PoE 2 is fun — but it could be way better with these fixes

The game feels a lot better since patch 0.2.0g but some long-standing problems are still killing the fun, especially for players who want to push into endgame or try out niche builds. Here's a breakdown of what I think still needs serious attention:

1. Minions and spectres still feel weak and unreliable.
Even with proper gearing and investment, minions are fragile and die quickly in high-tier content. Their AI is inconsistent, sometimes they stand around doing nothing or choose random targets, making fights feel chaotic. The damage output is also underwhelming, even with high-budget setups, and as a result, summoner builds feel half-baked compared to other archetypes. It’s no surprise that many minion players are abandoning the playstyle altogether.

2. Crafting is still just RNG with no sense of control.
Most crafting systems in PoE are just layers of randomness stacked on top of each other. Whether you're using Essences, Harvest, or Bench crafts, it rarely feels like you’re making progress — you're just hoping you hit something usable. Even expensive crafts often lead to bricking an item entirely. There needs to be more deterministic or targetable systems to give players a sense of actual progression and payoff for their currency and effort.

3. The game needs serious QoL improvements.
Too many core actions in the game still require way too many clicks. Picking up currency one by one, identifying items manually, dragging gear to different stash tabs — it all adds up. Basic inventory management is clunky and outdated, especially compared to games like Last Epoch that have folders, filters, and auto-sorting. Simple QoL fixes would make a huge difference in daily gameplay.

4. Active skill variety is super limited.
Despite the large number of available skills, most viable builds still revolve around a small group of top-performing abilities. Many interesting or thematic skills just don’t scale well, feel weak, or lack proper support. This really limits build diversity and discourages experimentation, because trying to build around anything off-meta is a recipe for frustration.

5. Maps are too large for how slow most characters move.
Many maps feel oversized, with long stretches of dead space and low monster density. The game’s movement speed and traversal mechanics haven’t kept up with the scale of these zones, making them feel slow and tedious. Unless you’re playing a movement-stacking build, just getting from point A to B becomes a chore. Either map sizes need to be toned down, or movement options need a serious rework.

6. Map death limits are too punishing and feel inconsistent.
Right now, every map gives you 6 portal uses — and no matter how much you invest or juice a map, that number stays the same. This means the more juice and risk you add, the more punishing each death becomes. One mistake can lock you out of your entire investment. In PoE 1, the 6 portal rule was fair because the difficulty was more predictable, but in PoE 2 it feels out of sync with how volatile the game is. It would be better if this system stayed consistent and predictable, instead of making high-investment maps feel like one-shot stress tests.

7. XP loss on death is demoralizing and outdated.
Losing 10% XP on death feels brutal, especially when a single mistake or lag spike wipes out half an hour of progress. It discourages experimentation, punishes risk-taking, and forces players into overly safe playstyles. In a game this punishing and lethal, death should be a setback not a full-on slap in the face that makes you want to log out.

Conclusion:
PoE 2 is moving in the right direction, but implementing the changes in this feedback would genuinely help the game on its journey to becoming the best in its genre.