More feedback because I want this game to be great

Endgame Feedback – 0.2

1. Towers Feel Like a Chore
Towers still feel like a chore in the endgame. I think the core issue is the “juicing” requirement—if baseline loot is balanced around players always juicing towers and Waystones, that’s a problem. The system becomes too dependent on investing heavily just to get decent returns.

My suggestions:

- Remove the juicing effect from towers entirely. Instead, make the tablets simply add league mechanics to maps.

- Let towers provide vision to help navigate and locate citadels.

- Add a unique mechanic to towers, like a "Guardian Boss". Each tower would have its own unique boss (by biome), and killing it could drop special items (e.g., Stone Sharper, Leather Shoulder Pads) that provide passive boosts—similar to what Iron Runes do now.

Why this matters:
Iron Runes are amazing, but they really highlight a deeper issue—weapon damage and defense scaling just aren't in a good place. They're by far the most valuable runes, and that kind of says it all. These new “Guardian Items” I mentioned shouldn’t be a band-aid for damage and defense (those need to be fixed separately), but more like an extra layer of progression—a new dimension to help power up your character in a more interesting way.

Different biomes could drop different Guardian modifiers—for example, one biome boosts max energy shield, another boosts evasion, etc. These could scale with the tier of the Waystone used.

2. Juicing as a System
I think it would be healthier to remove the idea of juicing altogether or rework it into something else. Maybe a new consumable item for the map device that affects the next 15 portals, adding global modifiers in a controlled way—without forcing tower optimization every time.


3. Waystone Modifiers Need Balance
Right now, it feels mandatory to have Magic Find on every Waystone—mostly because item drops are so scarce otherwise. Some negative mods are also brutal (e.g., Temporal Chains), and a few can straight-up kill a build’s ability to function in a map.

My suggestion:
Make Waystone modifiers more predictable. For example:
- +10% monster health per mod in the waystone
- +10% monster damage per mod in the waystone
- +10% item quantity per mod in the waystone
This keeps the risk/reward balance but avoids frustrating negatives that only punish specific playstyles.

Also, consider removing Magic Find temporarily until baseline loot is in a good spot. Once that’s solid, you can reintroduce Magic Find gradually to keep the balance intact—without making it feel mandatory. Honestly, I think GGG is having a really rough time trying to balance item drops around Magic Find. For example, in a white T12 map, I was getting an exalt almost every run. But in a white T15? I barely see one. The system just feels inconsistent and frustrating.

4. Simulacrum
Please fix Simulacrum. It’s in a worse state than it was in 0.1. Right now, Arbiter is easy than Sumulacrum.

5. Rare Modifiers vs. Melee
Some rare mob mods are awful for melee characters—especially Volatile Crags and Volatile Plants. I spend more time running away than actually fighting. Temporal Bubbles are another problem, seemingly designed to punish melee more than any other playstyle.

6. Endgame Progression Feels Off

I’m still using gear from Cruel Act 2 and a few cheap pieces I managed to buy, just because I can’t farm fast enough to keep up with the inflation. And I’m doing T15 maps! I’ve cruised through almost all the map tiers, and while that sounds great on paper, it actually feels kind of absurd. I’m playing my own Monk build, with less than 600 hours of PoE experience, and I’ve managed to push into high-tier maps without ever really upgrading my gear. That just doesn’t feel right—especially when there are basically no meaningful item drops to progress my character. And since the skill tree only amplifies power instead of being the source of it, gear progression feels like it’s everything… and it’s just not there.

Also, I think some league mechanics should be accessible much earlier, like mid-maps tiers. Giving players earlier access to more interesting league content would make progression feel more fun and reduce the sense that T1–T14 is just a grindy chore before you get to the “real” endgame at T15.