Gameplay vs Progress vs Micromanagement - A discussion about the games pacing

I think the idea, that the actual gameplay of PoE2 is slower is a good choice. It's kinda necessary to make the game feel different compared to PoE1, which is very fast-paced for an ARPG. The slow-paced gameplay allows a very different kind of playstyle, more skill based instead of "speed is king". Right now, it feels good during campaign and low tier maps, but as soon as you hit 4-5 slots on gems and get some good equipment, the game gets faster and faster and feels more like PoE1, which is kinda sad. I hope GGG manages to slow the game down even in endgame, so that it's more skill based until the end.

The progress is to slow for me however. The game has several flaws from my perspective. The maps are very big and have many deadends. Usually I find myself at the end of the map and I very likely have missed one or two side-objective and have to backtrack alot. This way, maps often take twice as much time as they would actually need, if maps would be easier to navigate through, especially during campaign. Also, the 10% exp loss is unnecessary. Many are stuck at level <92 because of that. Why prevent players from proceeding? Yes, "git gud" is always a part of games, especially when skill is needed, but just let players max their character out and let them "progress" to a new character. The same goes for the 1-portal choice. Losing a good rolled high tier map because of one death feels brutal. You just lost 10% exp and on top of that your map, the potential loot and very likely the orbs you invested to create the map. All these decissions slow down the progress so much, that it's frustrating for at least some people. And I'm not sure if that frustration is really necessary. And then there are droprates. While exalted drops are okay-ish, divine have the same drop chance compared to PoE1. Again, this is an orb meant only for use for high tier players who spent ALOT of time. If self-crafted items are the goal, then the game should be designed in a way that lets me craft my items myself with a reasonable amount of time investment. But right now, trade is literally the way to go, if you want a fitting gear-progression. Without trade, gear progression would feel "incredible" slow right now. Some complain, that they still use blue items in cruel, because they haven't found something better or useful in the first 3 acts. THe RNG crafting sadly also takes alot of time (and ressources), if I want to get something good out of it.

The micromanagement could definitely use some QoL features/decissions. Right now, there are alot micromanagement mechanics, that require time from the player and are not really contributing much to the enjoyment. One of these things are unidentifed items. Since identifying is for free now, why do I even have to carry it to sin at all? If the items would be identified, I could directly look at them on the ground and decide, if I want to pick them up or not. It would save me alot of time (opening portal, going to sin, checking items, getting rid of them, porting back). Ofc I could just take wisdoms with me, but what's the point? Where does it have a positive impact on the enjoyment? It just slows the game down. Furthermore, I would like to see mobile tools I can use on the map. This mobile tool lets me disenchant and salavage while mapping. You should get it from the smith in act 1. This would certainly speed up the game AND players would get more orb shards out of the maps. Just put this tool on a keyboard button and let us use it directly on items on the ground. Furthermore, even if I would like to see improvements made in the SSF side, trading also takes alot of time. Even though it would be alot work, I think it would be better if it's actually ingame. Also remove the need of player interaction. Let people sell their items and let me buy them directly. My orbs for their item, without the player needing to be online. It would speed up the whole trading process and therefore speed up the game when it comes to pacing.