Map feedback with ratings

Here is collected notes for endgame maps. I play a level 93 Warbringer, but am not very experienced with Rituals/Breaches/Expeditions so I am commenting mostly on the visual and overall enjoyment I have playing the maps.

Abyss ★★★
... boring visually (no cool fog or lighting in the pits, or beams of light), too dark

Alpine Ridge [tower] ★★★★★
... rocky edges are very clear, as is the open areas
... few larger obstacles are very clear (big rocks)
... shifts in elevation works well, nice sense of depth
... layout not so good as a regular map, very linear"

Augury ★★★★★
... one of the best looking dungeon style maps, that has some nice shades of colour and not so monochromatic
... the layout is awesome, love the progression from going around to reaching the center
... love that you can go around and hit the 3 levers without ever looking at the map
very little backtracking
... I wish there were more dungeon style maps like this one, with some symmetry in the layout
... love the play between light and shadow in this map, no area is completely dark/blackened"

Backwash ★★★
... I have to look at the minimap all the time to figure out where I can walk
... too dense visually, everything is dark green, no visual separation"

Bloodwood ★
... awful layout with the worst of backtracking to find remaining rares
... very boring visually, same "pustules" throughout the map"

Burial Grounds ★★★
... what looks like puddles but are obstacles is really confusing
... the space between these puddles/obstacles sometimes causes pathways that are so small it can be very
dangerous eg. avoiding volatiles - due seemingly invisible walls"

Cenotes ★★★★★
... clear open and traversable areas, not annoying obstacles placed seemingly randomly
... clear visual distinction also between the white-ish stone/rocks/walls and the green-ish open areas
... enjoyable sense of depth, climbing up and down (unlike Hidden Grotto where its too dark and the pathways
too confusing to make sense of the elevation shifts)"

Channel ★★★
... looks great although very monochromatic, its basically just red, how about some cool statues, special rooms?
... too many small rooms, layout is very slow to traverse, imho Seepage works a lot better for comparison"

Creek ★★★★★
... looks amazing without sacrificing gameplay: it's easy to tell where you can walk, no annoying obstacles
... you can walk in the puddles and stream, unlike Burial Grounds, no annoying invisible walls
... good lighting, love the change of rhythm between wooded/covered and open areas"

Deserted ★★★★
... really enjoy the layout not sure why it may be because the boundaries and edges of the open areas are clear

Fortress ★★
... layout is ok, shifts in heights are hardly noticeable
... overall dull, monochromatic, dark (no torches, bright spots, interesting POIs, just empty)


Gloomhaven ★★★★
... love the mood with the rain and storms
... love the little alleyways and shifts in elevation between streets/courtyards
... again very monochromatic almost black and white, why does it have to be so colourless?
... when you are in the shadows of a building, it's pretty much a black smudge with no distinction between
floor and walls (not everyone plays in a dark room in optiomal monitor settings), why not contrast more
the top of the buildings with the streets? like the contrast between rock and ground in Cenotes?
or light up the walls and windows in the shadows, to make the edges of the walkable areas more obvious.

Hidden Grotto ★★
... frustrating layout for the most part, with tiny passage ways, should more open areas
... small pathways that change elevation usually are so much in the dark that you cant really tell where you
are going or where you can walk without looking at minimap
... priority should be given to lighting and making it more traversable"

Mire ★★★★
... fun to navigate the ledges and handle pressure at the chokepoints
... layout is OK, a little boring/repetitive would benefit from some more unique areas
... it could be like Augury, with a large center piece, to make navigation a little more open"

Necropolis ★★★
... map looks fantastic but is very small, the crypts are disappointingly small
... for such a small map a higher mob density would make it more dangerous and exciting I think"

Riverside ★★★
... linear path similar to Ravine, nice to relax for a while
... nice mood, but too dark the absence of light deadens the scenery imho it is not enjoyable to do this map

Seepage ★★★★
... one of my favourite "dungeon style" maps, nice shades and lighting, awesome detail
... many rooms but still relatively open with fairly straight edges, and hallways that aren't too narrow"

