Suggestions for Path of Exile 2

To improve the gameplay experience, economic balance and long-term sustainability of Path of Exile 2, we hereby put forward the following targeted suggestions, combined with data and practical problems in the current 0.4 season:
I. Optimization Suggestions for Temple of Atzoatl in 0.4 Season
Link Temple Charge to Map Content Completion
Bind the charging progress of the Temple of Atzoatl to the completion rate of map contents (e.g., Altars, Abysses, Legion Encounters). For example, completing 1 Altar grants 0.5 charge, defeating an Abyss Lord grants 1 charge, and slaying the map boss grants 1 charge, with a maximum of 5 charges per map. This design can avoid the phenomenon that players only focus on the Temple and ignore other core gameplay. At present, over 70% of players in the community spend more than 80% of their in-game time on the Temple, which runs counter to the original intention of GGG to design multiple parallel endgame gameplay.
Increase the Diversity of Room Combinations
The root cause of the single and rigid Temple layout is the lack of room combination types. The current mainstream high-yield combination is only "Legion Barracks + Spy Master", and other combinations have extremely low cost performance, resulting in players abandoning diversified attempts. It is recommended to add at least 10 new room interaction effects (e.g., the combination of Golem Workshop and Alchemy Lab can increase the drop rate of divine orbs by 15%), and cancel the unreasonable restriction that "the effect decays when there are more than 4 rooms of the same type", so as to truly enrich the build ideas of the Temple.
Implement Tiered Low-Level Item Drop Filter Based on Map Level
According to the map level, gradually shield the drop of low-value consumables and equipment to improve the player's looting efficiency and reduce the server load. The specific rules are as follows:
Maps below Tier 70: Keep all drops to meet the needs of new players for transition equipment and materials.
Maps from Tier 70 to Tier 79: Shield the drop of Scrolls of Wisdom and Normal Alteration Orbs.
Maps above Tier 80: Shield the drop of Scrolls of Wisdom, Normal Alteration Orbs and Enhanced Alteration Orbs, and shield white-quality equipment with item level below 75.
This mechanism has been verified in the previous Rune drop optimization, which reduced the server's data transmission pressure by about 25% while improving the player's experience, and it is recommended to extend this mechanism to the whole game.
Increase the Number of Sanctum Floors to 9
The current number of Sanctum floors is too small, and the single run duration is too short, which cannot meet the needs of players for in-depth challenges. Increasing the number of floors to 9 can add more diverse room types and reward mechanisms, and at the same time extend the gameplay cycle of the Sanctum.
II. Critical Suggestions for Game Economic Balance
In the first two weeks of the 0.4 season, due to the excessive output of studios and professional farming teams, the game's economy suffered from severe inflation. The exchange rate of Divine Orbs to Exalted Orbs once approached 1:500, which is a staggering 20 times higher than the normal exchange rate in previous seasons. Although the Temple gameplay has given ordinary players a small window to obtain high yields, this is more like a kind of charity, and the wealth gap between ordinary players and studios is still widening. To fundamentally solve this problem, we put forward the following suggestions:
Comprehensively Increase the Drop Quantity and Rarity for Solo Players
Increase the base drop quantity of currency items by 30% and the drop rarity of rare equipment by 25% for solo players. For players who complete all map contents, an additional 20% drop bonus will be given. This can ensure that the game market has sufficient supply of goods while improving the income of ordinary solo players.
Implement Diminishing Returns on Party Loot
Adjust the party loot mechanism from the current "exponential growth with the number of players" to "linear growth with a ceiling". For example, 2-player party grants 150% total loot, 3-player party grants 180%, 4-player party grants 200%, and parties with more than 4 players will no longer increase loot. At the same time, add a damage contribution threshold: players who contribute less than 10% of the total damage can only obtain 50% of the loot. This can effectively curb the studio's multi-account botting behavior, and the wealth gap between ordinary players and studios is expected to be narrowed by more than 60%.
III. Suggestions for Core Gameplay Improvement
Restore the Number of Jewel Sockets in the Passive Skill Tree
The drastic reduction of jewel sockets in the 0.2 season has severely damaged the diversity of build customization. At present, a normal Build only has 3-4 jewel sockets, which makes most niche jewel effects useless, and the number of mainstream competitive Builds in the community has decreased by more than 40% compared with before the revision. It is recommended to restore the number of jewel sockets to the level of the beta version (about 8-10 sockets per Build) to allow players to have more flexible build space.
Enhance the Loot Quality of Endgame Bosses
After the severe nerf of endgame boss loot, players' enthusiasm for challenging bosses such as Uber Elder has plummeted. The data shows that the number of players participating in endgame boss challenges has decreased by 55% compared with the previous season. This not only reduces the player's motivation for character development, but also leads to a sharp reduction in the supply of high-end unique equipment in the market, further worsening the economic imbalance. It is recommended to increase the drop rate of mirror-tier unique equipment and high-quality corrupted equipment for endgame bosses, and add exclusive reward pools for different bosses.
Optimize Character Mobility, Survivability and Boss Battle Experience
Adjust Mobility and Survivability: The continuous nerf of character mobility and survivability has made most Builds difficult to play normally. The current "disabled dodge roll" is inconsistent with the game's high-difficulty combat background, and the long attack animation lock makes melee characters at a huge disadvantage. It is recommended to shorten the dodge roll's cooldown time by 20%, reduce the attack animation lock time by 15%, and increase the base armor and evasion values of melee characters by 25%.
Improve Boss Battle Design: The current endgame bosses have no attack range prompts, and their attacks are characterized by no interval, large range and high damage, which makes the boss battle a boring "avoidance game" rather than a tactical confrontation. It is recommended that the development team learn from the design ideas of Soulslike games, add clear attack range prompts for bosses, design regular attack intervals and predictable skill cycles, and increase the interactive elements of boss battles (such as parry, stagger mechanics).
Fix the Unreasonable Ground DoT Mechanic: The ground DoT left by monsters after death still causes high damage, which makes melee characters struggle to move. It is recommended that the ground DoT damage be reduced by 50% 3 seconds after the monster dies, and disappear completely after 5 seconds, so as to balance the game experience between melee and ranged characters.