Path of Exile 2 could use three big changes to improve its endgame

Summary

Implement a dedicated Waystone tab for easy access and organization.
Improve map nodes on Atlas to include layout videos for better understanding.
Rethinking the one-portal death policy to make Path of Exile 2 less punishing.

Path of Exile 2 launched into early access just a little over a month ago, and it was undoubtedly already in a great place. Then, this week, GGG released Path of Exile 2s first major 2025 patch, which addressed a plethora of issues and bugs, and it implemented or acted on player feedback in some key areas. For example, players can now overwrite Runes and other socketables such as Cores in their items with another socketable, which was a major problem with the Rune system until now. While the game is doing well and can only grow from here, it could benefit from three changes to its current version of the end game.

As it stands, there's plenty for players to do after completing the campaign and gruesome difficulties. Path of Exile 2 takes players to the Ziggurat Refuge, which serves as a base of operations for players to slowly work their way through higher levels of Waystones, starting at Tier 1. The atlas has a variety of map nodes for players to choose from, with several icons representing various league mechanics or other modifiers , such as managers. All of this can be pretty exciting at first, but there are changes GGG could implement to improve the overall experience: a Waystone tab, better map/biome visibility on Atlas, and a less frustrating approach to death.

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Path of Exile 2 would be a completely different game with a PoE feature

There are many differences between Path of Exile 2 and PoE 1, and an item from the latter would change the former in a big way.

Path of Exile 2 needs a Waystone Stash Tab

Path of Exile 2The endgame requires players to constantly move through Waystones, as they are needed to advance through the Atlas and its fog of war and to complete objectives, such as making the Atlas passive or reaching important parts of it, such as the Burning Monolith and the Three Citadels. As such, a great addition to the game would be a dedicated Waystone stash tab where players can easily store and access all their Waystones, filter by keyword and group them by level.

Stash tabs are usually paid content in Path of Exile 2 (and its predecessors), but a Waystone stash tab would be such a massive quality-of-life addition that it would undoubtedly be good even if it wasn't free.

How Path of Exile 2 could improve its mapping experience

While the latest 0.1.1 Path of Exile 2 patch added new functionality to Atlas where each map node indicates its biome, this can be taken to the next level. For example, each map node can have a short video attached showing both a sample layout of the area and its minimap. This would be a game changer as certain League mechanics, such as Path of Exile 2's Breach or Ritual, are area based. If a crime or ritual occurs in a narrow corridor, with some map types having multiple of these, they can be dramatically less rewarding than they otherwise would be.

Why Path of Exile 2 Should Rethink Its One-Portal Policy

Last but not least, Path of Exile 2s attitude towards death may need some changes. It's no secret that GGG wanted the game to be slower and more methodical in its combat, especially with boss fights being a prevalent part of ARPGs. However, the game can be very punishing in the endgame section, where dying in any Waystone means losing experience and access to the Waystone itself, including any loot that hadn't been picked up before the event.

The reasoning from GGG seems to be that this way players can learn from the experience and improve their characters and build accordingly. However, this is hardly the case for many reasons, like how it can be very difficult to switch gears on the fly or how the game doesn't really have a death recap screen where it clearly states what happened. On top of that though Path of Exile 2 can be paused, which it's also supposed to do automatically if one is disconnected, it happens that players can be disconnected and still die from it. What follows is making death less punitive, along with the other changes, would do Path of Exile 2 the best version of yourself.

Path of Exile 2 is a next-generation free-to-play action RPG created by Grinding Gear Games. Travel across the deadly continent of Wraeclast and encounter multiple immersive cultures while facing off against evil in many forms. Path of Exile 2 features twelve character classes, 240 skill gems, hundreds of equipment base types, a six-act campaign, more than a hundred unique boss fights, a deep endgame system, and much more. Play with your friends without losing any progress with co-op, cross-play and cross-progression.

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