The Most Controversial Mechanic in Path of Exile 2

[@Raxxanterax]

I have to wear Christmas hoodies all month from my subathon in October 🎉

[@killedirl]

nu name Blaxxanterax?

[@piranime]

Raxxaclaus when?

[@alantremonti1381]

Hey Raxx why's your hoodie red?! Ad infinitum.

[@leehemmersbach8018]

Oh snap! He does change his clothes!

[@PaladinZeke]

Keygiveawaystreams, here on YT or on Twitch?

[@WhackyCast]

I didn't know I was colorblind until today.

[@Wildpneuma-pt8qf]

lollll

[@jacobscott2473]

how did you find out? like what in the video tipped you off? Was it the red hoodie?

[@arturberenstein]

Yep ​@@jacobscott2473

[@Jay7ona]

I tried to get him to wear a red hoodie for d4 release but he didn't take the bait

[@zipzap8937]

@@jacobscott2473 I have some unfortunate news for you.

[@darkdraconis]

5:45 that's not the argument. The "casuals won't use it" means casuals won't abuse it. But casuals will be most thankful for this feature since it makes the game better for interacting with your RL sorroundings

[@Orion3T]

Yeah usually Rax is right on point but this was a strawman. Accidental I'm sure but a strawman nonetheless. Casuals absolutely want to be able to pause during the 1-2h they have to play so they can quickly change a nappy, let the dog out, etc.

[@Alacod19]

Yeah he lost me with this take. "Don't design a game feature around your casual/average/normal player base because the %1/streamers/hardcore people may abuse it". This is one of those cases where content creators can negatively impact a game.

[@sixten7920]

@@Alacod19 thing is if people don't like it they can just simply... *gasp* not use it lol. I don't know why people need to be FORCED to not do a thing that is up to them to do to begin with.

[@oskarkrzyzanowski8499]

@@Orion3T 6:38

[@rainerzufall1337]

@@Alacod19 not really, because if you really listened it is ONLY for the MOST UBER Bossfights, and they all mostly talking about hardcore. How many casual players do you know have beaten the hardest content in PoE 1 .. in hardcore? There is not a single casual player on the world who did this. And all the other situations to pause the game are mostly okay - maybe not on hardcore as you can dodge a lot of stuff with pause. But anyways, I agree with the Uber boss pause feature, that shouldn't exist at least on hardcore. This won't affect a single carsal gamer...because then he/she isn't a casual, right?

[@ChyrosNX7]

As a Dad who’s able to play CBT last Nov, having Pause by hitting ESC so I can attend to my kid’s needs immediately is a total God send.

[@JohnCramer-k1u]

Same, but the game isn't made for us.

[@RegalBane]

That's my thing also....Keep the ESC

[@MalcolmTurnerKing]

​@JohnCramer-k1u ...Apparently it is.

[@caddi15]

If I'm solo let me pause hate the online only even when I'm playing alone.

[@jadeapiata6545]

As a single father of a 6yo and 10yo who often need my attention, I could not disagree with you more!!! i will not have the greatest game ever made have its integrity and difficult serious nature diluted to apease me!! NEVER should Path of Exile and GGG cater to my RL problems!! EVER!!!

[@sherlockyt]

Pause is a god sent for the average player, I feel like the worry about races and stuff like that is legit but is a bit selfish, I feel like you can disable pause in certain scenarios but removing pause all together is bad.

[@alexv7061]

the worry about "races" is a non issue for the vast majority of the playerbase. PoE is hack'n'slash people play for fun and to get their dopamine hits to relax. Its not a competitive game, its not an esports, and if people want to make it one, then they should make rules about what is allowed and what is not and make sure competitors respect those Not ruin the game for the entire bloody community "What if people pause the game for the first uber kill" ? So what? Besides a handful of people that pump out media trying to make a living out of it, nobody else cares who kils the first crab or last boss. Nobody cared who was the first to Hillock, Kitava, or Shaper and nobody will care who is the first to kill whatever boss poe2 has

[@bonesnaps]

They can make custom pause-disabled races if need be. Though we haven't really had any proper races in many years so it's probably a nothingburger to begin with.

[@TheWeinstallion]

Also anyone whop has pubstompers on discord waiting in the wings... can join before the fight or mid fight without pause. It sounds like a non issue lawl. Those of us with family n stuff interrupting the fights for a quick questions or 5min break need this pause!

[@michaelwhiteley]

Average players will never kill the top bosses anyway, so doesn't matter

[@dylankelley7335]

I think it's better for ppl. They said if the system detects lag it will auto pause. I think saving players from lag spikes in boss fights is more important than scummbags abusing it.

[@DethScarred]

I was going to comment this. I would rather have pause to protect against connection and server related issues. Especially in hardcore.

[@therealkylekelly]

auto pausing on lag/dc is totally fine, being able to manually pause infinitely is not...

[@Leonardofontana11]

You can do one without the other

[@wilburtshnookums]

@@therealkylekelly yes it is. if you only value your boss kill in comparison to how others kill it then thats a you problem

[@endorphinADMIN]

​@@therealkylekellyonce you hit lag / dc and the boss deletes you, pausing is irrelevant. completely agree with raxx, remove pause from bosses. the esc key should plop you in your last save, "safe" spot. to cheese boss mechanics is embarrassing and will be abused. in the case of life emergency, esc to safety and farm up mats to try again.

[@valkyriealpha]

Still very early and they are experimenting, however this take sounds like "You really didn't beat Elden Ring since you used summons."

[@odman7945]

@@valkyriealpha hey. Atleast its not pausing!

[@chaddrusso8850]

Lol facts

[@CostelloDamian]

LMAO couldn't agree more. Sweat lords trying to glorify their achievements 🤣Just play the fking video game lmao

[@deucey6790]

It's wild how people let what others MIGHT do "ruin" their experience lmao

[@bonesnaps]

I killed Ornstein & Smough without summons. It was brutal and took me a dozen tries, as well as coming back later when I gained like 12 levels. ...then I saw the summon portal (and found about the mechanic in general) and facepalmed. Would have loved to use it lol.

[@Ordon12]

The player-friendly aspect of a pause option far outweights the concern of a smaller, vocal group that values letting everyone know they defeated a boss without using pause.

[@flosthebos]

This.

[@lukebrady65]

To be fair, Rex has an excellent point, but I also think people in the comments are bringing up good counterarguments. So, I agree with both sides, and I don't know how they can fix it.

[@Plerion]

1000%. Are we really challenging some random person's sense of "gaming morality" because they killed a boss with pauses? Why is killing a boss via RMT not a problem in that case? I mean yeah, hopefully this "exploit" can be fixed, but both are non-issues imho.

[@EyesFireable]

Hardcore players are stupid for this. If they want the achievement of beating the boss without pausing. They can, you guess: NOT PAUSE THE GAME WHILE BOSSING!!!

[@markopamparelo9101]

I want to be your friend.

[@newaccountwhodis7492]

Logout macros exists: HC players - don't care. A simple pause function: Oh god, everyone is going to cheese. Me: typical smooth brain, where the hell am I? And what the hell is this? Death count: 1289

[@michaelwhiteley]

And those two things area totally different. Did they stop teaching kids to think in school?

