Feedback, Wishes & Concerns

After extended time with Path of Exile 2, several core systems & gameplay elements continue to raise questions in my mind. While the games ambition & depth are notable, especially for a free to play game in early access, certain aspects of the current design are presenting challenges that significantly affect the player experience. Should GGG seek to release a 1.0 live launch of a game that bolsters new player numbers & retention, I believe the following issues should be looked at in depth by the development team:



Death Penalty

The current implementation of the death penalty (which I am not against) introduces a high level of frustration by directly impeding character progression. It often discourages experimentation & risk-taking, especially in more challenging content, & has a disproportionately (key) negative impact on the overall sense of advancement, especially at the much higher levels (94+). While currency such as the death penalty omen are readily available, it does not seem efficient to counteract the severe loss of experience - especially for those who are more or less “fully geared” & working on exp progression as their goal.

PvE Interaction

Player-versus-environment interactions frequently result in sudden deaths without clear indication of cause. These deaths often feel abrupt & unexplainable, usually seeming to occur without visible cues. A growing concern is the extreme difficulty in visually parsing combat situations due to the lack of clarity in telegraphing both player & monster abilities. Screen clutter, overlapping effects, & unclear enemy animations make it hard to read positioning & react accordingly, compounded in group play. As a result, players are often forced into a constant state of motion, leading to gameplay that leans heavily toward speed-running builds & away from tactical, engaging combat. Transparency of ally skills or looking at a priority of skills overlay is a must to make this more efficient.


(FIXED?)



Trade & Crafting

The current trade & crafting systems remain disjointed & overly time-consuming, unfortunately, this is the least of its worries. Trade always involves manual communication & inconsistent availability, creating unnecessary barriers. Compounding this is the lack of gearing & understanding for most new players, who are playing inventory & character sheet gear shuffling games trying to get things to work without completely breaking their build, all while at the cost of wasting potential currency.

A much more sinister issue lies in the manipulation of market pricing through real-money trading (RMT), bots, artificial price-fixing, which distorts item values & destabilizes the in-game economy. This pricing inflation disproportionately affects casual & average players, who rely heavily on the trade system for progression.

On the crafting side, the system remains largely non-intuitive. It is highly reliant on RNG-based gambling mechanics (fixed?) This significantly reduces player agency & creates an environment where crafting becomes more of a gamble than a system for directed improvement.



Build Strategy, Stat Scaling, & Modifier Saturation

Build creation, character development & diversity are increasingly burdened by the density of stat scaling mechanics & the overwhelming variety of gear modifiers which often lead to a few “meta” builds & extreme pigeonholing across the class designs. While some of these issues will likely be addressed in part as more gems, support gems, classes, weapon types, and unique items are introduced, players are becoming overburdened with the amount of experimentation required to navigate a labyrinth of overlapping prerequisite modifiers, unclear scaling rules, & obscure item interactions which outside of completely preplanning a character, become overwhelmingly negative experiences for many. This saturation creates friction in understanding how to progress or optimize a build, limiting experimentation & driving reliance on external resources or reliance on influencer or meta suggestions which only limit an engaging experience.



User Experience

The overall user experience still lacks many modern quality-of-life standards one would expect in 2025 much less a sequel, while POE is a free to play game, & many of these features are often behind pay walls, some things should not be, namely, the QOL features which could be considered an advantage if hidden behind a paywall (looking @ you - trade site stash tabs). Other critical components one would expect to see seem outright missing altogether

Additionally, support for players with accessibility needs is noticeably lacking. There are minimal accommodations for colorblindness, hearing impairments, or limited motion capabilities. Integration between keyboard/mouse & controller setups is incomplete, limiting the fluidity of control schemes and a more comfortable playstyle, this is surprising, especially with the game across multiple platforms.

The game also lacks ease-of-use improvements in key areas such as tooltip access, easier stash management, inventory sorting, & off-site item access (for example, needing your precursor tablets or maps while accessing atlas), which can offer a much more engaging & user friendly experience. Visual tracking of buffs, debuffs, timers, & other essential status effects remains difficult, particularly during combat, which contributes to the general sense of disorientation mentioned earlier.



Map Design & Navigation

Map layout & navigation continue to present a series of readability & flow issues. Many environments are expansive to the point of monotony, while elevation & terrain inconsistencies create visual confusion or outright issues with skills or movement. Players often find themselves reliant on the minimap or overlay for orientation, which only further distracts from real-time awareness & can result in otherwise avoidable deaths (I know, skill issue). The necessity of waypoints to compensate for this suggests underlying design issues in spatial readability.



Performance & Optimization

Despite the use of high-end hardware, performance instability is frequently reported. Massive CPU strain, frame rate drops, rendering delays, & ineffective resolution scaling contribute to a gameplay experience that often feels sluggish & unresponsive. These issues appear across a wide range of system configurations, raising concerns about overall engine efficiency. As of late, server stability issues (DDOS?) & rollbacks have been occurring, most notably in the EU realm.



Conclusion

Collectively, these concerns point to systemic challenges in Path of Exile 2's current structure. From gameplay clarity & loot economy to crafting & accessibility, several foundational mechanics present obstacles to a cohesive & rewarding experience. A closer examination of base systems, numerical scaling, & content delivery may be necessary to align the game’s mechanics with the ambitious vision it sets out to achieve.

I am grateful for all the work GGG has done, & believe for a free to play game, there is a lot available. I look forward to the progression during EA & hope that changes can be made or issues addressed which may lead to a more fun & enticing experience for all players - no matter their level of engagement.