Completely new player to Last Epoch: Feedback for S2! (on a variety of very random things!)

Feedback and Suggestions
1

  • !!! The graphics setting ‘Volumetric Lightning’ should be set to ‘Very Low’ by default for all players. It just makes the game look bland/washed out with the fog. This is especially noticeable in areas that are darker or have dark backdrops. It’s even worse in an area like The Wengari Fortress or The Temple of Eterra. You can’t even see things below bridges from high ground!

  • All towns/main hubs should have no fog of war, especially if already explored. Regardless, fog of war makes no sense outside of combat zones. This was one of my immediate pet peeves in the game when I first started playing. There is no need for players to have to re-explore towns.

  • Pressing ‘Enter’ to open the Chat Window should also close it out (under the condition the chat box has no text within it). Otherwise, pressing ‘Enter’ will submit the text to other players.

  • Add a toggle button for us to Show/Hide our characters’ helmet next to the helmet slot from the Inventory window.

  • When left-clicking on NPCs (almost all of them in the game), player characters move too much into the NPCs’ space/standing area vs. keeping player characters at somewhat of a distance upon interaction.

In other words, interacting with NPCs throughout the game doesn’t feel ‘snappy’, especially for players playing on PC using Mouse/Keyboard.

  • One-Handed Weapons (like Swords and Axes) need more love in general, especially in the Cosmetics Shop. Shields? Same thing. More Ice, Lightning, and Fire-themed Cosmetics would be nice.

  • For some reason (whether in Windowed mode or Full-Screen mode), the game makes your Taskbar disappear if you’re alt-tabbed out of the game and you have another app open like your web browser or a Word document when taking notes (or any other window outside the game).

  • Weapon Swapping? When? For example, players should be able to have an ‘Offensive’ setup (main) and a ‘Defense’ setup (secondary).

  • The skill ‘Shield Bash’ should be able to be controlled by players to go in any direction they want to go in to deal more damage on enemy mobs (yet NOT re-triggering the 1-second ‘Stun’ mechanic tied to it) through holding down the left-click button (PC) or the joysticks (controller).

Currently, it seems Shield Bash will go on for as long you don’t hit a barrier but if it’s to be turned into a full-on direction skill, it needs to have its duration lowered to a maximum of 8 seconds AND to not be stopped by destructible things like fences. Yea, that would be neat!

In other words, players cannot Stun enemies again until they use Shield Bash a second time.

Currently, the skill just feels stiff, especially if/when players want to use it for movement/getting around (which should be allowed).

ON TEXT (improving reading comprehension throughout the game)

You—yes, you, narrator of the game—your hard work has not gone unnoticed!

There are, however, just a few run-on sentences (where commas should be) and missing skill capitalizations in tooltips throughout the ‘Skills & Specialization’ window alone.

Here are a few good examples:

  • Sentinel – Vengeance – Tooltip for Vengeance: If vengeance successfully hits an enemy and you take a hit in the next 2 seconds[insert comma] you will riposte, taking 25% less damage and striking at a nearby enemy.

Improvement: If Vengeance successfully hits an enemy and you take a hit in the next 2 seconds, you will riposte, taking 25% less damage and striking at a nearby enemy.

Examination: ‘Vengeance’ should be capitalized since it is the name of a skill. There is also a missing comma within the tooltip.

  • Sentinel – Rebuke – Tooltip for Rebuke: When you stop channelling[insert comma] the barrier breaks[insert comma] dealing physical damage to all nearby enemies. This deals 20 additional physical damage for each hit you received while channelling.

Improvement: When you stop channelling, the barrier breaks, dealing physical damage to all nearby enemies. This deals 20 additional physical damage for each hit you received while channelling.

Examination: There are two missing commas within the tooltip.

Further examination: The word ‘channelling’ throughout the game (American English) should be ‘channeling’ (unless your team is using British, Australian or Canadian English).

  • Paladin – Javelin – Tooltip for Javelin: If you have a spear equipped[insert comma] added melee damage from the spear applies to Javelin as added throwing damage at 50% of its normal value. Added melee damage from other sources has no effect.

Improvement: If you have a spear equipped, added melee damage from the spear applies to Javelin as added throwing damage at 50% of its normal value. Added melee damage from other sources has no effect.

Examination: There is a missing comma within the tooltip.

  • Paladin – Divine Throws – Tooltip for Divine Throws – TL;DR: There is a comma missing after the word ‘consequently’ where a pause should be in place.

NPC Texts (just a couple examples I will pull from The Council Chambers town)

It is beside the point most players ‘skip texts, anyway’ in most ARGPs. First impressions subconsciously and significantly influence player engagement by absorbing emotional or atmospheric cues, which do linger after each interaction that sets the tone for the game.

  • Area: The Council Chambers – NPC: Captain Leora – Text: We need more soldiers, we need to go back down there and evacuate more survivors!

Improvement: We need more soldiers! We need to go back down there and evacuate more survivors!

Alternate improvement [albeit, still less urgent in tone]: We need more soldiers; we need to go back down there and evacuate more survivors!

Examination: The above cited text the way it is originally written does not convey to players a sense of urgency, at least, not enough urgency.

  • Area: The Council Chambers – NPC: Artem the Gambler – Text: No wonder the Elders kept this place to themselves, hell of a view. Hmm, care to try your luck? Found some good stuff on my way up here.

Improvement [and to make the NPC more likeable/engaging]: No wonder the Elders kept this place themselves! Hell of a view, eh?! Hmm… Care to try your luck? Found some good stuff on my way up here!

Examination: The above cited text the way it is originally written for the Gambler NPC sounds inorganic with a lack of emphasis on how impressed he is with The Council Chambers area.

Thank you for looking into this feedback : )

2

That one intereseted me to check it out, thanks! :vulcan_salute:

3

Lmao! That’s great. Totally not correcting it.

4

POE2 was almost everything i hoped for with weapon swapping. but very quickly i realized that it gave the developers a lazy way to address issues.

for example. you’re a 2 hander with slow attacks. with the existence of a weapon swap, the devs can easily brush off balance concerns (such as vs ranged enemies) by saying. oh you COULD equip a shield in your swap and shield bash the enemies. or you could equip a ranged weapon to snipe at them. which are all legitimate solutions BUT not solving the issue.

if weapon swaps did not exist, the devs could come up with different ideas on balancing. maybe they can introduce a new passive, or a new bonus for 2handers where they receive less damage from ranged attacks.

5

Weapon swapping/sets have been a thing in ARPGs since Diablo 2. So regardless of whatever reasoning weapon swapping/sets do not exist in Last Epoch, it should still be available. Period.

I have also never heard of weapon swapping causing an ‘imbalance’ in a game. It allows more ‘flexibility’, in a word. The issues you speak of that PoE 2 has go well beyond the concept of weapon swapping and I would venture to say have nothing to do with weapon swapping. Having access to weapon swap functionality has never made PoE 2 feel ‘overpowered’ (satisfying? yes) and neither will it in Last Epoch.

In other words, the general point you’re getting across is not a very sharp one. An ‘imbalance’ has nothing to do with an entire functionality via weapon swapping being missing from Last Epoch. Weapon swapping not existing in Last Epoch is generally silly and any reasoning behind its inexistence is equally silly.