new player after 8 hours of getting into maps

i dont know how long i will be able to enjoy myself with this system.

beat the campaign with a self made build, went fine but the moment you step into maps the fun factor just plummets.

- map size
Just like the campaign maps are huge. Even map overlay cant fit the entire map
on screen. This causes backtracking when trying to find rare monsters and is
generally unfun.

- hunt for rares
Why whenever i encounter, or come near a rare monster why does their icon not just
pop up on the map and stay there. ive been walking past them because without
targeting the enemy i had no idea it was there. Only to find out its back at
the start of the map, so backtracking we go.

- Map sustain
im struggeling to even finish tier 1 and 2 maps. And whenever you die you
lose the waystone, and if you want to finish the node to move further into
the map you have to throw another waystone at it. The droprates are abysmal,
+125% modifier ? no stones time 125% are still no stones. and when you do find one its either lower (playing a T2 map) or not a higher one(tier 1 map)
so while my current quest is to finish 10 tier 2 maps. Finding the waystones is even harder then doing the actual maps.
Then you try to buy a waystone, but oops only tier 4 or 5 maps are for sale.
tier 2 is a struggle so i wont even try a tier 5 yet.

- the elephant in the room
only one attempt before all your progress and potential encounters is gone forever is the absolute worst. Im a new player, i want to learn the mechanics, try them out, find out what is or isnt fun, needed etc. But whenever i find a map with a breach, then get CC'd and killed at the first chokepoint because map legability dying and then getting thrown out. not even able to go back and try again is horrible. Now you need to try 4 more maps before you can try breach again, and that's gonna take at least 10 more waystones with the way im playing.
its just plain not fun.
If a node on the map contains a breach and ive put in a waystone to unlock it let me attempt the damn thing. I've got 6 portals. Means i should have 6 attempts / exits to attempt it.
If you want me to lose something let the modifers from my waystone fall off if you die. Turning it into a basic tiered waystone, but atleast i can try the league mechanics, or boss, or whatever else was in the map.

progression is slow and demotivating now. all im doing is running around a huge empty map hunting for rare enemies in order to progress to the next node to just lose the map again.

They hired Satan for Endgame. Does it make Sense now?

I agree, maps is just not fun. I am in a similar boat, I am working on the 10 T3+ maps, got 7 and now running T1 and T2 maps trying to substain (and failing) a supply of waystones.

You run around, get 5% exp from the map, get the same map tier if you are lucky, get a higher one if you are super lucky but that's it. Just repeat with another map over and over again with no new usable skills or gear hoping something changes before you hit the T15 plateau that you know you will never be able to do.

It is just slow and tedious and I don't see a goal with this map system in poe2. I can't even attempt to try any of the features such as breach as I die so quick whenever I try ANY of the extra map features. Radiation (or whatever it is called) is the only map mode I can survive thxs to the great one death your done rule.


After work it was nice to come home, relax and play some PoE but now after a few maps I am tired, bored and my jaw hurts from constant clenching from the sheer pressure and tension of living above all else. And at the end of those maps, what do I have to show.... very little except a headache.