In most ARPGs there a many things to learn , get more skilled at or even just to do in repetition to gain exp or any other type of progression. I think it would be cool to have a discussion about what in your opinion, should make your character the strongest ? Also , which type of player do you think Last Epoch rewards the most right now ?
Should it be the one with incredible knowledge (knows every single boss abilities , perfect stats choices , overall just always the best decisions for his character)
The most skilled one (Incredible reaction time , great at getting the most out of is character’s abilities etc)
Or the one who simply plays 10 hours a day and grinds A LOT?
In my opinion knowledge and skill should always be better than playing a lot , but some ARPGs mostly focus on grinding. I think for me it would be Knowledge>Skill>Time played
i think LE does a good job of rewarding all of these. maybe not perfectly balanced between them, but it does have the groundwork laid for each.
knowledge is rewarded by making leveling easier, mechanics clearer, gearing simpler.
time spent is rewarded with more resources, more knowledge, rarer items.
mechanical skill is rewarded by letting you go light on defense and invest fully into damage (although i don’t know if we’ll always be able to beat empowered rahyeh with nothing but belt, boots and weapon, it has been done).
i think grinders will benefit more once trade is available, since they’ll be the ones most likely to have the sought-after items. knowledge and skill can’t help you much on that front.
A healthy combination of the three is obviously the most optimal way (hardest to accomplish from a developer standpoint, though).
However - one thing to remember about time, is how you use it. Action RPGs tend to suite people who seek to enjoy time in Default Mode NetworkDMN; meaning they enjoy playing the game on auto pilot. These can lead to high playtime, which yields mechanical proficiency, with low levels of knowledge.
The other type are very analytical, whom spends a lot of time thinking about the game as they go on; thus having higher played time, but perhaps with lower skill since they spend a lot of time thinking. Both of these play styles are viable, it depends on what you want to achieve in the game.