[@Brandon-sc6hy]

I agree, if anything I think the hardcore players ability to escape is a cheese. The pause feature is nothing.

[@andrewcleary9952]

Nah, pausing is good. Sometimes you have to answer the door halfway through a boss, and losing the entire run as a result is awful

[@axel1978]

I have kids. Sometimes the change the tv channel or fall or shit all over the floor.

[@Weaver_Games]

Yeah, the streamers and racers are out of touch with everyone else. They should just implement a "casual" mode or something that doesn't track you against world firsts and let everyone else have fun. It's clear GGG wants a big market for this thing. Everyone hates on D4 but we need to remember it made more money in preorder sales than GGG has made, cumulatively, in its entire history. I think they want a large audience and to be the market leading ARPG. And to do that you might have to make some decisions that no-lifers take umbrage with.

[@spankmymoomoo]

@@Barn80 so let's just design a game that is so unfriendly to the user that only showerless trash goblins can play it, why stop at removing the pause? let's make it so that if you log out you die, just like real life.

[@Weaver_Games]

@@Barn80 It's just adding a pause function not designing the game around it. Games have had pause since 1976 with the Fairchild Channel F.

[@Oofmeister]

When you die in Elden Ring you don't lose access to that boss. That is a major factor in why removing pauses for moments where you need to go afk for a minute or 2 is stupid. ​@@Barn80

[@MrWitz90]

Couldn't disagree with you more. Grim dawn has pause-on-escape, and it just makes the game more fun for me personally. People also said in LE and GD that adding an evade/dodge would be game breaking.... Now though, those same people would cry if they removed it.

[@Weaver_Games]

D2 and D3 you could also pause and I've never heard of a single person using it to cheese a boss in my life

[@Lotware]

​@@Weaver_Games in diablo 2 single player, yep - that's why i am a "Closed Bnet" diablo 2 player. When i had better internet after being in the US (because i used to play from Singapore to USWest back in the dial-up days), so after i got better latency, i play D2 LoD HC :) I will agree for "boss fights" that it shouldn't happen but honestly, single player mode is not online, so you can do whatever you want because you're in control. As for Diablo 3 in Solo (no party member), desyncs or whatever is the reason to do it. For boss fight in general, it's punishing to be unprepared -- the thing to try is to play SC first before HC. It just feels awkward to "JUMP INTO HC -- but have the pause (yes we can say we have to answer the door to grab my ordered delivery, or i need to go to the bathroom ... But at the end of the day, they need a better solution that still maintains a pause FOR going to the bathroom, so it's up to the game devs to find out the best way because we're humans needing to do other things IRL "in sudden moment".

[@Churahm]

@@Weaver_Games Pretty sure I've seen D3 videos/streams of alkaizer back in the day playing Raekor barb and pausing after every charge to plan where to charge next.

[@TwirlingFern]

I prefer to play offline solo, and I often need to pause so this is good for me. I don’t care if someone pauses during a boss fight. It’s like in slay the spire you can reset combat but the best players don’t use it. If you want to use it to learn the boss then so be it I don’t care.

[@peterk2735]

Same here. Even when I have time to sit down for a proper gaming sessions, I often get interrupted and need to step away from the PC. I wish I could lock myself in my room like when I was 14 or if I was a streamer, but a lot of us older gamers don't have that luxury.

[@XiLock_Alotx]

@@peterk2735THIS^. I’m way too old to be gaming based on what society thinks. Lol. I welcome this change. And based on comments across multiple videos from Rax and Ziz it would seem the community is also very welcoming of this change.

[@Dagginakki]

for offline solo this is fine, i personally like the immersion and tension that is included in playing a game like this. but yeah solo offline no problem, but with MP economy its a problem.

[@Noclaf555]

This is how your mind works when all you do is play games. Pausing will be a god send for most normal people.

[@Mexicannasa]

Yeah, streamers have ruined more games then they have helped.

[@Magge67]

I mean they will 100% remove it because it’s a terrible feature. MAYBE they keep it in for softcore only, but it is changing for sure

[@wilburtshnookums]

@@Magge67 its not terrible lmao

[@Magge67]

@@wilburtshnookums it is for hardcore, it’s more powerful than the log out macro in Poe 1, which most people hate

[@trahanddarkeyes5329]

​@@Magge67how its more powerful than something that prevents death? If you pause when yourr about to die, you die anyway when you unpause, right? Or am i missing something?

[@ristopaasivirta9770]

Being able to pause the game is just better overall in my opinion. It's a game... for enjoyment. If people cheese content with it, I can't really care. I just want to be able to take a pause from a game when needed.

[@GlockProductionz]

Just because you dont care doesnt mean the rest of the playerbase doesnt care either, been playing PoE for over 12 years and i do care, if you commit to the boss you do it right period, if you feel like something might disturb your boss session just dont do it at that moment, it is that simple.

[@bcuz6641]

Who cares if you played for 12 years Just don’t use pause? How does having a pause affect you if you don’t use it? If you care for ladders go cry

[@GlockProductionz]

@@bcuz6641 It´s gonna be removed 100% idc about what you feel, im 100% sure it will be removed, youre the one that have to deal with it.

[@Araxeus]

I find it amusing how hard you bashed chat yesterday for disagreeing with you and now 99% of youtube comments disagree too

[@reneemaestas607]

I find it amusing how 99% of the people in this youtube comments disagreeing with Raxx are going to their ass kicked, rage quit and give up on the game before completing campaign. So, their opinion shouldn't matter because casuals that want this won't be playing the game for long anyways.

[@Araxeus]

@@reneemaestas607 you can try gatekeeping but that wont stop people from playing. good luck

[@AtticaBlue1]

@@reneemaestas607In which case the now routine predictions about PoE2 “killing” D4 is probably not going to happen.

[@Weaver_Games]

​@@reneemaestas607 PoE1 is the game for you. It's not going offline and will have indefinite support. I think PoE2 will reach wide appeal. GGG has captured the no-lifer market and have literally no avenues left to grow the company. They've put crazy amounts of time and money into PoE2 and it's clear they want a bigger audience for it.

[@reneemaestas607]

@@Weaver_Games Just a realist trying to keep it real here, and we'll see all the complaints from crybabies all over the place by Monday morning guaranteed. You'll more than likely be there crying as well. Have Fun and good luck though!

[@RamzaBehoulve]

Man, I thought I was bleeding from the eye and seeing all red there.

[@practic4l349]

Corruption ftom the beast spread to his hoodie

[@saevvyth]

Makes sense from the perspective of a no-lifer (don't mean that in a derogatory way). But I won't even be doing any pinnacle bosses, I am pretty sure. I'll play the game for a thousand hours, but banging my head against a wall is just not something I enjoy or get satisfaction from. So for me, there is no downside, but the upside is kinda massive. Being able to pause to answer a friend's call is good.

[@ShimoKuma]

Okay, well I just don’t see why players have an issue with this but don’t have an issue with logout macros. Your gaming the system, if you really wanna “nerf” the pause function make it completely cover your screen so you can’t see anything in game so you can just look at mechanics.

