t party friendly

34
passatigiOccultist•

Best party is a player and a trader.

3
pwnagraphicWitch:carbonphry_witch:•

Player and a trade bot*

1
Kryonixcnot GGG•

Now replace "Blight encounters" with Path of Exile.

24
Hartastic•

Yeah. Party play is a consistent blind spot in GGG's design/QA.

Sometimes they do get it right and I'm pleasantly surprised when it happens. But without fail every league there's some part of the mechanic that's weird and clunky in a group.

3
Elelish•

Well, you can put that one partly on the community. Apparently it is a problem for many loners that party play is more efficient then playing alone, so GGG always lives in fear of making stuff too efficient in party play so solo players dont feel like being "forced into group content".

I mean, the days of people complaining about party play being mandatory are like....7 years ago? When Dominus farming was still a thing...when act 3 was endgame...so, a little bit outdated. But i wouldnt be surprised if that got stuck in their heads.

But if you look at it from the other side...Party Players still have such an easy time compared to solo Players, so i am not mad that some things are still clunky in Party Play. In our group of 3-5 active Players at the start of a league we easily have our Atlas done by day 2. Between sharing bosskills, having access to 3-5 zanas, sharing uber lab Trials and gear we dont have much left that you need outside help/trade for. This league we are playing hardcore, but thats another Story.

3
Crypt33x•

Its kinda different in my guild. We just share a few unique maps or some red maps maybe trials at the start of a league sometimes a rare beast. Everyone want to build their map pool, everyone is bitching about currency drops being worse in groups, they demanding alc and chisel, cuz they share with you, but except fewer currency drops and some fun neither the map owner or the dude joining the party getting something out of it. Everyone except Map owner looses progress for their temple, delve, syndicate. Partyplay feels always worse if u not like a super dedicated support. Then they took our vagan mission, the last pvp which existed in the game. GGG punish playing together pretty hard. If i wouldnt force myself onto them and giving up all my progress for some fun with guildies, we wouldnt probably ever playing together.

2
Elelish•

Alright, i expected a reply along that line. Dont take this too offensive, but are most of the guys in your guild noobs? That would explain why they think like you described. You guys are shooting yourself in the knee because of what, an alch that dropped that someone couldnt pick up? Holy fuck thats so stupid...you can literally print Money if you are @t15/16 maps by day 2. Thats what we do. Everyone in our group knows that everyone will profit from that, so why bother because of a few chaos lol. You are helping each other, and i am sorry for your guild if that doesnt work out because of a few ignorant and/or egoistic members.

And even if you cant take your time at the first Weekend, the fact still remains: being faster at higher tier maps means you will earn good currency earlier which in the end means everyone wins. If your guild cares so much about low tier currency you should consider either teaching them (if you like them) or simply search another guild.

And about making currency: in Legion 3 of them played together, one carry one aurabot one cursebot. Chain-rushing juiced up t16 maps. The farmed ~150ex in one week, 50ex per Person. In the same timeframe i farmed 50 ex alone, but i played more and i was lucky AF in Legion...normally they would have outpaced me easily by 20-50% more currency, even after Splitting it up on everyone. Pooling currency and mappools, not being greedy and having a bit of patience is the key to groupplay in this game. It is also very easy to fully equip someone when you pool currency, so this way your carry will end up with very good gear very fast.

TL;DR: For good "real" groupplay you dont only have to play fitting builds but also have a fitting mindset. Being egoistic doesnt fit groupplay but most people in this game seem to be egoists.

4
TheRealTwiner•

I'm against this honestly. If it were any other td scenario I'd agree, however blight is the first time in poe history where I felt party play mattered beyond just maxing out damage or defense.

My friend plays a 9 curser, im doing instability skeleton bombs and my wife is running a generic skeleton summoner.

We are playing mlight maps and screaming at eachother. "Leaks on bottom need help!" "I need a cassie on the left edge!" "Set me up with some slow towers and I'll handle upgrading them"

We are coming up with strategies before blights start, analyzing our maps, and communicating during combat about tactical needs.

Please, no one try to change what is the first time I've actually felt like poe could really be a multiplayer game.

