Regarding the JoshStrifeHayes Interview - Passive Tree

In the twitch vod starting at 1:50, Josh and Jonathan discussed the iconic flashbang that is the passive tree. They talked back and forth about tutorialization methods that could help make the experience less intimidating but ultimately Jonathan prefers to retain the iconic feel of just how large the tree is without hiding anything. I believe the martial arts example Josh Strife Hayes drove at starting at 1:58 with being "surprise attacked" is a genuine issue that could be solved as simply as he put it, with a heads up. Maybe even as a brief slideshow with little text, because after all, us gamers can't read.
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Welcome to the Passive Skill Tree
- Standalone window, don't show the tree yet

Invest in many passive branches that scale equipment stats such as:
- Grid list of mastery icons accompanying the name of the stat such as life or energy shield, listing basic defenses first so-as to signal their importance, potentially followed by "To die less" as a header or caption.
- Damage could be listed generally as the main 3, such as weapons, spells, or minions to aid in avoiding players that assume spell damage increases minion damage.

Good Luck! *Transitions to skill tree

The goal is as little obstruction as possible, could be as succinct as one buffer screen.
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Players don't innately know what they are going to get out of a tree, other games could provide you entire skills from passive trees, such as how Titan Quest did. When they look around to explore whats there, they can get lost very quickly. Last Epoch's tree is basic but you have to stare at it to understand what possibilities are even in store for you from a subclass, and even then you must stare at every ability tree to see what stats are good for what skill, and plenty of cross referencing to see if a skill is even a throwing skill or not.

I recognize that breaking it down to brass tacks might seem like insulting a player's intelligence. But one of the easiest ways to explain something to someone is to assume they know nothing, so you don't omit anything they might miss after hours of doing it based on incomplete assumptions. If Path of Exile is someone's first ARPG, it should try to leave them fondly.