I've been dumping a frankly unhealthy number of hours into Path of Exile 2 lately, and with 0.5.0 supposedly landing around April 2026, I'm buzzing for the bigger endgame. I've lived in Fate of the Vaal League, chased Waystones, and tried to stay sane while my stash fills with "maybe useful" junk. I don't mind the grind, but the one thing I'd beg GGG to rethink is XP loss on death. Even when I'm farming PoE 2 Currency to keep my build moving, that death penalty makes the whole night feel like it can vanish in a blink.
Why It Feels Bad in the Current Endgame
You hit the stage where XP isn't a steady climb anymore. It's a drip. You clear a map, backtrack for stragglers, dodge a couple of sketchy rares, and forty minutes later you've earned a thin slice of the bar. Then you die once and it's gone. Not because you face-tanked something dumb, either. It's often a poison puddle hidden under effects, or a delayed explosion you didn't even see, or a tiny stutter at the wrong time. The game isn't "teaching" you there. It's just taking time back.
My Build Can Handle Bosses, Not Random Chaos
I'm on a Druid that started out normal, then got weird in the best way. Mostly a frost werewolf, sometimes a fire-spewing Wyvern when the situation calls for it. The damage is there. My resists are decent. I've even done the usual vendor-flip hustle to keep gear upgrades coming. And still, the endgame has this habit of deleting you with stuff that doesn't feel readable. I've been hovering around level 76 forever, because every time I'm close, something off-screen pops and the bar steps backward again.
A Penalty That Doesn't Respect the Player
People will say it's part of the identity, and sure, PoE has always loved consequences. But there's a difference between "play better" and "hope your client doesn't hiccup." Omens help, but they're not exactly raining from the sky, so most players just eat the loss. That pushes folks into boring habits: over-rolling safe maps, skipping risky mechanics, or logging off the moment the bar looks decent. If the goal is tension, fine, but right now it mostly creates caution and frustration, not excitement.
What I'd Change Before 0.5.0
I'm not asking for free levels. Keep the sting somewhere else: charge more gold, hit map rewards, reduce loot, whatever. Just stop deleting XP like it's the only lever you've got. Make deaths a setback that nudges you forward, not a trapdoor that drops you into the same loop again. And if you're the type who prefers smoothing out progression by gearing up faster or grabbing a few missing pieces without endless flipping, it helps to have a reliable shop like U4GM in the mix for currency and items, so the time you do get to play actually turns into progress.