[@Maximumdadgaming]

The entire reason logout exists boils down to bad POE1 mechanics. PoE2 Jonathan said logout is possible but not during pinnacle boss fights I thought? I've never used logout but completely understand why HC players use it. Im not a HC enjoyer but I might actually go HC in poe2 after my first SC playthrough

[@michaelwhiteley]

You really can't think of a way around them covering the boss fight when you are pause? It doesn't fix anything when it comes to the pausing on boss fight issue.

[@MagicBricakes]

Just like all the other parents - if I can pause a game then it makes it accessible for me. If I can't pause it then it severely limits the amount of time I can play, because I have to play when I know I'm absolutely not going to get interrupted. Knowing I might be able to pause whenever makes this game so much more exciting for me.

[@echoesofmalachor3700]

What if there is only 1% or less of the game you can’t pause, ie pinnacle bosses? If you’re so busy you can’t play a game that has a tiny part of it that can’t be paused how do you have time to play at all?

[@MagicBricakes]

@echoesofmalachor3700 Well for a start, that wasn't the point I was making at all. And also, it's not about having no time at all to play. It's about having virtually no time without the chance of being interrupted. Doesn't mean the interruptions happen a lot, but they could happen whenever.

[@CrookGX]

​@@echoesofmalachor3700that isn't what they said at all. Just trying to argue for no reason.

[@straven1662]

We are not sure how long these boss fights can be yet but a pause will be nice. I have walked away from Elden ring boss fights for over 30 minutes sometimes before I could finish the fight. Maybe they just limit the amount of pauses and have certain fights reset the “puzzles”?

[@echoesofmalachor3700]

@@MagicBricakes how does not address your comment? Removing pausing from only a select few of the hardest bosses in this much content keeps 99.9% of the game free to pause and keeps the very very end game content extremely hard. I see very few of any people caring if your pausing the game for a campaign boss or the middle of a map. Just remove it for a select few fights of the hardest difficulty.

[@wheeloftimem8481]

I don't particularly care about races or world first, and I like having the option to pause combat.

[@GlockProductionz]

Yes, you dont, but many do, casuals come and go in the blink of an eye, vets and grinders are the ones who stay and spend every league, so ye they should cater to their actual playerbase.

[@deucey6790]

As a vet and grinder, I very much appreciate a pause feature. I have a life that requires me to step away from my PC often. This convenience is an absolute net positive

[@omglimepie]

@GlockProductionz without casuals coming to check the game out every once in awhile your game would die. Games cannot innovate and survive off of the last loyal few that brain rotted themselves into playing only one game forever.

[@GlockProductionz]

@@omglimepie Not really, the game was never in dieing spiral, for 12 years it was always growing and was never casual, so ye casuals are not needed and the game will not cater to them period, i can bet you on that, it will be more acessible for new players, it will not be more acessible for casuals.

[@Esteradd]

@@GlockProductionz Isn't couch coop casual? Recommended support gems? PoE 2 will be more casual friendly for sure.

[@DTTRZ]

Raxx you're way overthinking this. This pause feature is barely going to be used to cheese. If anything constant pauses will make it harder to dodge mechanics and get in the flow of the fight. But there's so many positives when it comes to lag, IRL, toilet, food, etc.

[@poisonblack666]

right? as if anybody will be perfect on unpausing and moving again and wont loose .1 - .2 seconds....

[@sethjones6711]

Well if you think about the map boss in settlers league the best way to complete the laser challenge was to log out when he starts the laser attack and when you logged back in you wouldn’t take damage from it and was able to complete the challenge… it’s a different kind of cheese but I think it’s evidence that the players will take advantage of cheese when possible.

[@taronzgaming7739]

@@sethjones6711 The easiest way to complete the laser challenge was just do damage... I got it by accident without knowing that was a challenge...

[@poisonblack666]

@@sethjones6711 sounds like a skillissue... more srsly: even if (and i highly doubt it will) pausing, unpausing will give you a slight advantage. you willmassivly drag a 2 - 3 minute fight.... if thats the only way someone is able to win against a boss i would suggest to sell the splinter, get better gear, get better at the game and come back later.

[@josephreynolds2401]

It's not great when trying to flash farm maps because you're pausing constantly on boss so there's an upper limit on how abusable it is by its very nature. This is the same kind of abusable as TPs in a boss room fights were. And it's way more QoL for everyone so it is justified.

[@maaschele]

For me, as an SSF gamer, this change is great! I don't care about party play, I can pause and think if needed if something is a bit confusing when seeing for the 1st time, or I can quickly check some urgent IRL stuff in the middle of a boss fight, this is a great feature and who cares if someone will tryhard and use this feature to make a boss fight a bit easier on a certain edge case.

[@Dagginakki]

the reward for winning a tense situation is much greater atleast for myself, than winning a casual situation. also this feature will make every boss fight way easier, u can literally do a skill, pause, look for telegraph or areas, dodge, skill, pause rinse and repeat. u can turn the game into an turn based game

[@BbXxQQ]

are we able to pause during multiplayer game(same like csgo)?

[@johnoden5932]

​@@Dagginakkiok then don't use it and let the people who like it use it problem solved people act like because something exists they must use it if something isn't for you ignore it and people wanting to argue about the ladder and rankings so what does online fake standing really mean that much not to mention people will find some sort of cheesey bs no matter what that's how the top get there period.

[@pokemonfan2630]

​@@Dagginakkiyou're gonna pause and the boss will just be standing there and you won't learn anything lol, its not like you can do slow mo for the boss while you move at regular speed, that's what you're describing.

[@Dagginakki]

​@@johnoden5932and after they abuse it, it will be used as a point to balance the game around just as logout macro in poe1, then im either forced to use it or cripple my own gameplay

[@kuzzbillington6392]

This is a non-issue, but nice to have for a lot of people. Not being able to pause in a game that is practically a single player story most of the time kinda sucks. It was a great feature to have when playing offline D2 for example.

[@GlockProductionz]

If it´s single player it´s just for you, want casual games gtfo of PoE, i knew all the hype would bring all these casuals to try and ruin another game.

[@omglimepie]

@GlockProductionz what's a couple ways the casual crowd ruins poe?

[@phloxevl0]

@@GlockProductionz stop with your gatekeeping bullshit

[@DocKotoga]

I love the pause feature. I don't know how many deaths I've died because I left the computer at short notice and a fucking zombie ran around somewhere and ate me while i'm afk

[@jadeapiata6545]

Thats your god damn problem lmao!! thats the risk you take, shit I gotta go for 2 mins, there's a good chance ill die while standing here...... yeah... yeah you probably will die!.. And?? lmao hit the god damn portal scroll!!! fml

[@Gopstop222]

then just exit game?

[@kieranclarke4373]

Good. Go back to last check point and re-do.

[@trahanddarkeyes5329]

​​@@jadeapiata6545well, now its your fucking problem that the game has a pause feature, i guess. 😂

[@heqitao]

@@kieranclarke4373 That's the point that people don't seem to be getting. If you go back to last check point during a Boss fight (SC or HC) you DO NOT get a redo. That map is bricked and you must start a new map and go through the process of finding the Boss again... and collect any mats needed to re-enter (if applicable).

