My EA Feedback after 200 hours

1. Skill Gem Links

I think socket slots should not be tied to the gem itself. Instead, there should be fixed emtpy slots in the gem menue, where you can apply your jeweler orbs. In which you than can socket your mainskill and supports. This would make swapping skills much more flexible and less punishing, similar to PoE1, where you only needed to recolor sockets. In PoE2, replacing a 5- or 6-link gem is much costlier, which feels disproportionate compared to the first game.

2. Rune Replacement

Runes should be more flexible. Either introduce a new currency or allow replacing a rune while destroying the old one. Often, when I change one gear piece, I’m forced to replace 3 others. This feels restrictive and makes flexibility nearly impossible—this is an essential improvement in my opinion.

3. Unfavorite Maps or Atlas Customization

Introduce "unfavorite map slots" to exclude maps like Mire or reintroduce Horizon Orbs that work directly on the Atlas. A more advanced Horizon Orb could allow map changes even outside the biome. A "terraforming" feature could also be interesting, letting players transform one biome (e.g., forest) into another (e.g., swamp) using Vaal technology.

4. Atlas Search Function

Simple but vital: Add a search function to the Atlas so we can easily locate maps like Untainted Paradise saved for friends.

5. Citadel Consistency

I’ve found zero citadels so far, whereas a friend with similar playtime has over 15. This needs to be more consistent.

6. Boss Portals

Boss practice is essential for me and my guildmates. For example, T0 bosses could have 6 portals, T1 bosses 4, T2 bosses 2, and T3 bosses just 1 portal. This way, we can practice more efficiently when we finally reach these encounters.

7. On-Death Effects

There are simply too many on-death effects. I didn’t like them in PoE1, but in PoE2, they’re overwhelming. In my opinion, once a mob dies, the encounter should end. It’s frustrating to die to a cast on death effect from a mob you killed 5 seconds ago, especially when it’s hidden among other effects. Please reduce or remove this entirely.

8. Better Visibility for Rare and Magic Mobs

In PoE1, rare and magic mobs had clearly visible yellow and blue auras. While PoE2 has similar indicators, they’re much harder to spot, especially when minions are involved. This is particularly problematic with “allies cannot die” rare mobs—it’s often too late when you realize what’s happening.

9. Burning Ground Damage

The damage from burning ground feels absurdly high, regardless of whether I’m using my 88 Warrior with 85 fire res or my 92 Monk with 75 fire res. Please consider reducing it.

10. Item Stat Tiers

Revert to the system where T1 is always the best. For example, if you have T5 chaos res on boots, you can’t tell without external tools like PoEDB if it’s the best roll. This change feels unnecessary and confusing.

11. Item Stat Tags

Tags like defense, life, or chaos modifiers are missing. These tags made applying catalysts much easier in PoE1. For example, in PoE1, lightning catalysts didn’t affect lightning resistance as it was a resistance modifier. In PoE2, they do. Adding these tags would improve clarity.

12. Passive Tree Waygates

Without the central travel paths, reaching desired nodes now often requires investing 20–30 points through inefficient stat nodes. For example, if a Sorcerer wants to play a bow build, it’s a painful journey. Introducing waygates near the starting positions (after investing 7 points) could alleviate this without enabling excessive backtracking.

13. Item Rarity

Having 100% item rarity feels like a massive improvement compared to not having it at all. However, the difference in currency drops is also significant. I believe currency drops should not be affected by item rarity for better consistency.

14. Tiered Support Gems

Tiered support gems don’t make sense after the first character. Instead, replace them with non-tiered support gems.

15. Skill Gem Vendors in the Campaign

It’s currently hard to change builds during the campaign. Each act should have a vendor selling low-tier uncut gems, ensuring players don’t feel stuck if their build doesn’t work out.

16. Minion AI and Collision Boxes

Currently, playing minion builds on indoor maps is incredibly frustrating, as minions block each other in doorways and get stuck—this is especially noticeable in Lost Tower maps. Melee minions are almost unplayable because they can’t all engage the mob simultaneously.

Additionally, downtime occurs when minions despawn and respawn, which disrupts gameplay. Reintroducing Convocation from PoE1 or significantly reducing minion collision boxes could solve these issues—ideally, both.

Side note: Minion quality bonuses are often underwhelming and mostly affect active abilities, which feels lackluster.

17. Loot Filter

Last Epoch has set an excellent example of how a loot filter should work. Creating and customizing a loot filter in Last Epoch is straightforward, intuitive, and easy to understand. The best part is that it’s done in-game, allowing players to make changes on the fly without interrupting their gameplay. Why not adopt this approach for PoE 2? It would make the experience much smoother for both new and veteran players.

18. Trade

Trading is a vital part of Path of Exile, but it desperately needs to be integrated into the game itself. Relying on external websites or third-party tools to trade efficiently is clunky and discouraging, especially for new players. Last Epoch offers an example of how a seamless in-game trade system can work. A fusion of both and introducing such a system in PoE 2 would be a significant step toward making the game more accessible and player-friendly. If the goal is to create a more beginner-friendly experience, this is a change that cannot be overlooked.

I’ve intentionally avoided crafting, skill balance, and similar topics since I trust GGG is already working on these.

If I come up with additional points, I’ll update this list.

Do you agree with these points, or do you see potential challenges in implementing them? Are there other quality-of-life improvements you'd prioritize for PoE 2?

All in all, I want to emphasize that I’m having a lot of fun and believe the game is already incredible. GGG has done an amazing job so far—thank you for that!