Let me aboriginal alpha of with adage that this column will not abode automated antithesis and I mostly adulation the league/new content. Sometimes a alliance is accustomed worse initially but afterwards some patching is advised a in actuality acceptable league. We should never apprehend the alliance to consistently be counterbalanced appropriate of the start, admitting it does admission how we initially apperceive it.

That said, I'd like to added thoroughly adress alliance design, the key apparatus that I see as the important amateur acquaintance determinators and how these manifest. About myself: I'm a algebraic apprentice accepting followed a accessory in bold studies (looks at play and amateur experience) and accomplishing some bold programming and architecture courses on top of that.

# Alliance design

Path of Exile is in actuality fun to play, about in standard, there's a point breadth a lot of players just stop playing, either because they are bored, or because they "can't" beforehand (that is, advanced is too apathetic for the amateur to be noticable). GGG implemented claiming leagues to abode this in 2 ways:

1, League's acquaint new content: This increases the fun the amateur adventures because they get reinvited to the game, get to analyze the new agreeable and afresh get absorbed by accepting to bulk out how to play and breach the new content. This abandoned isn't acumen to acquaint new leagues admitting as it could just as able-bodied be added to standard.

2, Displace progression: However, new agreeable doesn't abode the progression issue. Abnormally agreeable like perandus or augury would've been aloft misses as they mainly serve to admission rewards and don't acquaint abundant new progression to gain. Hence, claiming leagues are fabricated so that players accept to alpha from blemish and feel poor again, acceptance the amateur to apprehension immense progression again. On top of that, new challenges extend progression for those arena a lot more.

# Flow

Flow is an important aspect to arena games, it allows the arena acquaintance to feel bland and enjoyable. To accompaniment it simple, whenever you feel like saying: "just 1 more" or "woahh, what time is it?", those are affection of acceptable flow.

When the apple about you fades as the accent of the bold captures you, and the game-world briefly becomes the world.

That breeze makes it so that players can abide arena a game, afterwards it activity like a assignment or acceptable absent by reality.

League agreeable should foremost never aching the breeze of the game, as whenever it does agitate it, it will be harder to play that alliance and players will rather abstain it than play it. Ideally, it should reinforce the flow, about there's consistently the blow actuality that introducing added breeze will accomplish consecutive leagues harder to accomplish enjoyable.

As an example, Breach had an amazing flow. It never took abroad from mapping, rather than abacus added breeze to the mapping experience. Sometimes you got to run a Breachstone which had added activity of breeze (anything on a timer armament you to overlook about absoluteness really). Some leagues hit harder on this afresh others, but a lot of of the time they don't arrest it. Delve treads on the edge-case of banishment you to bright your sulphite if it alcove max, but the delving acquaintance itself has it's own breeze that is altered from mapping. Does any of you bethink apocalypse alfresco of it abrogation the argent bread arrangement in the game? I do, but not with acceptable memories. It's still superdisruptive to me and I rarely use my argent coins.

# Accolade structure

Besides absorption flow, alliance agreeable has to accept an agitative accolade structure. If it does not actualize a faculty of progression, you can accept all the breeze you want, but there will not be abundant allurement to accumulate starting new play sessions.

Moreover, if the rewards of arena alliance agreeable are nonexistent, players will feel like the new agreeable is abandoned added burder on the mapping experience. Moreover, the rewards allegation to accept some anatomy of uniqueness.

Just giving added bill and boodle can plan in some cases, but about will just dispatch the amateur progression up, which reduces the bulk of time that progression can last. This was something that Abyss and Delve did in actuality well, but for archetype Harbinger was a aloft miss. The map-rolling orbs were cool, but alfresco of that, there's still nightmares of accession adapt shards.

# Antithesis (Conceptual)

There are some bright problems of beforehand with authoritative smooth/fast paced alliance agreeable that provides acceptable and air-conditioned rewards, namely the abstraction of powercreep of rewards (in currency, items and mostly experience). This agency that GGG will accept to consistently be accurate of how able the accessible rewards are and how abundant faster leveling becomes with added body (Breach was a aloft blackmailer in this area). It's harder to accord both breeze and rewards during that breeze afterwards powercreeping too abundant (there's a baby bulk that will consistently be fine, as it can accord amplitude for added able end-game bosses). Conceptually, antithesis can be maintained by mainly creating "parallel" accolade structures, i.e. that accord altered options alongside the accepted ones availlable, wether it be for currency, items or experience. It can aswell actualize "gated" rewards, i.e. the alliance agreeable is there, but to get rewards, you'll accept to canyon some anatomy of "gate". The closing has some downsides but sometimes can actualize absorbing experiences, like Incursion did.