[@Jdiroe]

I respect your point of view here but I don’t believe that this will ruin the integrity of the game. If someone wants to pause to memorize a memory oriented boss that only the top echelon of players will see , that is their prerogative. I would suggest the option to toggle the pause button on/off and or have an achievement for those that beat a boss without pausing to remedy any sort of challenge or feeling of a success one might yearn for.

[@ralstlin939]

Thinking if a feature is bad because it can be exploited by the 0.1% top players is why other games like WoW went shit. I absolutely disagree with you here, pausing the game should not be decided by this at all. If it affect the 0.1% for this, not my problem, I want to be able to go to the toilet if I need to.

[@Alan-uy1iq]

Isn't the argument here that this is primarily a bad thing for hardcore? As it trivializes progress because you essentially can cheese it? Softcore by all means pause but i can definitely see an issue putting this into hardcore, especially if there's any level of online tracking/stats

[@RamzaBehoulve]

You can go to the toilet before or after the fight.

[@therealkylekelly]

if you can control your bathroom urges as a fully grown adult, you might have bigger problems than beating a boss in a video game. Port to town before leaving your computer, don't start the fight if you have to use the bathroom, it's very simple.

[@spankmymoomoo]

@@therealkylekelly his example isn't that great but it's incredibly disingenuous to not think of the fact that a pause is massively helpful for the vast, vast majority of players for any kind of circumstance arising. I have lost a hardcore character because my child threw up while napping next to me. it needn't even be something that drastic, if my wife calls me for help with something having the option to not make her wait is a good thing. there are ways that this can be mitigated, by adding a countdown or a very short cooldown to minimise its usefulness for cheesing a boss mechanic.

[@jadeapiata6545]

awww princess needs to go to toilet lets let him pause lmao this ain't a casual game mate!! if thats what you want then POE was NOT made for you buddy move along! POE is the pinnacle of serious gaming!! take it serious or fuck off!! POE wont be catering to you bud, sorry

[@ZeepZerp]

This sounds like a "I play video games for a living" problem. If I pause the game in my single player run that affects a streamer in no way. If you're concerned about pausing "ruining the integrity" (jesus, it's not the constitution) of some race then just ask for a "you can't pause" option for your race league. Problem solved. Racers can have their pause-free maximum integrity game and the rest of us can still play and have a life at the same time.

[@Dagginakki]

its not in single player, thats the problem. if u were in an offline league it would be fine, nobody would care.

[@MegaJackolope]

It's really not that deep bro. Just add a 3 sec countdown until the pause happens, can only pause every few minutes. If your kid needs to pop in to ask you answers to his math homework multiple times in a pinnacle boss, you got a choice to either stop and help him or play the game. I'm not interested in casual level features that make the game easier and offer an escape for people... The idea you beat a boss by pausing 20x to look up attack patterns and get the same credit as someone who rolled in and did it the real way is gross. I would want to play the game less.

[@MegaJackolope]

You are glossing over the part where everyone able to beat a boss this way does affect you, and it affects everyone else too. The people crying how badly they need to pause in a boss fight is insane. Y'all ever hear of the souls games? Go hit pause in a boss fight and see what happens.

[@Weaver_Games]

​@@MegaJackolopeHow does it affect you? If you're so cool then play hardcore ssf. Softcore trade league is for casuals, right? You wouldn't want to be a casual, would you?

[@chaddrusso8850]

@@MegaJackolopeI’ve played an beaten all the souls games and pausing doesn’t give you the ability to kill a boss it’s not that big of deal. People will always find cheese for hard content and I’m sure there will be a race with no pausing which you can join since you’re so hardcore

[@SwaggyProfessor]

Raxx decided to use a red hoodie when he saw DM using his blue one

[@leehemmersbach8018]

DM really thought he had joined The Brotherhood, then he saw Raxx in red and yelled out "dammit Raxx" 😂

[@Godric5024]

I think it was more that Raxx had to wear Christmas hoodies, he had no choice or say in the matter, and so the world was doomed... But lo, a lone warrior on a motorcycle hailing from the barren wastelands of Alaska arose to carry the eternal blue flame so that its light may never extinguish. "I'm raidy!" he said. He's actually a hero.

[@Vormehk]

I didn't even realize he wasn't wearing the blue hoodie til I started reading this comment. The Colorblind and Seeing red comments had me double checking the paint frame and still missed it.

[@ragnorak5095]

Who dfk cares is a fk&ing video game, if YOU want to ruin YOUR gaming experience is on YOU. want to flex World 1st killed?.... everyone would flame you and not acknowledge legitimately of killed because you scumbag your way through it.

[@benedikus]

You know PoE2 is going to be an insane game when THIS little mechanic is actually the thing people are complaining about 😂

[@cireunknown6409]

I don't think you'll actually be able to cheese the boss by pausing. I'm pretty sure they thought of that. They said that there's no way to cheese any of the bosses. You probably won't be able to invite while paused. And pausing would blank out the screen so you wouldn't be able to see and analyze how to dodge an incoming attack. But we will see when the games out. It's early access. It's meant to test these systems to see if they work or not.

[@Weaver_Games]

GGG has clearly put years of thought into these design decisions, I trust them that they're doing what they think is best and that almost everything has been thought through. And yes, PoE Ben might not like some decisions - but the goal with PoE2 was not to design the perfect game for a handful of streamers. I think it's obvious they want something close to mass market with this thing.

[@sprslyngel]

Pause is a quality of life feature that I, and I suspect a lot of people will be really happy is a thing. Sure, it might have some perceived negative effects for a tiny segment of the playerbase, but you can't design a game around them, at least not if you want a game to achieve mainstream success. Just my 2 cents.

[@GlockProductionz]

That tiny segment wich is not as tiny as you think, are the ones who kept comming and spending for over 10 years, F off with your mainstream shit, casuals come and go, most of them dont even spend any money on the game and jump onto the next FOTM game as soon as it appears, if they neglect their "vet" playerbase its going to be bad in the long run, we "made" the game what it is today, when i started playing the game had only a couple thousand players.

[@Slingblade2040]

I don't see a problem. It's a single player game for the most part. Only try hards care that much about a pause button. Don't like the feature don't use it. Some folks don't take games that seriously.

[@omglimepie]

Ive never in my life heard somebody complain that you could pause a game.

[@drooby-w7y]

You can't pause the game during souls or monster hunter games and if they changed it ppl would be upset. If you think you might have to pause the game soon then don't go into the boss arena

[@wilburtshnookums]

@@drooby-w7y the only monster hunter to ever not have pause was monster hunder world. you are so ignorant its laughable bro

[@Swollen_Goat]

@@drooby-w7y imagine being able to predict when you are going to have to step away from a game.. OH I better not enter this boss fight. Maybe something will happen in the next 2-10 minutes that I better be prepared for. Jeez.

[@Orion3T]

@@drooby-w7y Those don't have permadeath or limited attempts at a fight. And you generally respawn not far away. Or you can just log off. If I start a fight that I spent a load of time gathering mats for and my phone rings, I want to be able to answer it. It could be something important like a customer.... I shouldn't have to choose between retaining a customer and losing a load of progress.

