So a few things before I get started. I am Stormweaver with 3300 ES and Grim Feast with 3400 Mana and Mind over Matter.
Also, to be clear I have never really been a fan of Ritual and seeing it back for PoE 2 was meh to me. But I gave it a go anyway.
These maps make it basically impossible, in my opinion, for majority of players to do in any enjoyable way. Ritual lands in the worst spot with either minimal run around space on a narrow path or with terrain blocking you from being able to run around. The monsters come at you so fast and you are literally backed into a corner quickly and can not move.
Factoring in the fear of missing out that you see all the time where people can not defer a big item, it is a crap mechanic overall.
Personally I will be ignoring Ritual forever during my entire PoE 2 play for years to come. Just as I blocked it during PoE ever since they let us start blocking mechanics. I see 0% chance they will ever fix the main core root issue with Ritual, which is guaranteeing it is placed in a wide open area so we can actually utilize the whole circle given to us.
>> Their core design on these maps in PoE 2 make that very unlikely unless they create new panels specifically for Ritual that place it in a wide open area free of obstruction. <<
I would also like to add, I loved Ultimatum. They somehow managed to keep it landing in a wide open area so it was a fair fight. At least I have no traumatizing memories of Ultimatum consistently being in a terrible spot that ends in no chance of completing it.
Now if any company is just okay with a certain game play being this hard and unfair to where majority of players choose not to do it, that is also fine with me. I do not mean to sound spiteful like "it sucks fix it or i don't play it" but that is basically the bottom line for me.
I would now like to share the best strategy I came up with the past few days in my attempt to actually complete ritual. Place your TP on the outside area and if it looks like you are about to die, simply pause the game, log out. For me, this is as soon as my Energy Shield is empty and I have only mana left. Then I log back in and walk around to whatever side the monsters did not back me into a corner, then try to kill more of them and finish the ritual. At worst I used all my portals to finish it or not finish it, but the rest of the map is complete.
^ This also ends up being a waste of time because nothing has been worth buying so far and the FOMO factor that I would not be able to defer it if it did, is a huge turn off for me. I am better off ignoring it completely and moving on to the next map. More rewards overall for my play time. Ritual basically gives scraps and is not worth it at all for the stress involved.
Finally, I would love to see Ritual removed from the game entirely but that is just me. I could be wrong, but I feel like only minority of people ever did like ritual in the first place. At least, most of my 20+ friends I talk to on a regular basis never liked it. I will say I do not want to see Path of Exile 2 become overcrowded as they launch new leagues and activities. So when it comes down to removing something to make room, I vote Ritual be removed to make room for fresh new league mechanics in the future.
Thank you all for your time.
