It matters greatly. Try to play D3 as suggested in OP and you’ll see why.
The whole perception of what you are in the context of the game world changes depending on how many items one can pick up.
Further, professions could be introduced to strengthen the above point:
1] Demon slayer - receives bonus damage against demons
2] Trader - has bigger inventory and better prices with the town vendors
3] Scavenger - has bigger stash
4] Crafter - ability to extract more materials from salvaging
5] Farmer - has bigger hideout and ability to spot more ingredients on world map
6] Blacksmith - can repair his equipment for free
7] Tailor - can combine visual looks at wardrobe
Every little detail matters and changes the gameplay experience.
With arpgs though combat pacing is what dictates the pacing of the game. Because players will always find ways of using the same mantra that all games like this one uses. Town is lava, they will not want to be spending a lot of time in town buying and selling or doing whatever is needed. They will want to be spending most of the time fighting mobs to get loot.
Also I wouldn’t doubt that if PoE’s combat pacing was slower then the game play pace would definitely be slower
With less space you will not be picking things up as much as you would with more space. The mobs still will be dying as fast as before. Players would figure out ways to still make the town like lava where they won’t be spending that much time in town.
If the only difference is the stash in D3 where the killing speed is the same then I wouldn’t notice the difference in pace at all. All I would do is go to town more or get very picky about what I do pick up. That is what the majority of players would do with less space is pick up less. They will find ways of spending less time in town. Whether it is less time choosing how to spend their points or what gear is an upgrade.
It all depends on the person. Limited stash never stopped me from picking up everything in D1 and D2. Of course, I don’t worry about efficiency like many here do, which seems to be the biggest reason to not do what I did.
Those two are a different type of efficiency… One takes time into consideration the other doesn’t, that’s when you’re the “If I skip I fail” type of mindset and believed it or not a lot of us are that… But even given time here’s the way I look at it:
Just cleared act 3 and have 3 hours left to play, do I kill Mephisto 10-15 more times or I just almost/clear act 4
And to be frank I’d do the latter, the reason why is because Act 4 > Act 3 loot, even with boss clearance (at least SHOULD be the case)… The Act 3 boss is already “below” your level, is already something the game designed to be beaten by lvl24 character (not by lvl28, lvl30 or whatever)
However there’s a “tradeoff”, in which IF the “I skip everything” player was a lvl20 or lvl21 then they’re 3 levels BELOW expected (i.e. a higher challenge), so them “farming” the same boss again and again is more of an “even out” type of action
Overall I share your opinion on “efficiency” I better slowly progress the next act rather than beat the sh*t out of the same boss I just won against again and again… And would take it even further, games that have a design in which a lot of stuff can be skipped are badly designed games
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