Sinking Spire [tower] ★★★
... awesome detailing but too dark imho, lighting doesn't make sense given its wide open vistas on all sides
... white details are great, could use some simplification of the obstacles, make it a bit more roomy?
... seeing actual stairs between the floors would be a nice addition, the clickable doorway is underwhelming
... this map is very laggy"

Sump ★★
... same as Backwash I have to continually refer to the minimap because I can't see where I'm walking
... it's too dark, so it's not fun to run as a map, despite the act 3 jungle vibes and the music"

Vaal Factory ★★
... not a bad map thematically wise, I enjoy dungeon style maps however this layout is really awkward to
navigate and frustrating
... adding to the layout is the fact that monsters tend to use ranged attacks and run away so for a melee
it can be tedious to go after remaining monsters (contrast to eg. Augury or Seepage where you can usually
clear a big part of a room once you stumble into a pack)
... another relatively dark, monochromatic map
... the bright lightning effects tend to make the scenery even more difficult to make out due to brightness"

Wetlands ★★★★
... love the open space for a change and walking in the water
... map looks great though it could use some touches of colour like the purple plants in PoE/Mud Flats
it is otherwise a bit monochromatic and boring
... love that the boss spawns seemingly in the middle of the map, not in a separate enclave, surprised me"

Willow ★★★
... shifts in elevation feel unnatural, like "mini hills" like in Steppe and make traversal not so enjoyable
... perhaps some of those hills could use a flat top with tombstones and such, like cairns in Ireland?
... love the rain, map feels otherwise very static, could use trees & flags moving with the wind, torches?"

Woodland ★★★★★
... great atmosphere, not monochromatic, dull or overly dark, colourful with beautiful autumn shades
... somehow is easier to navigate and distinguish open space than Backwash,
might have to do with the lighting which is better

Maps in general are very good visually to look at, but most royally suck to run - especially if you are doing league mechanics like ritual, breach, or expedition since the map layout hinders your ability to get the most out of these mechanics and the juicing you did to your maps and towers. Almost all POE2 maps seriously lack wide open spaces. There are far too many obstacles and confined spaces. Some maps have excessive ground clutter still. Frankly, most of the maps are not fun to run in general before you even factor in the map completion requirements and the endless backtracking to find a rare to kill to finish your map.

Nice try GGG, but you can do far better than this, and we know you can.

Just my two cents (I have almost 5K hours played between POE1 and POE2).

A common issue in POE2 EA maps is difference between perception and reality.

There is a feeling of invisible walls in many places because what it is shown doesn't match expectations.

Why am I not able to cross the water here? It APPEARS to be very shallow:



To the right of my character is what appears more like a pond, logically not traversable.

In front of my character is a very shallow part of the springs, which should be traversable.

Another occurence in Hive

Looks like I can walk, but I am stuck. So then I look at the minimap.

This happens too often: reflexively look at the minimap to know where I can walk.


This might be a downside of going for a much more realistic look, I guess it sets higher expectations that WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get.

First of all, almost all maps look great but maybe 95% of them are awfull to play.

You try to avoid some explosions and the there is a root on the ground and you just roll on the spot you are and die or sometimes you try to roll away and there is a mob and then you roll the opposite direction right into the explosion.

Alls those narrow map are b*llsh*t. Minions cant walk properly, we cant walk properly still i die most by being unable to move or mobs push me around.

Mechanics like ritual and breach are totally useless on so many maps, because they are too narrow.

Stuff like burning ground is so hard to avoid with such narrow maps.

When fighting, with all the stuff going on its just unfun to look for every root or flower on the ground to not get stuck.


Just look at the favourite poe1 maps, they where all open maps, nice and fast to run. Thats what people like.
Not something like mire where some mobs on a bridge jump behind you, while the other one before you does some aoe all over the bridge and you simply have no way to dodge or move.

I never now, whether i can can walk somewhere or does that root block me, does that stone block me when i walk there or does it prevent me from rolling out of aoe. Its feeling just bad and clunky.