8 Years PoE 1, 140 Hours PoE 2 Feedback

Some small issues I've had after around ~140 hours of play:

(Note: I'm a softcore trade-league andy. My feedback should not apply to HC/SSF players, as I don't know how they are experiencing the different nuanced gameplay in regards to this)

- Eternal Knights need a cooldown on their reflect. Whatever it currently is, double it. They also should not spawn with the Proximal Tangibility mod. Hit builds at any range can be caught off guard far too quickly, and you can off-screen kill yourself too easily.

- Delirium Monster spawn (and the rolly-polly armadillo things, as well as the prowling chimeras) and the way they run into you with PoE 2's collision feels jarring and is basically akin to a pseudo-stun. Feels uncomfortable and while I don't have a solution to offer, I hope something can be done to address this.

- Location of Breach hands in some maps is very limiting and needs a look at. I realise you can't limit them to specific parts of specific maps (Glacier from Legion, anyone?), but having them tucked away in a corner, surrounded by walls and impassable terrain, makes a breach that would normally drop 40+ splinters end up dropping 8. Parameters should be put into place to ensure a decent amount of traversable (playable) terrain that monsters can spawn in.

- I'm sure this has been mentioned somewhere, but for Innocence's sake, can we have our map tabs be waypoint tabs? What a schlep to organize. I took the map tab for granted before, but it is now firmly my number 1 request for the next "major" update.

- I've already rage-moaned about this before, but on-death effects are bad and awful and not good and also bad. I've rage-moaned about this for years, and am wasting valuable key-presses, I know, but I have to mention it again ;)

Some larger issues:

- The Atlas Passive Tree(s) are boring. I'm sorry, they are. Compared to the godlike PoE 1 tree, it is so superficial and lacks any kind of depth. There is also a snowball-like lock behind the better nodes (on the league-specific trees). While veteran players shouldn't have an issue here, it makes it very hard for newer players to even experience an Atlas strategy as they can't unlock the first 2 nodes due to access difficulty, nevermind the boss fights themselves (more on this later). If you announced that you would simply be importing the PoE 1 atlas to PoE 2, I wouldn't even blink. I might even smile.

- The Atlas itself... needs a bit of work, but I think you knew that already. 140 hours in, still haven't found the last citadel (gave up and bought the keys anyway). I mean. Just give us 3 arrows pointing in their direction. At this point it's a tough trek anyway, nevermind trying to use some kind of divining-rod method to find them... (or make a Divining-Rod item that drops from map bosses, and *that* points you in the direction of one of the citadels. I don't care, just do something, anything!).

- More on the Atlas: Lost Towers are awful. What a wasted opportunity! At this point, scrap the towers, make certain boss-maps "Beacons", and when you finished them, they act as a tower. Having the same map with the same monsters and the same mechanic over and over became boring so fast I just close my eyes and Blink to the end. If maps become towers, at least you're not only getting good loot, progressing your atlas and your character, but you're enjoying it too!

Positive Feedback:

> Game difficulty is perfect, don't touch the slider!. My first character had 400 deaths (something that hasn't happened since my early days in PoE 1), but every boss kill felt rewarding (the first time). Just killed my first T4 Pinnacle boss, and it was just amazing. Good job GGG <3

> Game looks and sounds amazing. Fantastic work on this. Kind of wish Deli maps lost the fog (makes the overlay minimap hard to see, and it gets kind of boring having the same colour palette 100 maps in a row, but I can forgive that). 10/10 Voice Acting btw.

> New ascendencies, skills, mechanics - all great stuff. Keep it coming :)

Posegative Feedback?

> I like the new skill gem system. I believe part of the idea was to help new players adjust to said system. I think, maybe, you have failed to do so, primarily because while the complexity of obtaining and correctly socketing a 6-link is gone, Perfect Jeweller Orbs are a severe wall for newer players to overcome. So much so that I believe many of them still don't have a 6link skill. In PoE 1, it doesn't take a lot of reading (or a friend) to inform you that a corrupted, cheap 6 link Body Armor will afford you the opportunity to have your first fully linked skill (what a great feeling)! Here, it's cough up the cash, get *very* lucky, or suffer. Once again I don't have a real idea to solve this, but hopefully the far smarter (and better looking) people at GGG do.

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Thank you for the years of amazing gameplay (not you Kalandra, and not you Archnemesis), and for the beautiful work you've done on PoE 2 so far. Your hard work is noticed and appreciated, even if the majority of the playerbase will never say so. I will say, 6-12 months for full release seems incredibly optimistic to me, and I wonder if many at your office don't feel the same. Don't rush it... I think most of us will rather wait an extra year for a great full release than one with unfinished or scrapped concepts - even if the majority of the playerbase will never say so. Good luck, hope you're all enjoying your holidays!

P.S.: Bring back Legion (I saw you, Napuatzi) and Sentinel and I *will* sell a kidney for more MTX. <3