First, let me just say that I very much appreciate now being able to guarantee 1 affix on Legendary slams. I almost think it’s too generous, in fact, given that it does not cost anything, but that’s not what this post is about. My feedback concerns 2-3 LP endgame slamming.
Overview/context: endgame grind. Once your build is online – you have your uniques and 1 LP legendaries – the endgame is about grinding more gear and minmaxing. Or maybe you’re the type of person who’d rather roll another character at that point, which is also fair. However, for many people, a big part of the endgame grind is finding 2-3 LP versions of the uniques you already have at 1 LP.
The problem 1 (cause): layers of RNG. The core of the problem is that there are three layers of RNG involved in the process of getting an endgame upgrade:
- Dropping the unique item at 2-3 LP. In some cases, this in and of itself takes a LONG time.
- Dropping/crafting a good exalted item to slam on it. The rarer the unique and the higher the LP, the more time this will likely take as you don’t want to “waste” the elusive, high LP item, and try to look for fodder with multiple T6-7 affixes.
- The slam.
Step 2 is technically just grinding. However, it can be frustrating to be bottlenecked by fodder as well while already having the item(s) waiting in the stash. Yet it just makes Step 3 a bigger problem.
Once you finally have the super rare 2-3 LP unique and a great base, you go to temporal sanctum, slam, close your eyes…
And you lose the 33/66% coinflip. Again. And again.
The problem 2 (effect): loot does not feel as rewarding as it should feel. The 2-3 LP drops themselves just do not feel rewarding, because the unique base is only 1/3 of the actual, finished item.
I used to be excited about dropping a good unique with 2-3 LP. After playing the game for almost 1k hours, I’m not. In some cases, it just fills me with dread. There’s no worse feeling than getting a 3 LP that’s like 1/2000 and then failing the slam, resulting in it being worse than your 2 LP that didn’t fail. The 1 guaranteed affix helps avoid the very worst case scenarios, sure, but it’s mostly a midgame thing that helps you get your initial gear together. The endgame slams are still RNG.
The solution: some kind of bad luck protection…? I don’t know what’s the best way to handle this. Maybe you could sacrifice two or more of the same 2 LP item to choose two affixes on 2-3 LP slams? The bottom line is that I don’t think I should get 2-3 LP guaranteed slams for free. But if I play enough to see multiple copies of the item at a certain LP, I think it would be fair to have some way of avoiding endless bad luck. Maybe recycling already failed slams of the same item for some kind of bad luck protection?
I’ve failed eight 1/3s this season with my 2 LP body armor and it’s starting to drive me up against the wall. In past seasons, I’ve quit because I failed a 3 LP slam on an item I know I’ll never see at 3 LP again. It’s just incredibly unfun.
And yes, I know these are incredibly powerful endgame items that you don’t “need” to play the game, but we all know that, past a certain point, these games are all about grinding gear. It should feel good to get an incredibly rare 2-3 LP drop. Now it doesn’t, because there’s lots of further RNG involved, and I consider that a problem.