PoE2 Death Penalty Feedback (after reading a lot of existing threads)

As of me writing this, there are around 1,000 posts on this very topic alone. I cannot realistically go through every single one of them, I have a bit of a life (what little is left), so I've tried to condense it all into one easy-to-read post for casual readers, Developers and Players alike.

Dev Skim (for GGG):

- This is not a request to remove difficulty or consequences
- The issue is permanent XP loss during learning-heavy content
- XP loss discourages experimentation, boss attempts, and engagement
- Many players support alternative penalties that preserve challenge without deleting progress
* The goal is mastery and long-term retention, not risk avoidance


TL;DR:
PoE2's XP loss on death does not help players learn or engage with content. It mainly discourages experimentation and long-term play, especially during bosses and endgame. Difficulty can be preserved with penalties that do not permanently erase progress.

I am posting this after reading a large number of existing death penalty threads. I am not trying to rehash "remove XP loss" or ask for PoE2 to be easier.

I understand and respect what PoE2 is trying to achieve. Slower pacing, higher stakes, fewer mindless clears, more deliberate combat. I actually like that direction and I am not opposed to meaningful consequences for failure.

Where this starts to break down is permanent XP loss during content that is clearly designed to be learned through failure. Many deaths do not come from obvious mistakes. They come from unclear damage sources, limited feedback, visual noise, or mechanics that only make sense after you have seen them once or twice.

Losing hours of progress in those situations does not reinforce learning. It teaches players to avoid the content instead.

After reading many threads, there seems to be more agreement than disagreement. Most players are not asking for death to be free. They are asking for consequences that do not permanently delete progress.

Commonly suggested alternatives that still preserve challenge:

- Temporary XP debt instead of permanent XP loss
- Progressive map or encounter degradation after deaths (reduced rewards, completion bonuses, etc.)
- Limited deaths or attempts for bosses rather than unlimited deaths with XP punishment
- Resource-based penalties such as portals, durability, gold, or consumables
* Clearer death feedback and telegraphing if XP loss remains

At higher levels this issue becomes much more noticeable. Past a certain point, XP loss turns progression from slow into frustrating. That encourages extreme risk avoidance instead of engagement. Boss attempts get delayed. New mechanics get skipped. Builds stop being tested.

I have personally died to bosses where there was:

- No visible AoE
- No clear environmental hazard
* No obvious telegraph


Just a single hit that killed me at full health after a long fight, while being several levels above the boss. When the punishment for that experience is losing hours of progress, the lesson is not "play better". The lesson is "do not engage".

Closing:
This feedback comes from a place of respect for the PoE series and for what PoE2 is trying to become. Meaningful consequences can exist without permanent progress loss. I believe PoE2 would be stronger long-term with systems that reinforce learning and mastery rather than discouraging participation.

~ Garmage

I mean we don't even know what the heck killed us, let alone 'learning' from it. So I agree on these points here.

Half the maps at end game are crampy small rooms that don't give you any space to breathe. You're either getting one-shotted or one-shotting everything to not even learn mechanics or just get stuck in place with mob attacking you. There's too many obstacles in the way of the end game maps that if they made maps bound by location in the waystone, instead of putting waystones in a map, I'm going to be that the grass area where it's wide and open would be the best spots.

It seems to go down hill after the campaign to be honest.

-69
Game is too ez, please double the exp penalty, can add message “git gud son” or “better play range next time” when you die.