[@Barn80]

Imagine playing Elden ring and in every boss fight you just keep pausing to perfectly time every dodge. Should never be a thing

[@EverydayIsDayOne]

Dont worry about it, if its shit they will change it

[@wilburtshnookums]

this just feels like when esports people try to change balance thats going to benefit them and no one else. his take on the casual argument saying only the emergency is a valid is out of touch. most people will use the pause to use the bathroom, get food, water, give attention to their pets that are interruption them and much more reasons. especially for me as someone with crohns disease pausing is pretty necessary as i cant control when it flairs up. also someone else beating a boss using this method isnt affecting you at all. it doesnt make legit kills mean any less. getting rid of it for the sake of 1% of the entire player base feeling better about a boss kill is honestly stupid.

[@TimberlyPL]

@@wilburtshnookums First off it does affect you cause it affects economy, if there is some fucked up boss that pausing really helps with then it does affect the prices of items that it drops, lets say you are the only person able to kill elder without pausing, you make a bank from his drops, then 10 more people start killing him using pause, its just straight unfair. Second thing is that 99% of people (lets just say 99 cause you're giving people with diseases as a counterargument) don't need to pause. They choose to. instead of thinking 5 minutes ahead and being like "hmm I wonder if I can start the boss now, I feel like going to the bathroom" they jump in and then pause cause they have the awareness of a 5 year old child disguised as "having life". Same thing goes with people saying "they don't have time to play 20 hours a day". Nobody does except for people that get paid for playing. Most of the people playing have a couple of hours a day and most people overall CAN spend an hour or a couple of hours to play, they just choose not to. Nobody forces you to play with your pet, nobody forces you to watch tv or some shit, it's your choice and you can do it before or after entering an instance but as I said, you don't have the mental capability to do that. By having a pause you are legit compromising the integrity of the competitive aspect of this game, because there is one. It's called economy and your pause takes out the need to have IQ above 80 to beat bosses since bosses test your cognitive adaptability that correlates with IQ but you don't need no adaptability if you can just pause and look at the mechanics.

[@Alacod19]

This is only really a Hardcore %1 issue. Barring mats at the endgame softcore can just throw themselves at mechanics anyways and casual hardcore players severely overgear their encounters.. Pausing benefits outweigh the potential abuse. If people think GGG needs to address this then just disable pause in hardcore but I don't think it's going to be that big of an issue, imo. Edit: someone else brought up if they heavily blur the screen or blackout/screensaver it this could be even more of a nonissue. Have we seen the pause screen?

[@clickbaitsellout7032]

Casual hardcore players lmao. Man oh man ARPG guys love to put themselves in boxes.

[@Alacod19]

@@clickbaitsellout7032 I was referring to the game mode "Hardcore" not creating an oxymoron. There no "boxes" being built here, there are varying levels of playstyle amongst all people who play video games. The most common being casual, hardcore and no-lifers. I chose the one suited for what I intended my comment to mean.

[@brooksp1191]

Easiest middle ground is simply heavily blur, mosaic, or black screen so you can't study the pattern while paused.

[@Swollen_Goat]

My thoughts too.

[@cathmorr89]

This is the obvious answer to me

[@TimberlyPL]

Add a 3 second delay before the pause and it's fine if it's blurred too so that you can't cheese

[@jaktracy]

Or you can add a rate limit to pausing. You can pause instantly, but when you unpause, you can’t pause again for 5 seconds. If you pause right when that 5 seconds is up, now your cooldown is 10 seconds. This lets you instantly pause if you have some need to, but you can’t spam it to effectively slow down the fight.

[@brooksp1191]

@@TimberlyPL There is an argument that the game should not be designed around the extremes. In this case only the sweatiest of people will try and use this method, yet balancing around that extreme hurts the average player. Just a heavy blur is fine imo, anything more and you are trying to design a feature around the extremes.

[@MPD1337]

Also you miss the point that POEx are looter games. The whole idea is to get to better loot faster = killing bosses quicker once you know how to kill them. If you don't pause, you get loot quicker. Once you know how to defeat boss, pause mechanic becomes irrelevant, unless there's pizza at the door or the toddler hurting himself in the background. Let the people have their pause button, you still have advantage over them as a blaster-streamer-player.

[@diegoalderette6485]

Easiest solution is to just make it a softcore thing. If you go into the boss fight in hc you are taking a risk, and being able to just leave the fight removes that and the entire point of playing hc. Same goes for a logout macro. Whereas in sc, theres no real downside other than hunting down that boss again, which is the default penalty, only in this case you basically choose to take the penalty to save a few secs to a minute.

[@willy7404]

When you cameback login from logout/dc and you choose to unpause and continue, devs said that the situation of the boss arena are the same exact before you disconnected from the game by any possible mean. Which is meant if you logout when your hp are about 5% and boss are close with you, You will comeback and continue with 5%hp + boss nearby you aswell. Which is this feature are difficult to cheese/abuse(it's not impossible, but it's clearly still hard to trick this rule). While i do agree some part of your point, that calling for help while the game is paused. But poe 1 feature can do that too anyway. Cheers.

[@cruzanassassin]

So......just dont pause...whats the issue? Why would u care if some random guy u don't know pauzes the game in his playthrough?

[@van7915]

It ain’t some random guy it’s a competition there’s leaderboards people will abuse this especially when POE2 is all about bossing and no one knows the fights yet

[@poisonblack666]

in the same way summons in elden ring. in absolutly no way... and still there are people going: "bUt ThEy DoNt PlAy ThE gAmE tHe RiGhT wAy....."

[@AndreikVlogs]

the Pause mechanic is basically you, the user, becoming a chronomancer IRL

[@poisonblack666]

oh you can run and attack while the game is paused? fascinating. sounds like a bug, better report it.

[@potm1k]

I can see both sides of this. On one hand, removing the pause feature can lead to more intense and challenging fights, making it an even greater achievement to defeat a boss without pausing. On the other hand, many players value the ability to pause for accessibility reasons. A potential solution might be to introduce a new rule specifically for Hardcore mode, where the pause functionality is entirely disabled.

[@TheMadJoker87]

im sorry, but are you defending NOT being able to pause the game? nah man, you're alone on this one we've been shitting on new games for the "always online" bullshit since they introduced it. most people play games solo, and most people dont have 12 uninterrupted hours to sit their asses in front of the computer, shit happens in real life. what exactly is the problem with pausing? that some sweatlords will be able to learn a fight and kill the boss 5 minutes earlier? who the hell cares???? stop asking for games to be designed for the 1%

[@Weaver_Games]

I can't wait for all the no-lifers to lose their mind when normal gamers play PoE2 and actually have fun instead of needing to treat it like a job.

[@Themtwa]

I feel like this might just have an easy solution. Just black out the screen, makes it harder to pause and evaluate the situation if you can't see anything. It's probably not the best solution, but it doesn't remove features for casuals.

[@LordAtlas10]

One thing i have learned after playing ARPGs recently is that the people who play ARPGs seem to care what OTHERS are doing in the THIER games, more than thier OWN gameplay

[@Mozokuni]

I would rename the current version of hard-core to “Single Soul.”Then create a true “hard-core” that has no pause and once you enter the boss room, it’s you or them.

