PoE2 Needs to Rethink XP Loss – Here’s a Simple Fix

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Sanmie#9654 wrote:

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Bav101#7255 wrote:

Moving forward I would suggest that the devs look at potentially curtailing the XP penalty substantially or removing it with a view long term of completely replacing it by something else for example durability on equipped items on death as it would also give another use for gold, but I'm sure the devs could come up with something a little better.

Durability is a very bad system as well. It comes with various issues. If the penalty is to low it doesn't matter that you have to repair sometimes.

If the penalty is to high you are risking players getting soft locked due to being unable to repair their gear.

If you are interested, there are very good resources why durability is a bad system in most games.

To be honest durability was the first thing I could think of while I was writing I'm fully aware of just how bad it can be lol. Appreciate the offer though.

Its extremely difficult to come up with some kind of replacement that isn't as punishing as the XP loss but still makes the player think.. yeah my char isn't invicible and I do have to learn to play better, get better gear etc etc

The good thing though is with POE 2 being in early access they have a bunch of testers that can help with balancing the system out and can be balanced reletively quickly to a half decent state where more people will stick around and help test rather than, I've spent an hour playing and I've died a few times and have nothing to show for it.

This^

Apart from removing progress, it also inhibits play. What's that, a Ritual? Nah, I'm close to leveling, not worth the risk. I only tend to attempt content my build struggles with just after I level, when there's nothing to lose.

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Rimander#5249 wrote:

Apart from removing progress, it also inhibits play. What's that, a Ritual? Nah, I'm close to leveling, not worth the risk. I only tend to attempt content my build struggles with just after I level, when there's nothing to lose.

Yep. Same experience here. Most content I just don't wanna touch, the risk/reward ration is completely out of whack.

got a rare yesterday: 5 choas orbs, only damage if you stand close, heals itselb when out auf area and it disapears in the ground. No chance to kill because the 5 orbs will Kill youn if you stand near the rare to make dmg or the rare is killing you because flasks will empty ...

and yes getting pinned down by mobs and die is bad. Lost 50% of lvl 89 stuck at this for 2 days. Running a lot maps (15/16 rare) and no loot to get better gear is the other side of this problem.

These are all great ideas—just wanted to throw another one out there:

What if XP loss was tied to Waystones as part of a modifier system?
Imagine suffixes like “of Punishment” that apply XP loss on death for those who want that high-risk, high-reward experience. And on the flip side, you could have prefixes like “Safe Journey” or “Protected Mind” that negate XP loss entirely—maybe at the cost of slightly lower rewards or monster density.

That way, players can choose how punishing they want their experience to be. Hardcore players still get that intensity, while others can opt into a more forgiving progression loop without it feeling like easy mode.

It’s about giving players agency over their challenge—not removing it.

XP loss is perfectly fine as it is right now. If your character is not ready for the content there should be a penalty. Getting to max level in PoE is an achievement and not everyone should get there. Also most players run glass cannon and die a lot, thus they get what they deserve neglecting their defenses. In PoE 1 it is absolutely normal to get to 93-94 and stop leveling before you make massive investments in gear. Level 100 means your character has overcome the challenges of high tier content. What OP is saying is that he wants everything on a plate, thats not how PoE works. I mean if you dont like it just go back to Diablo 4.

I get where you’re coming from, and I agree—some level of challenge and consequence is important in PoE. But there has to be a happy medium between “XP loss makes leveling feel meaningful” and “XP loss makes playing feel pointless.”

The issue isn’t about handing everything to players “on a plate”—it’s about retaining a sense of progress. When one death can erase hours of gameplay, especially in a game with this much complexity and time investment, it starts to feel less like a challenge and more like a punishment. That’s not rewarding—it’s demoralizing.

Not everyone is running glass cannons and ignoring defenses. Even well-geared, well-played characters can die to server lag, bugs, or unavoidable mechanics—especially in new content. Should those players lose their progress too?

In PoE1, most players do stop around 93–94, not because they’ve overcome the game, but because XP loss makes it unfun to continue. That’s not a great design principle—it’s a symptom of a system that discourages engagement at high levels. The real achievement should be mastery, not just grinding through the fear of setbacks.

This isn’t about making PoE like Diablo 4—it’s about making the game more rewarding without watering it down. Systems can be both challenging and respectful of players’ time. That’s what a lot of us are asking for.

Its funny cause this discussion happened on PoE1 and a majority of players was okay with xp loss.

To have an idea, here is an answer (from reddit) :
"Because SC players need an incentive to not play stupid, and XP loss is probably the least offensive route and is something everybody cares about."

I agree with the OP on every point so far.

For testing purposes with POE 2 the more people who get to level 100 and can test all of the content now and in the future the better as it provides more data to GGG and as myself and others have stated it could potentially lead to more people sticking around, especially with the current state of this patch. I've been testing video games for long enough to know that the devs will release good patches and bad patches and we're in the latter at the moment. Its a shame but it happens, removal of the XP penalty could greatly benefit the game and GGG in the long run. Especially for the duration of early access.

In the long term, approaching the release of POE 2 a new approach could be looked into. GGG have stated that they want POE 2 different to POE 1 so whats the harm in at least experimenting? If a happy medium can be found, potentially more player retention, more potential customers for GGG on the in game shop, everybody wins and then POE 1 would still be around with the XP Death penalty, it would give people more choice as to what game they want to play which should in theory anyway lead to more players as a whole.