Feedback on the Azmeri

I just want to write a bit about the whole "Azmeri" thing featured in 0.2.0.

IDK if I'm the only one that think this, but I believe this is a distillation of how GGG thinks, designs, and implements for PoE2.

Before anything else, I think that the people in GGG are brilliant and creative people. It is kind of sad that their creativity is focused too much in an adversarial way toward making challenges for players.

Case in point: Azmeri sprits. This could have been such a cool concept in tbe game if GGG did it right. But it's so wrong on so many levels since aspects of it clash against each other and with the concept that the PC is a hero.

Why the f%^% and who ever thought that it was a good idea for this spirit to lead the hero to the heart of danger, buffing ENEMIES along the way and finally injecting steroids into the leader of the pack so that the player can "exorcise" this boss from the world?

It just flies in the face of immersion and an entertaining experience. Aren't these spirits benevolent who seek to restore natural order?

If I were to design the Azmeri and make it make sense, I'd make it as a supportive spirit. It still goes in the general direction toward the enemy boss, but I'd let it lead the PC to (barely) outskirt all danger. Just on the edge, that if the PC strays a little bit, the horde will give chase.

Once the enemy boss is in sight, the Azmeri either buffs the HERO or weakens the mob. To equalize this encounter and make it exhilirating, enemy bosses are boosted but boosted NATURALLY as part of their "demonic" nature; the idea being that these aberrations are mutants of their kind that need suppression or whatnot.

The Azmeri can be used as an entity in need of protection. I'd make it super tanky, but killable. As part of the fun and challenge, the rarity of reward can be anchored to how intact the spirit is at the end of combat, so it incentivizes players to play offense and defense in these fights.

No stupid one-shot mechanics. No dumb "randomized" attributes that so happen to targe the character's lowest defensive attributes (I see you lightning storms and volatile attacks). Let it be a complete slugfest so that players can enjoy the fight mechanics.

Isn't this BETTER than what the Azmeri is right now? Actual good vs. evil? A benevolent spirit that actually cares for the PC's safety but needs the hero to vanquish evil that is too strong for it to defeat on its own?

I swear, whenever I see one of these Stinkerbells, I see an evil fairy that wants to lead PCs to their deaths and throws a tantrum when the PC fails to follow "properly". I don't like it all and from what I've heard and read around, so do many other players as well.

And this is where I just want to point out that the idea guys at GGG has this inclination; one where they always opt for excessive punishment as opposed to making players feel heroic against hard odds. They seem to almost always want to be stingy toward players and will only become "generous" when there is enough uproar.

Try to think on this a bit GGG. You seem to be overthinking needing "friction" in your game, so much so that you sandpaper away whatever good UX players feel from the great parts of what you made. Aim to make players end a session feeling gratified and satisfied, please, because half the time I play this game (which is literally almost half a day at times, I just feel a lot of wasted effort and slog, even if I am having fun when things are going well.