Feedback ... Unhappy and frustrated

Where to start ... I'll start with this. There is creating a game that's challenging, and then there's throwing roadblocks, ditches, and obstacles in front of people and calling it "challenging." POE2 is doing more of the latter than the former. For example, I learned recently after discovering that one of my resistances had gone negative, and I spent hours trying to figure out what "I" did wrong, only to discover this is how the game is designed! You punish your players for their success in advancing through the game! Who does this!?

This is just one of MANY examples I could give but it leads me to my next issue, lack of guidance. Sure, there are all these texts things all over, but if I don't know where to look for what I need to learn, I'll never learn and saying, "Oh, the box is over here. You mean you didn't click it?" is just trying to pass the buck of blame. It is the year of my lord 2025(ish... almost lol ). When I can go hours looking for what "I" did wrong when it was game design is bad game design on the side of actually teaching people your game.

I created a toon and played through Acts 1,2,3 on the "easy mode" (NOT so easy), but I made it and began the acts again on cruel mode. I discovered that I had locked myself to one ascendancy (more bad game design. Seriously?! I can change everything else, but not that?! Who thought that was a good idea?!) and rolled a new character in order to be able to choose a different ascendancy. Again, more not teaching people your game to where I walked myself into a corner that wasn't working.

I began the play-through again on easy mode in order to correct some errors I made the first time, though. I got to a boss on the third act and I've been stuck there for 3 days now. I've even just recently found someone's YouTube video and build of them beating this boss and ground out the gold I needed to re-spec some points and go with their build, and I STILL can't beat it. Mind you, this is one that I handily beat the first time I played through it. Did ya'll do something to it or what?!

My level of frustration with this game now is at an all-time high and I'm leaning 60/40 on the side of quitting and playing something else. Mind you, I haven't even got to the "end game," and I hear people say that in the "end game," if I die, I lose experience!? Why would I want to subject myself to that!? Again!? who thinks these are good ideas!? This is back to NOT building a challenging game but instead tossing things into people's paths and calling it a "challenge"

Let's talk crafting (or lack thereof). Everyone's running around talking about "crafting," and I'm like, "What crafting!? At best, it's a gear enchantment system fully based on RNG, the absolute bane of all gamers' existence. I have ZERO control over what I can get on gear, and I'm fully left at the mercy of the RNG monster. Who does this?

I mean, seriously, I could go on and on and on and on about the issues I have with this game, but I already have quite the wall'o'text going on, and let's be honest, ya'll really don't care what little old me thinks. Odds are none of you will even read this and best case, I'm simply venting my frustrations.

I predict what may happen is the POE2 cult trolls will catch wind of me ragging on their game and come after me lol oh well. it is what it is.

In conclusion... what are you guy's doing?! Are you trying to drive people away from the game?! Cause that's what it feels like to me. Anyway, said my piece.

funny how all these complains are kinda minuscule to the one portal per map issue, but good luck to you when you find that one out