Another Endgame Feedback Post

As many have stated, the endgame feels like you're playing a different game. The first act of the game feels like exactly what I want from a Souls/ARPG hybrid.
-Dodge roll is important.
-Bosses feel difficult but fair.
-Instant death is reserved for abilities that can be easily seen and dodged.
-Boss patterns can be learned.
-You feel like you're learning and improving from every death.
-Checkpoints help alleviate frustration when dying.

There may be a few exceptions to these, but for the most part, these are the first impressions going through act one. Act two and three start to lose some of these traits and we start to see some issues form, but they still feel okay (I think they need work, but that's not what this post is about).

The point is that the campaign sets the tone and tells the player how the game works, what they should be doing to get stronger, and what to expect from the games mechanics.

...then the end game throws that all out the window.

Maps:
They're mostly empty and uninteresting. Some have literally nothing to experience other than killing trash mobs and it feels like a chore to finish them. All maps should at least have 1 boss, a couple random encounters scattered around to find, and maybe a merchant camp or village checkpoint where you can identify gear, buy, sell, and sometimes have the unique vendor show up.

Atlas:
Instead of listing which maps have a breach, a boss, etc. the atlas could show just one activity that the map is guaranteed to have, but it also has at least 1 other hidden activity (as well as a boss). For example, if you start on a map with a breach, you could also run into rituals as a hidden bonus.

XP Loss:
Just no. This shouldn't have made it past a suggestion. There's nothing else to say about this, and no defense for keeping it. It just needs to be removed.

Waystones:
I think waystones shouldn't even exist. The fact that you can die and lose your stone, the mats you used on it, the loot that was on the ground, hours of XP, and your sanity all at once is nonsense and not fun at all. Just let people play the content they're at. No map needed, just a way to select the tier you want to play at on the atlas screen. The next tier is unlocked by doing ten of the previous tier (along with atlas points).

Since this suggestion seems extremely unlikely due to the fact that waystones cause stash clutter and encourage players to buy a waystone stash tab (whenever it's added), I'll add an alt solution. Make waystones optional. Adding one to a map increases drop rates and adds modifiers to the map similar to how they do now. By default, a normal unaltered waystone would add something like 5% item find.

Difficulty/Combat:
You either take no damage and smash through everything like paper, or you instantly die from a mystery source with no idea what you even did wrong.

Anything that can one shot you should always be extremely telegraphed and obvious. Nothing should be able to one shot you without the player knowing exactly what just killed them. The thought "What the hell just killed me?" should never be expressed. However, I'm fine with thinking "Dammit, how'd I let that hit me?" or "I hate that move!". Death should help the player learn and improve, not leave them confused and frustrated.

Checkpoints/Death:
Checkpoints were in the entire campaign and their absence really makes the maps feel like you're not playing the same game anymore. This also ties into the one-life system. There's a place for one-life content, and that place is when you're doing optional challenge content. Maps should not be balanced as optional challenge content. If they are, then the game will be over for most players as soon as the campaign is finished. Again, I like the idea of one-life/one-chance challenge content, but this is the wrong place for it.