[@BbXxQQ]

What would happen in this "true hard-core" scenario if you dc?

[@xThemadpoet]

@@BbXxQQ If you play hard core then you die - if pausing is a big deal so is free get out jail for DC - or it's not - hardcore is a joke if you can get away at all anytime anyway.

[@bukakabarabaka]

​@@BbXxQQ if you die you die

[@Mozokuni]

@ you start a new character after you go buy a better PC

[@GoddofStuff]

Second this. They can also make it so hardcore is only ssf. They can also decrease the number of potions. Stat squish, etc, then it will be truly a challenge for the 1%... Usually Raxx is on point, but this was just a swing and a very big miss. PoE is already complex and hard, this feature will add nothing to them, but help out/be a good feature for other, if not the majority of players, at least in my opinion. For them it's as simple as not using it, but no, Ben is throwing a tantrum and now we have the blasters complaining as well...

[@Oofmeister]

The idea that they should remove this because some people may abuse it to kill a boss over an hour because they're pausing every 2 seconds is beyond insane. You shouldn't lose a boss fight if someone knocks at your door. You shouldn't lose a boss fight if you get a phone call. You shouldn't lose a boss fight for having responsibilities that's not "play the game"

[@chasemitchell8166]

No one wants it full removed, they just don't want you to be able to do it every second and be able to see everything.

[@Kuzka_]

Give the pause a black screen or heavy blur and give it a cooldown before you can pause again. In my opinion people using the pause to cheese is on similar level to logout macro

[@odman7945]

@@Kuzka_ yeah it can be fixed in many ways.

[@lxghostxl]

Great idea! and also or maybe just dont allow to pause during pinnacle bosses and yes to pause during all the rest of the game

[@martinschmidt5366]

Good thinking, or maybe it's even possible to limit the number of pauses to 1-3 per boss fight.

[@ohsnapp5328]

​@@martinschmidt5366 Or maybe let people play a single player game however they want?

[@horusthehua7776]

Being able to pause is a great feature. I doubt its going to be cheesed other than by streamers and racers, so whocares. Its better for 99.99% of the player base by having it, so it should stay. I dont care if Ziz is going to cry about it, I just want a game that more people can enjoy, not a game some streamer wants to farm more content from

[@Mexicannasa]

Every time I hear about the "integrity of the game" I roll my eyes. It smacks of gaming elitism. Some people work for a living and have a life outside of gaming.

[@tnd-r1t]

go play diablo 4

[@Swollen_Goat]

@@tnd-r1t Terrible response. You sound like a typical smooth brain.

[@tiopapichulo2136]

There’s already an ARPG out there for the target audience you’re obviously included in. It’s called Diablo 4. Perfect game for casuals. PoE2 ain’t that

[@tomriggs699]

@@tiopapichulo2136complete nonsense. PoE2 was made to reach a broader audience, not just King God gamers like you, LMFAO.

[@Weaver_Games]

​@@tnd-r1t D4 doesn't have a pause feature, maybe you'll be at home there

[@DustinHarms]

The intro comes out as an AA meeting intro lol. "Hi, I'm Raxx, and I've been watching Path of Exile 2 content for the last week straight" XD

[@RoyalBLMPotato]

I would like to keep the pause especially for softcore. There are plenty reasons why one might want to pause and step away for a moment and I don't want to lose that function because a smaller portion of the community would use it to cheese fights. They could black out the screen during a pause so you cannot see the mechanic, they could put a timer on the pause so it cannot be spammed or they could remove pausing for hardcore and at least I would be opting into not having a pause.

[@therealkylekelly]

if you are starting a pinnacle boss fight and you can't dedicate 5-10 minutes of uninterrupted time then you should not be starting the fight. The amount of situations in which you would have to immediately pause and or leave your computer are just as infrequent and rare as the minority who would abuse this mechanic. You are undertaking serious end game content, treat it as such and eliminate distractions or do it at a later time.

[@leblancattire5951]

@@therealkylekelly different people different circumstances. you can't be seriously asking most people to "dedicate" their time over a game. Game is meant to be fun, not to punish you for having real life priorities.

[@TimberlyPL]

@@leblancattire5951 you are legit retarded

[@RaidenKhan]

Exactly. As a developer myself, I can confirm that people will literally "unearth" such exploits and WILL use them one way or the other. A lot of them. It should be addressed. A boss fight should feel like a boss fight.

[@JC-oq3ei]

Love the pausing. As a convenience thing and not a cheese thing. I dont see the same problems with it as you do. Hope they keep it

[@videogamechallenges3471]

As a parent with 2 small children I can only play when they sleep, but they can wake up at any moment, if I cant pause I cant play, sadly.

[@ThundersLegion]

Diverse mode options could resolve this issue: leaderboards focused on a mode with pause disabled, solo self found mode, another more casual friendly mode ect. And then have hc and sc

[@matthewmay8572]

More options for players is almost Always better.

[@Pusface2]

have to spit trade as well. It makes RMT easier if you can pause and restart a fight.

[@themagescorner]

I'm ok with pauses. But it depends on how it is done. If the pause comes with a menu that takes over the whole screen, that would be a bit more fair since it won't allow you to look at the screen and plan your next moves. Otherwise, sure, it becomes RtwP RPG lol. Imagine playin a soulslike and hitting spacebar to pause whenever you are in trouble.

[@lex6756]

100% agreed 👍, why not to make only one pause available in the boss fights. Just one time. And we will resolve this issue for the emergencies and for the check out situations.

[@tica03011985]

But what if someone is at your door and wants something from you, maybe for you to sign for a package and you're in the middle of a boss fight, and you can't pause? That episode of South Park comes to mind, where they play WoW and can't pause the fight so Cartman calls his mom for "bathroom". I'm a casual and don't care if someone cheeses the boss fight. Having a pause is great.

[@GlockProductionz]

if that happens you quit the fight and deal with it, and the only person it affects is you, now the pause effectively affects everyone else that makes part of the game economy (wich is one of the fundamental arpg pillars), anyone who doesnt cheese with the pause will automatically be doing worse than the ones who do. Maven as he said, was one of the bosses i would fuckup sometimes, with the pause i would never fuckup, NEVER, and anyone not using it would probably still fuckup, did i play better? am i a better player? maybe, or maybe not, but i did in fact get a massive advantage.

[@tica03011985]

@GlockProductionz Maybe they can limit it to a couple of times per fight or something, but having no ability to pause at all is lame.

[@anm767]

Love pause. Imagine your kids set house on fire, pause, put out fire, un-pause.

[@MikeBaia]

Looking forward to wearing the black POE 2 hoodie in 2 days

[@Greedsmith]

I choose the extra points 😋

[@NGwarp5]

I think having pause is good just GGG should prevent people from asking for help and making surrounding screen BLACK so they can't see and pre-plan. Doing this way makes both HC and casuals happy.

[@pikachu2003]

Umm these tubers and streamers only care about their income stream. We normals have a life and need to pause and not forgo everything over a game. Remember its a GAME!!! Not real life, when you get married and have kids you will understand.

