Endgame Map Suggestion

The changes to endgame mapping sound great, but something that's kept me from personally diving deep into endgame maps is that it hasn't quite felt like I'm playing a game. New changes may be addressing this to some extent by hiding some of the map mods and changing the way towers work. I think having some strategy involved with choosing your route is important, but it's easy to stare at that map and feel paralyzed by choice. Many of the paths are also very similar or at least don't feel different enough to feel like going a different direction matters which brings me to my suggestion.

Many games I grew up with had overworld maps where you planned a route and selected your levels such as the Mario and Zelda series games. I'm not recommending any overt copying of their systems, but noticing how they made their overworld choices blend with great play in the level might be worth a look. In Super Mario World there are many level types, similar to PoE2. For example, there are water maps, maps with aerial routes, haunted houses, towers, castles, etc. There are also bonus levels with special rewards. As you progress through the map there are also various "worlds" within that have a different atmosphere which gives you a sense of exploration. The types of levels may be similar in these worlds, but the presentation has some unique variation in each. Each world also has a boss before you progress into another. Your citadels could work as an "end castle" level for a world in this type of structure.

The Zelda games do something similar. Various regions of the world have a different atmosphere and there are capstone dungeons and bosses. Moving to different regions feels like progression. I'm honestly not sure how to best take these ideas into the ARPG genre, but I think your team could have a lot of fun with the idea while keeping the core of what you have already built up. It could make the endgame feel more like an exploration adventure with some chase goals. If I have prefered environments, maybe I can move toward a "world" or cluster of levels with more of the level types I prefer.