In-Depth Feedback on the "Crafting System" in Recent Leagues from a 5000+ Hour Veteran Player

I am a dedicated Path of Exile player with over 5,000 hours of gameplay. I am writing to provide in-depth feedback and suggestions regarding the recent trend in both Path of Exile 1 and 2, where the "crafting system" has become overly dominant.

1. Loss of Core Experience: The Diminishment of Randomness and Sense of Surprise
The crafting systems in recent leagues have become too powerful and widespread, leading to a homogenization of item acquisition methods. When every player can craft nearly perfect items through similar deterministic processes, the core charm of ARPGs—the thrill of "random drops"—is significantly weakened. The excitement and value of identifying rare items have been greatly diluted as a result.

2. Chain Reactions: A Divided Player Base and an Imbalanced Economy

High Barrier for New Players: The complex crafting system is very unfriendly to newcomers. They often can only blindly follow video guides, making it difficult for them to truly understand and enjoy the core乐趣 of the game.

Imbalance in the Economic System: The ecosystem, dominated by deterministic crafting, has inflated the cost of item creation for ordinary players while encouraging more players to engage in crafting specifically to generate currency. This leads to an imbalanced in-game economy and severe currency devaluation. The currency income pure mapping players earn from clearing maps simply cannot compare to the profits generated through targeted crafting. This creates a vicious cycle: the efforts of ordinary players are not rewarded equitably, leading to a significant sense of disparity. This makes it difficult for them to keep up with high-end content, ultimately causing a mass exodus in the mid-to-late stages of a league.

Shortened League Lifespan: When top-tier equipment can be reliably obtained through deterministic crafting methods, players achieve their ultimate goals too quickly. This significantly shortens the entire lifecycle of a league.

3. Constructive Suggestions
The design of the very first league in Path of Exile 2 provided me with an excellent gaming experience. That league successfully brought the core fun back to "random drops" and "item identification." The drop of every valuable high-tier base item was filled with anticipation. This was the league I played the longest, whereas in most previous leagues, I typically lost motivation after about a month due to the aforementioned sense of disparity.

Therefore, I sincerely suggest for future leagues to:
Re-establish "random drops" as the core of the item system. Allow good items to come from the randomness of map clearing and rare drops in specific, challenging content, rather than from universal, deterministic crafting.
I believe that rediscovering this sense of surprise born from uncertainty is key to maintaining the game's long-term vitality and ensuring the healthy lifespan of its leagues.

Thank you for taking the time to read my feedback and for creating such an outstanding game world. I hope my suggestions will be helpful.