Feedback after 400+ hrs

💻 Performance Optimization
Despite using a previously high-end PC, frequent FPS drops and stutters make the game feel unpolished despite it being a common issue on forums and it makes me want to eat a tub of ice cream.

This genuinely kills immersion and makes endgame less enjoyable as it doesn't tend to happen until you reach end game and end game mechanics make the issue 100x worse

Needs urgent optimization attention.

🛡️ Warrior Gameplay Feedback
Warrior gameplay is slow, which would be fine if other classes didn’t have unintended insane clear speed — currently, that imbalance creates an unfair disadvantage.

Core warrior abilities (Leap Slam, Shield Charge, etc.) have delayed recovery animations that hinder movement, not just during the animation but slightly afterward.

Leap Slam: Delayed movement after landing.

Shield Charge: Slight pause after completion breaks flow.

Resonating Shield: Should allow movement during cast; stutter stepping feels bad.

Overall, warrior feels clunky and less fluid than other classes like Monk, which has notably smoother gameplay.

Suggestions:

Slightly increase attack/animation speed across warrior abilities.
Reduce or eliminate post-animation movement delay.
Ensure warrior combat fluidity matches other classes.

🪓 Ancestral Warrior Totem Build
Totems cast inconsistently (sometimes 1 or 2 per cast), requiring spamming multiple times.

Suggestion: Let us cast maximum totems in one cast to free up actions for using warrior skills in between for combo gameplay.

Add synergy options: Skills like warcries should be able to trigger effects from totems (e.g., shockwave, fissure).

Add a way to transform Ancestral Totems into "Call of the Ancients":
Ancients would follow the player and buff socketed skills to act in new ways.

Attempting to use Herald of Ash or Bone Shrapnel for AOE clear speed fails:
Can’t summon enough totems and apply warrior skills effectively.
Heralds currently do not apply to totems — suggest this be reconsidered.

Not enough support gem slots to adapt for AOE or single target without constantly gem swapping, which is tedious.

Suggestion: Add a support gem “swap system” similar to weapon swapping activation to manage skill setups more fluidly.

❤️ Defensive Scaling – Armor + Life Feels Weak
Warrior builds using Armor + Life feel weaker defensively than Evasion, Energy Shield, or Acrobatics-based builds, which is counterintuitive.

No comparable support systems like:

Grim Feast (ES)

Ghost Dance / Wind Dancer (Evasion)

Suggestions:

Add more life nodes and regen to the passive tree.

Introduce a Fortify or Endurance threshold mechanic to boost Armor + Life builds.

Armor-based passives and mechanics feel under-supported; possibly awaiting new classes (e.g., Druid, Paladin, Gladiator) to balance this out.

🏹 Crossbow Build Feedback
Mouse-based movement interrupts fluidity — character stops where you first click instead of continuously walking toward held cursor position.

Suggestion: Implement auto-walk while holding mouse (like WASD or controller).

Despite going Evasion/ES, this build feels significantly tankier than Warrior — with far less investment.

Stat requirements are overly restrictive:

Need 120+ in all attributes just to level up skills, due to tight stat spread.

Suggestions:

Rebalance attribute requirements.

Also dual wielding when?

⚙️ Crafting, Skill Design & SSF Improvements
Add deterministic crafting methods:

Ways to fracture specific mods or target certain drops, especially for SSF.

Suggest new support gems like:

Cast on Block

Cast on Evade

Reforging (3-to-1) is time-consuming:

Add quantity selection slider for bulk crafting.

Influencing/Instilling maps takes too long:

Suggest a drag-and-drop system like Qiquanis Sanctum corruption — drop all distills in a window, then apply the influence/anoint to many maps or items at once.

🌋 Expedition Encounter Issues
Expedition layout is visually overwhelming — explosive nodes and enemy effects make it hard to see the environment.

Suggest hiding explosive nodes until the area is cleared of mobs.

Reduce visual clutter in general during encounters.

🗺️ Map and League Mechanics Suggestions
Delirium is the only current endgame juice mechanic for waystones, but it’s visually draining and repetitive.

Suggest adding alternative juicing systems (e.g., full Breach, Ritual, etc.).

Add a way to favor specific maps (like PoE1’s favorite map system).

Example: want to run Sulphuric Caverns more often — no way to currently bias this.

💡 General QoL & Wishlist Ideas
Inventory/Storage:

Inventory fills too quickly — consider compact inventory or allow buying more space.

Add feature to auto-transfer all same-affinity items to stash tab (Ctrl+Click).
( If I click Exalt - it transfers all currency types )

In-Game Systems:

Add in-game trading system or auction house.

In-game wiki/tooltips/loot filter would reduce reliance on external tools.

Campaign & Mapping:
Allow map layout unlocks on second run-through for faster progression.

Stash Tabs:
Let us upgrade normal stash tabs to premium quad tabs.

Holy Damage Type:
Add when Paladin is introduced — currently missing from the game.

COF System (Like Last Epoch):

Solo Self-Found progression system similar to Covenant of Fates would be welcome.

🧪 Skill Visuals & Transformation Requests
When support gems or items convert skill damage types, visuals and icons should update to match (e.g., lightning → cold should look cold).
Currently, seeing lightning visuals for cold damage transformation is immersion-breaking.
Maybe alter the way the abilities/icons look once 100% conversion has been met.


*other* Future potential addition?

With PoE 2 adding character transformations, would love to see more of this.

Introduce “Influenced Ascendancies”
Example: Blood Mage ascendancy → insert X → transforms x nodes into x → new x node(s) grant Vampire Form.
The theme of the Blood Mage ascendancy is close to one becoming a Vampire but lacks the visuals to go along.

Any ascendancy that's like this could ultimately be influenced to introduce a new "sub" ascendancy without making a whole new ascendancy.
In theory they should perform identical with only a few changes so balance may or may not be a nightmare.

probably better ways to go about this but surely you can see where im going with this.

❄️ Skill-Specific Request
Buff Eye of Winter — it’s currently too weak.

Want to recreate a Diablo II Frozen Orb build, but this skill doesn’t cut it in current state.

Overall - The game is a solid 10/10 regardless - Its EA so I am not expecting it to be perfect. I expect 1.0 to be a 20/10.