Path of Exile 2 Difficulty is Overtuned

I am currently level 20 and in Act 1 taking on Ogham Manor.

My problem with the game so far is that the progression seems to focus around exploring a zone and getting to the level's end boss. Getting wiped by them, spending hours grinding that level to get a small skill upgrade and then try to defeat the boss - if that fails - rinse and repeat, with the leveling up taking even longer.

None of the other nodes on the map matter as the lower level enemies yield nothing of value.

I know some have compared this to Dark Souls, but frankly, Dark Souls leveling is faster than this.

I feel that this game doesn't respect the gamer's time and that's not just a skill issue, it's a design one.

Personally I have not found this to be an issue. You want to prioritise defences on your gear whilst understanding how your damage is stacking. Perhaps looking up some guides for your build will help you overcome this hurdle. Best of luck Exile!

Check vendors of level up, once you have 1xExalted orb you can look at the trade for massively better items. Don't stand in stuff in the floor or the big telegraphed attacks that'll one shot you early on.

Look for cold resistance gems/items for Geonor.

As above, good luck. It gets much better once you understand what build you want to play and understand scaling it/mechanics of the game.

My lightning monk still gets one shot by white mobs sometimes in act 2 cruel, but it melts bosses in seconds. I just prioritized lightning and evasion nodes.

Edit: Also realized trade is still broken on Xbox, so hopefully that'll get fixed soon.