17
LunaticSongXIVIron Commander•

So, your party of a curse bot and two summoners is doing fine? What a shock.

I get what you're trying to say, but summoners are so goddamned OP in Blight encounters that I've done entire blighted maps by parking on the pump and repeatedly casting Flesh Offering.

9
ACiDRiFT•

The argument is that in party play it actually requires you to communicate, which I agree I enjoy, as long as everyone pulls their own weight Cassia having to build towers keeps everyone on their feet. Arguing that the builds they are playing are carrying them isn't relevant because, if you chose a build that is sub-optimal for blight then that is your issue. You knew it was a tower defense, you knew it favored clear speed, so picking a shitty build and then complaining about it is your fault.

​

Need towers north, swap me! Boss down here help!

​

Since I have been the map owner the majority of the maps, I enjoy the communication and feeling like I am manning the towers. It feels like a real tower defense and we are fighting a war.

​

If you mostly play solo this doesn't affect you anyway, in party play it just requires you not to be lazy. I do feel like GG should explain this better in game instead of people wondering why the towers don't build though.

4†
PhallusGreen•

Lol you picked a build that doesn’t even need towers. Most melee builds and others that lack sufficient aoe to take on mobs quickly are the ones that need help from towers.

-3
PhallusGreen•

Lol you picked a build that doesn’t even need towers. Most melee builds and others that lack sufficient aoe to take on mobs quickly are the ones that need help from towers.

-4
PhallusGreen•

Lol you picked a build that doesn’t even need towers. Most melee builds and others that lack sufficient aoe to take on mobs quickly are the ones that need help from towers.

-6
TheRealTwiner•

Lol way to make assumptions. The curse bot is barely a curse but, he generally solos a lane, as does my instability build and my wife's summoner build. When big bosses come we team up at eachothers beckon and kill the boss.

Doing fine? Lol we probably fail as many blight maps as we pass.

The builds themselves are fairly irrelevant to the point. The communication is key. But also having a good player manage the towers.

My friend, the curse, does the tower management l, both my wife and I tried, and we failed to do so, even though we both have plenty of time. There is a skill factor Involved.

The point being we are actually playing as a party, where as I'm normal maps, its whoever's is dealing the fastest damage is leading until the boss.

It's a huge difference.

2†
PhallusGreen•

Lol you picked a build that doesn’t even need towers. Most melee builds and others that lack sufficient aoe to take on mobs quickly are the ones that need help from towers.

If youre playing summoners and failing blighted maps 50% of the time it’s probably your build

7
mattbrvcHES COME HOME, BERSERKER IS HOME•

My and my friend are doing the same thing. The restriction adds a bit of strategy to the map. If it wasn't in it would be a faceroll so I'm bouncing left and right placing towers while he is telling me where I need to help out. He's running an incinerate elementalist and I'm a multi minion summoner(4spectres,9zbies,6link skelies.) Unlike all the party play in this game it requires real teamwork.

We aren't all that set up yet, I'm still in a tabula and he's still on a 5 link res barely capped, barely 5k life etc. So it gets super hectic when bosses start showing up. "Boss spawned help" "I can't build towers come up here u shit" "OH GOD WHY DID YOU USE VAAL SUMMON SKELETONS THE GAME IS DYING AAAAAAAA" "COME HERE I NEED TOWERS U FUCK"

It's a good time. Most fun I had with PoE party play ever.

7
Knivingdude•

This makes me look forward to doing blight maps with a party now. Seems exciting... The performance issues need to be worked out though. I remember summoners always having frame rate problems for a long time even before blight.

People are playing summoners more now and are noticing these things is all.

1
CountCocofangMisery = Player retention•

From what I can tell upgrading towers doesn't require her presence.

So spam everything full with T1 towers while she is near and then you can just keep upgrading them even if your friend leashes her to the other side of the map.

Not ideal, obviously. Independent building would be way better.