[@LordLanix]

I think people dismissing the impact on pause aren’t wrong- but I do think we are underplaying it. It does effect the league and it does effect the market- because bosses are a lot easier with pausing. There are mods to pause games like Elden Ring explicitly for learning and making the game easier. The nuance of taking a repreive from a fight takes away the significance of beating that boss imo. That said, I agree that we should have this function as such a mechanic is healthy for those with real world responsibilities. I personally hate games like League of Legends when we get locked in 30-45 min games. But imo, this feature should not be in HC whatsoever.

[@Ctrl-Alt-Defeat-Gaming]

He stated they did it so the game would be fun, he is more concerned about it being fun to ppl, than the fact others might cheese it.

[@trad5479]

I agree with your take, I think a reasonable solution is to add a cooldown to pauses that won't tick while the game is paused so you can't abuse the pause for an advantage and the system is still available if you have an emergency and have to afk.

[@Pxinkill]

Why is the hoodie red? Is this a glitch in the matrix?

[@Orion3T]

I assume it's a December = Xmas thing?

[@Orion3T]

Ok it's a thing he has to do from one of his Subathon goals, Xmas hoodies all December. Don't worry, DM is now wearing the Blue Hoodie so Rax fans don't get hoodie withdrawl.

[@MrShakero]

Red hoodie guy, 17 dmg druid, the man, the legend 😮

[@ooVIDAR]

Good point, hoping this is something they've considered already.

[@kolai1987]

This is nonsense. Complete nontroversy. Oh no, you can invite your friends to fight a boss with you! How terrible! How about the escape menu just covers the screen so you can't see the actual game to cheese the fight? This is such a great feature. I'm tired of people who are essentially paid to play the game dictating design for people who are just trying to have fun.

[@r.d.6290]

Especially since this feature is nothing new

[@RPGSauce]

Weve been asking for pause for years, this is huge, and a great help for anyone who IRL stuff they need to attend to as well mid boss fight or what not.

[@kristofcsapo3155]

Putting cooldown (5-10s) on pausing would solve this imo. I don't think it should be removed altogether.

[@KarmaKahn]

For maps no cd is needed, but for bosses the cd would have to be substantial, like 2-3 minutes. Then it could be turned into a tactical tool even, but not something borderline exploitable.

[@kristofcsapo3155]

​@@KarmaKahnWhat's your reason to set a 2-3m limit compared to a 5-10s one? I don't see how it is needed.

[@KarmaKahn]

@@kristofcsapo3155 A 5-10 second cd does not solve the problem. Nothing really changes with that short of a cd.

[@kristofcsapo3155]

@@KarmaKahn It is a very big difference. Even with that low cd, you can't perfectly evade and cheese the fights anymore. Which is the major issue. Even Maven memory game couldn't be cheesed bacause you couldn't pause that frequently. The only mechanic i see a problem with is where you had to look for safe spots and a pause gives you time to find them.

[@KarmaKahn]

@@kristofcsapo3155 You can easily cheese something like the memory game as you can pause it midway through, write it down, unpause, and then pause after the end of the second sequence. Even with no cd you would not pause every second anyway as you remember at least 3-4 positions. With a longer cd, you can only do half a sequence, one time.

[@Buffalo99124]

As someone who has to frequently walk away from my computer while playing due to family, work, etc. This pause thing is a godsend for me. I totally understand the reasoning behind it - but some people can't dedicate the commitment to stuff like long dungons/boss battles in real time. That's just my take on it as a casual/slightly hardcore player. (No shade - love you man!!)

[@CrashBashL]

Pause Button, please. YOU don't get to decide my POE gaming experience. And being opposed to the Pause button, and influence the developers with your voice, then YOU decide how I MY gaming experience should be like. But your worries and insecurities don't trump my rights.

[@Dandudanable]

I'm sorry, but you have to be legally disabled if what you got from this video was "remove pause" from the game. Or this is a bait comment and I'm falling for it. I'd actually prefer that.

[@beingbeyonddat]

Since when a problem for the no-lifer player (which Rax is due to his work) is a problem for the game itself? PoE and PoE 2 aren't games for the average casual, sure, but being a blaster and crying for a pause option, especially because of hardcore, is very out of context. And let's not forget that Rax and the others complaining about it haven't even tried it. I am literally just gonna watch lore and info related videos about games, man. Complaints just reached their limit when people complain about a mechanic that hasn't been tested and its creator has already given strong arguments about why he thinks this is positive for his game.

[@Almgandi8092]

So this is the most controversial mechanic in POE 2? I am glad it is nothing serious and I can have fun playing the game as a casual.

[@CrimsonEnvec]

1). Okay I can agree with that. Honestly as a casual I wouldn't use it. But like you said, if I'm not going to use it, what does it matter to me? Might as well not be there and if it's going to affect other people sure but let's make the game good for everybody 2). The real issue that I have as a casual player, I'm not concerned about Pinnacle bosses. I'm probably never going to even fight any of them. I really hate the fact that I'm forcing into this. Pseudo hardcore give me away to reattempt bosses. Like if I'm in a map and I fail it then give me a way to restart the map. Maybe it's a currency item. You know something you would use on the map node. Maybe it's a scour orb and you scour that node and it resets it and I can retry it but don't just make it so Oh this is now gone forever

[@Protosavage]

Dude. Please keep voicing this. I 1000% agree. I love the idea of going into a boss being a commitment and that u have to be rdy. My only feedback would be to have something so people know that it’s a boss room, like in maps when u see “arena”. I’m a dad of two young ones. I hate seeing the dad excuse. I don’t want my game to be cheesable or watered down to cater to me.

[@TheFawz]

For 99% of the player base this has no impact and likely won't even be noticed, but sure for streamers I can see how this isn't ideal

[@Juuz9]

Or make it so you can attempt a "pause" only1-3 times per fight

[@taochi100]

I never even thought until you said it about pause during a boss fight. For the integrity of myself. Someone else said what if your kid needs something or your wife needs you to do something real quick. For a causal dad's out there it will help with not making our wife's hate our guts

[@Swollen_Goat]

Same. This sounds amazing as a player of WoW who does mythic raiding. Being able to enjoy a game like this and finally be able to pause and help when needed instead of my usual "Hold on I am in a dungeon or a boss fight". She will be very happy. Hope these CCs and No life streamers don't ruin it for everyone else.

[@taochi100]

@Swollen_Goat I know I just told my wife I'm spending money on a supporters pack for a game. Comes out on Friday. First thing she said was better not stop you from things I need you for. I said don't worry there's a pause button she stopped talking

[@1cerebrum]

Jesus, i am totally on the other side here. Pausing is very good for us normies, who care about the race etc.

[@フフウェイ]

They could easily implement like a 5-10 min cooldown on pauses during boss fights. Surely ONE pause wouldn't be so cheesy that it would completely break the game. This way you'd get your emergency break if you need to and also not be able to cheese the game. I think this is a much better solution than just removing the pause mechanic altogether.

[@KarmaKahn]

This would work, but something like a 2 min CD would probably be enough.

