The Slow Removal of Consequences in PoE2

PoE2 feels great to play. The movement is tight, the combat is responsive, and at its core, it feels like a game built to reward real understanding. But lately, it’s starting to feel like the systems that give the game weight — the ones that make your decisions matter — are slowly being tuned out. And a big part of that shift seems to be happening through content creator-led interviews, where design changes are framed around player frustration instead of game identity.

Almost every question in the recent DM/Ghazzy interview was built around frustration:

“The community is upset…”
“Players have been complaining…”
“We’ve heard feedback that…”

What follows isn’t vision — it’s justification. Soft explanations. Changes made to soothe discomfort instead of defend design.

Look at what’s already happened:
• Boss HP was nerfed because average builds couldn’t kill them.
• On-death effects were removed because they didn’t “feel good.”
• Monster pushback was scrapped because players didn’t like losing control.
• Map boss fights went from 1 portal to 6 because failing didn’t feel fair.

These weren’t balance fixes. They were core mechanics being walked back — not because they were broken, but because they caused discomfort.

And here’s the result:
• Death no longer matters, because now you get five more chances.
• Choice no longer matters, because even average builds can beat pinnacle bosses.
• Awareness no longer matters, because mechanics that punish autopilot are being removed.

That’s the cost of designing around frustration instead of intent.

PoE was never about being punishing for the sake of it. But it’s always been a game that rewards you for paying attention — for learning why you died, and making better decisions next time. If that part of the loop gets tuned out the moment it creates friction, then what’s left to earn?

This isn’t a shot at content creators — they’re doing their job. But if these interviews are going to keep shaping the direction of the game, we need better questions. And devs need to be willing to say: “This is what we’re building, and this is why it matters.”

PoE2 doesn’t need to make everyone comfortable. It needs to protect what gives the game weight.

The consequences of death would be okay if the mechanics weren’t so janky. If you actually know what killed you and have a way to correct it as opposed to mystery 1 shots and invisible ground effects. The “core mechanics being walked back” that you talk about are just terrible, inexcusable design choices that they somehow made.

OR...

The devs created these things, saw how they didn't exactly fit their desired outcome and are changing them to meet their own goals.

Clown take. Deaths still matter, you still lose xp. Rare maps still have a single portal.

It was almost impossible to play any build that wasn't meta. As a sorcerer I tried to come up with dozens of builds and every single one failed. I always needed to go back to stacking mana and using archmage.

"Choices don't matter if any build can beat pinnacle bosses". What choices, if there is only half a dozen viable builds?

On death effect "didn't feel good" and no one will argue against that. You always died to random explosion or some other bullshit in the ground or out of your screen. Getting stuck in a dozen of monsters was also terrible.

Stop pretending shitty mechanics that "make the game hard" (it actually makes the game annoying) is what "gives the game weight"

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Pestilence_PoE#6339 a écrit :

The consequences of death would be okay if the mechanics weren’t so janky. If you actually know what killed you and have a way to correct it as opposed to mystery 1 shots and invisible ground effects. The “core mechanics being walked back” that you talk about are just terrible, inexcusable design choices that they somehow made.

Or if maps could tier into the 20s.

I’m not here to defend every mechanic — I’m saying it’s a problem when discomfort becomes the reason things get removed.

PoE2 doesn’t need to be punishing. But it should still make you think. If everything that creates friction gets cut, the game gets safer — and flatter.

Eventually, you stop feeling challenged. Then you stop feeling much at all.

I am not being challenged, I am being disrespected and annoyed. It is why I stopped playing and returned to PoE1. I don't plan on coming back until major changes happen (0.20 doesn't count). They wasted my time and their own and now they have significantly less players who are willing to test their crap design choices with 3 months between updates.

You don't know how it will work in 0.2, top builds are getting nerfed.

and by the way, the punishing nature of bosses made glass cannon one shots even more required to beat those. This was complete opposite of what you think, and what they anticipated.

The current changes are leaning into not being able to one shot bosses and it is better direction.

Discomfort alone shouldn't be a reason for removal, I agree. But the reason the mechanics removed where causing discomfort was because they were shitty; and rightfully removed.

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fouquet#0993 a écrit :

I am not being challenged, I am being disrespected and annoyed. It is why I stopped playing and returned to PoE1. I don't plan on coming back until major changes happen (0.20 doesn't count). They wasted my time and their own and now they have significantly less players who are willing to test their crap design choices with 3 months between updates.

My thoughts exactly. I missed something in a map one day, looked at how far I would have to travel and just logged out and didn’t return. So many design choices that are only there to waste a player’s time.