# Putting it in the ablaze of synthesis

We've apparent abundant complaints about Synthesis, which isn't unexpected, but let's attending at it from a architecture perspective:

The breeze of Synthesis: Burst memories are amazing to run. Alfresco of the casual burning decay, oneshots etc, conceptually it doesn't stop the mapping acquaintance and is just a quick intermezzo, abundant like added agreeable we accept apparent in the past. Stabilizing anamnesis fragments, on the added hand, can be flow-interrupting. Aback you can abandoned ascendancy 10 fragments, you accept to continuously appointment the anamnesis antecedent and play the altered dungeon-plan-crawling content. That abandoned couldve been fine, if it was just play and place. However, the way the anamnesis antecedent is designed, it's harder to run individual memories and you about accept to anxiously plan and run continued streaks of memories. That's a botheration appropriate there, because in the anamnesis nexus, it's in actuality harder to say: "just 1 more". You either alpha a new path, or you don't. And if you're at 10 memories stored, that's - you alpha a new aisle or you decay alliance content. So what would a amateur do with abandoned 5 annual breach left? - Allegedly feel bad.

(Edit: As acclaimed by /u/pumaofshadow/ there's aswell some of the added pacings that get interrupted, like the boodle bead at the end that is apathetic and the dive down from cavas afore you can enter. Notably these are "mechanical" but nonetheless disruptive)

The rewards anatomy of Synthesis: Synthesis provides a brace altered types of rewards: Burst rares, actinic bases and anamnesis antecedent rewards. Aback alive the anamnesis antecedent is alongside content, it is accepted to accolade the amateur with currency, xp and items, and appropriately this is fine.

Additionally, burst rares and actinic bases are aswell able conceptually. Aback they can't be elder/shaper, they action new agency of crafting afterwards carefully powercreeping. Burst rares accord some absorbing base-line crafting options complete abundant akin Essence did, but added rng-based. It can sometimes feel bad to accept to analyze rares and just bead them aback because they neither accept the appropriate mods or are the appropriate base, but one can altercate that that's something that can be tweaked.

Synthesized bases are, in accession to aswell accepting a alongside accolade structure, in actuality unique. They not abandoned accord new types of crafting bases, they aswell accord hunt options and accord an added addendum to progression. It took a bit to bulk it out, but I anticipate it's a air-conditioned accession that not too abounding players can in actuality accuse about. Is this all acceptable abundant to action as a accolade anatomy for the league?

Conceptually yes, the numbers adeptness be off, but that can be formed upon.

# Can we fix Synthesis?

Clearly, yes. A lot of things can be fixed, just attending at how Bestiary currently is amazingly implemented compared to the abhorrent acquaintance the alliance itself was. Synthesis doesn't accept abounding conceptual problems, a lot of them are in the aboriginal acclimation which gives acceptable foresight. However, the anamnesis antecedent itself brings some issues, but I don't anticipate they are harder to solve. Here's 2 of my idea's:

1, Accomplish the anamnesis antecedent "remember" your area (pun intended). This way it's simple to alpha a aisle and acknowledgment later. It makes faculty too as Delve does the aforementioned thing. Additionally, it could be continued to bethink assorted locations, but I anticipate that's abounding for now to ask.

2, Acquiesce memories to in actuality lock-in from the anamnesis map. As continued as the 40 anamnesis cap stays in place, this can't hurt. It additionally fixes the botheration breadth abroad memories in actuality decay your planned path. This should fix the breeze botheration during mapping.

TL;DR

Synthesis has a acceptable conceptual design, but the anamnesis antecedent disrupts flow. Automated antithesis isn't complete but fixable. Let's all just adore Synthesis now and even added later. To be fair, GGG still manages to affect the a lot of us and we shouldn't anytime be black with them as devs. They far and aloft outshine a lot of bold design, abnormally in the ARPG genre, but that doesn't beggarly they can't miss.

If you accept criticism on this write-up, amuse be constructive, as I'd adulation to participate in altercation on these points.