[@wowscortcher]

This is a good point. And the fix is super easy. You either prevent pause during boss fights only or test 1 week without it entirely. It's an early access, this is the best time for GGG to test pausing. For me, in particular, it is a desirable feature, because I assume it's going to help me learn a boss. If you played Elden Ring, you know that you must learn the mechanics to beat the game.

[@Endorsememe]

D3 has pause, and I like it.

[@FGTutorials]

I completely agree, I don't know why everyone in the comments wants you to be able to pause frame by frame thru your fights. Especially when there's real pressure on the line and you're more insentivized to do so, it's going to be immersion breaking AF. How can people not see this? What happened to enjoying a challenge?

[@Lucyller]

Damn, suddenly the top comment are saying how vapid this argument is and how innocuous this feature is. Change from yesterday stream where I was "alone" and a clown for saying it doesn't matter. 😮 Jk, I'm just a little bitter on how people were easy to taunt me for not blindingly agreeing. Esit : I'm still fine betting on how much people will "abuse" the pause feature 😂

[@Lucyller]

Btw, you're forgetting how in PoE 1 you don't just have 6 portals, you have 6 portals and a whole minutes of Invulnerability. You can literally SKIP a whole mechanics 6 times in PoE1

[@Mazzzaq]

100% you will use the pause feature at some point because you have something going on IRL that needs your attention so that is a big W. Why does it matter what other players are doing? Have fun and enjoy YOUR experience.

[@pokedadsam9041]

Diablo 2 had escape pausing and this is the true sequel of the game. You still get absolutely blown up in Hardcore.

[@JGreed7]

It does NOT pause in online just is offline mode

[@vincelot86]

I don't think you could pause online. Only in single player.

[@pokedadsam9041]

The game does not pause in online play. But all speed-running is done in single player mode; and using escape pausing is fully allowed. The competitive integrity is maintained well even with the pausing.

[@corpusarmatae8541]

Well. It really comes down to casualization at the end of the day. Keep in mind some people really do love the cumbersomeness of PoE1 and the fact PoE2 streamlined tons of its processes and mechanics was already controversy to them. And as the saying goes, if you think that's "okay" for them, just you wait until that'll be "okay" for you too. I still prefered the Conqueror's atlas system with its multiple regions, their own specific atlas trees and progressions. But most people still don't realize what was even lost with the global atlas tree, to this day. Don't sweat it, just stop caring. The game was a product of its time and it'll never be the same ever again. So enjoy what you have while it lasts. Because even though it doesn't explicitly mentions it, quite the opposite even, it absolutely does have an expiration date.

[@jakdex2210]

I think it's time to let you go, after the negative influence you had on Diablo 4 with the raid and now doing the same with PoE 2 i can't endorse you anymore and i hope more people see's this, it's sad and i know i'm just a grain of sand on the beach but it is what it is. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

[@MrRotten80]

Have to agree with you RAX - While I've never used a Logout Macro when playing POE1... I will absolutely create one for POE2 if it "Pauses" and gives me a chance against the hardest content Boss Fights to give me an advantage. What maybe they could do is if we do the "Pause" and we return back to the Check Point, it in a sense resets the Boss... I think that would be fine too. But honestly, not a fan at the 1 Chance to Win piece in general... but, that's POE baby... It's a tough game, not for the faintest of heart.

[@Lipezerax]

Red??

[@michaelwhiteley]

100% agree, even blacking out the screen doesn't work when paused because that will just lead to programs that screen capture right before the pause so you can still study for your next move. If it goes live like this then end game bosses don't really matter or mean anything anymore. If you have a real life thing come up then take the loss and try again instead of compromising the boss fights.

[@surfercardude9127]

Once you have kids your views of pausing will change 😂

[@job2k6]

I don't think the people arguing against pause really have much going on outside of gaming.

[@surfercardude9127]

@ I wouldn’t jump to that assumption, but when I think of pauses, cheesing bosses isn’t the first thing that comes to my mind, my kid waking up in the middle of the night while I am fighting a boss and being able to pause so my wife doesn’t have to do that scores me major dad points

[@job2k6]

@@surfercardude9127 So you have things going on outside of gaming. Got it.

[@JustDoIt12131]

I completely agree. For emergencies just allow to escape through a portal to the city with only 1 button push. Good both mechanically, for fairness and for immersion since escaping using a portal is something that makes sense in an RPG.

[@ebackman2]

Just black out window while paused. Problem solved

[@mikea.1652]

Not really -> OBS

[@ebackman2]

@mikea.1652 so someone is going to go out of the way to see the state before pressed. Lol

[@TheRealAstro_]

@@ebackman2 yeah people going for first boss kills etc will do that, as well as hardcore players. And it will be a huge buzzkill for the rest of the community and bad PR for the game

[@GoddofStuff]

@@TheRealAstro_ Ben did the same BS on D4 when he used exploits to kill Lilith to be world first. Guess what, it wasn't a buzz kill, and he was stripped of the world first lilith kill. To be honest, the game shouldn't revolve around the 1%, and this is a good feature. If it's there and people use it/abuse it, it's a them problem. Just because they can pause it, doesn't mean they should use it to abuse the game - same thing as the PoE 1 macro but nobody complains about that one... The easiest "fix" for this is to have a toogle on the options that will will allow you or not to pause the game. The second easiest fiz for this is to remove the pause feature on hardore, but then again, not everyone who plays hardcore is also against this feature, so listening to the 1% again is just dumb - games shouldn't revolve around these people, period.

[@Lancer78x]

I believe the ability to pause the game is one of the most exciting updates. As someone who plays on Starlink and frequently experiences latency issues, this feature could drastically reduce the frustration of dying due to disconnects or lag. This reminds me of the debate around logout macros versus letting players die when they disconnect. I prefer when developers err on the side of supporting players rather than punishing them for technical issues. For me, the pause feature stands out as a thoughtful addition to the game.

[@Carrylikemariah]

To all the people trying to counter Raxx's point about the ability to pause: Yes, I agree that the feature of being able to pause is valuable for the casual player. I also agree with Raxx it will be completely and utterly abused to defeat harder bosses and make the most challenging parts of the game incredibly sad. The solution I'd offer, is that you only cannot pause in bossfights. You know when you're approaching a boss in a game. They have arenas. Even give us a pop up message like; "You're now entering a bossfight, pause will be disabled". Even us casuals can wait until we have 5 - 10 minutes of free time to fight the boss, and the game retains it's integrity where it matters most.

[@Redymare]

I definitely think this is a valid concern. I don't like how in PoE 1 you essentially had 6 tries and the bosses had to be more difficult to balance this out. Versus GGG challanging themselves by saying "We will make sure our bosses are balanced, so you don't feel cheated if you loose your only live" instead of "It's fine if the boss has a BS mechanic because you have 6 tries anyways." Being able to pause could result in similar cheesing as having 6 portals. Afterall, "Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game". I think the simplest and quickest solution for now would be to implement a pause limit per boss fight. So if a genuine emergency happens (spilling your drink for example), you still have the option to deal with it, yet at the same time you are limited in your abuse of pause and have to be strategic about it, _if_ you want to do that. Similar to timeouts in IRL sports.