i preordered the game a long time ago. game was decent but i felt it fell apart quickly even before S1. before S1 blizz nerfed everything to make way for seasonal powers / borrowed power.
it is D4’s current practice that all seasonal powers poof at the end of a season. this can make playing on eternal realm feel… well… underwhelming.
i get that D4 focuses heavily on seasonal content. there is a huge playerbase that love seasonal content.
but why only cater to these fans? why not also retain eternal players? eternal players play regardless of seasons. but i know for a fact there are many people such as myself and my friends who hate the idea that we’re weaker than seasonal character due to seasonal characters having borrowed power.
there is actually 2 steps to making eternal players actually stick around.
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make seasonal powers come in the form of gear. and allow this gear to go eternal once the season is over instead of just poofing it. more emphasis on power via gear while the seasonal mechanic is designed in a way that in order to get seasonal gear, players have to engage in the season mechanics.
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if it is not too OP, then consider adding ways to obtain said gear in eternal realm after the season is over.
How does this change effect seasonal players?
technically zero effect as they still have access to seasonal mechanics and seasonal gear as well as seasonal mtx rewards. the difference being they cant rely entirely on seasonal mechanics to directly buff their characters.
Possible counter argument
By enforcing this new design philosophy, the devs creativity may be stifled as they could have gone bonkers with seasonal buffs. i actually feel this is true, the devs would actually have to make more considerations, transferring seasonal power onto gear could mean we might lose out on wild and interesting seasonal mechanics/buffs.
i would tho counter that by saying that IF this design philosophy is adopted, past seasonal gear COULD drop in new seasons if they were adopted into the core game. this can happen without needing to always incorporate every single seasonal mechanic into the game, thus preventing bloat which POE has. i legit cant remember the last time i actually delved in POE, and i usually block most of the extra content by default. keep it simple. put the power into gear.
Ending statement
I believe this would only result in a net positive. by the end of every season, the devs could analyze the seasonal gear and make decisions on keeping it into core or getting rid of them entirely. if they were added to core, it would simply enrich the game.
MISC note
I quit D4 as early as S1. i was part of the d4 bad crowd. the recent changes are HUGE and its the first time i feel that blizz/d4 devs are actually listening to meaningful feedback and making meaningful changes. the game is FUN AS HELL. i went from hating the game thinking it was a waste of money to loving it and am currently ADDICTED.
i WANT to keep playing D4. but i am not mainly a seasonal player. i m the type of player that ONLY plays seasons in ARPGS IF and ony IF i can bring back the seasonal power back to eternal realm. everything i do in seasons is just a stepping stone to making my character godlike in eternal.
i am sure there are many people that “dont get” why people would enjoy eternal realms/permanency. its fine. you dont need to understand the whys. instead i would point out that the current D4 neglects eternal realmers by a huge lot. if more people are enticed to play eternal, that is always a win. more people playing the game means a higher chance that they will spend more money in D4. more money in D4 means the blizz will pour more resources to making more content for D4.
the wheel keeps spinning and everyone wins.
i think this might be my first post in the forums, i m not sure. regardless i m posting this now because the recent s4 has changed D4 significantly enough, its a real good time to start implementing new design philosophies.