8
Cyril__Figgis•

oh thats the mechanic? i thought it was something like each player is limited to some number of towers, and thats why mine weren't building sometimes.

this sounds so stupid, is there even any reason? other than the other members building random towers and ruining it (even though they can still do that as long as she's in range)

5
dukeof3arl•

They specifically built it this was so you cant go in there with a full party and just win without really trying.

2
Cyril__Figgis•

people are soloing t15 blighted maps easily. without building towers. a full of group can also just as easily complete the highest levels of blighted maps without towers.

the cassia mechanic is just weird, because it doesn't do the very thing you just said they wanted to avoid. it also doesn't feel good of people are playing blighted maps "the intended way". i guess with a group i would see the fun in deciding who gets to build what tower based on what resources are available and how the lanes look, and not whether or not the map maker like freezes or disconnects or can't leave the spot because they got rngd into a spot they can't leave.

so it doesn't do what its supposed to do and feels bad otherwise, right?

5
dukeof3arl•

Hey, I’m not saying the choice was correct - just stating why they built it that way.

This way, you have to move around and make it a little more hectic than the alternative

Edited for clarity

2
AerosheSaboteur•

That's perfectly reasonable. In the meantime, can I suggest you and your friend just switch sides from time to time so the map owner can put up new towers?

5
CommonSaltAssassin•

is it easy to switch sides in blighted map ? There's no timer between waves, makes it seem tough but I've done only one blighted map, so don't know much.

1
olop4444•

depends on the map + your builds. Smaller map makes it easier, and faster/higher dps builds makes it easier too. Me and my friend can usually do it just fine, if you've built enough towers it's not that bad.

1
Elelish•

"easy" = depending on your damage. If you can clear fast enough to not let the Mobs more then a few inches away from the Portal then you have plenty of time to Switch lanes...i mean, you can do those maps alone, so it would be stupid of that wouldnt work.

Those maps are intense, but as always you can make your life a lot easier by having enough damage.

1
MateusKingston•

Its probably better this way... party play is already so much easier in blight maps. Building towers simultaneously would just make it easier. Its party play, communicate that you need him to bring Cassia while you handle his side.

Alternatively Cassia could prioritize towers, she would still need to walk to all of them but you could force her to come. Wouldn't break the mechanic since she can only be in one spot but still easier...

3
havoc414•

Thats the complete opposite, blight is sooo much fun in party,

3
phoenix_nzGladiator•

Already made a thread. Similar upvotes and no reply. Guess it's in the too-hard basket for now

2
AndromansisReamus•

This entire league and everything in it is not party friendly, nobody accrues matter missing while in a party.

2
TheJ3st•

Parties or not this should be changed, I've requested a tower be built and she never got around to doing it. It would make things much smoother to remove the requirement.

2
KoooclNecromancer•

I would go as far as to say that this game in general is not party friendly.

The more people you have the less loot you get per person.

And if you think performance is bad solo you don't want to see what its like with 6 people.

2
Miko00•

The entire game isn't party friendly. Skill fx and mtx just makes for a visual cluster fuck. Then 1 person is faster than anyone else so it's just a matter of trying to keep up.

1
Shilkanni•

I'm mostly playing in party and I do find the range requirement annoyinga en a bit unnecessary. I think they just wanted to limit how much stronger party play is over solo.

However I still find this league a lot of fun in party play and you can split up to cover different areas and there is reason to communicate. It's actually one of the best league mechanics for party play.

The gameplay is fun it is just the time spent vs rewards that is unexciting.

1
0x00000000•

Cassia needs to be close to you to build a tower.

Oh.

Is that why the sometimes the tower gets stuck in "build mode" for sometimes 10 seconds or more? I just assumed it was a bug, like the UI resetting.

1
Fatbirds•

I really feel like the towers and player power are evenly split at times. You can ignore towers somewhat if you're super strong, or clever use of towers can save you if you're a bit behind. So I agree, party members should be able to build towers regardless of Cassia's position. They can upgrade them independent of her position, right? So it seems weird that they can't build them with the same freedom.

1
KomlzAssassin•

I'm not claiming this is a fix to your issue and I agree that it should be changed, but if your playing with a partner then you should rotate to the lane that your friend isnt upgrading at that moment.

1