Why Large Maps Don’t Work in Path of Exile 2 (aka Where are the roads?)
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I think the purposes of "maze-like" maps are to present choices and to slow progression. Singular paths get boring and present very little challenge.
There is a method to solve any maze: choose a wall and follow that wall. You will eventually find the exit. I've been using this method in games since Diablo I. When I enter an area, I choose left or right and follow the perimeter. Once the perimeter is explored, I explore the inner parts of the map. This method may seem tedious and slow, but I'm the kind of player who prefers to explore the entire map and find all the enemies. Closed Beta/Alpha Tester back after a 10-year hiatus.
First in the credits! |
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I still think zones are just too big in the campaign. Or at least it just takes too long to do. Even my casual ass can clear an entire normal run in Diablo 2, getting all waypoints, with an SSF char in the time it takes me to clear Act 1 and 2 in PoE2. I don't care what they do to speed this up, but IMO the campaign just takes too long.
Yes I know some streamers will spend weeks making new chars over and over and practicing doing the campaign as fast as possible but I don't have the free time to take on such toil. |
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" " " Yep. |
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IMO edge finding a maze is a well known algorithm and it only works for mazes without loops. Even then, so many maps have permanent bonuses you need to find that aren't on the edge of the map. When I need to find the next zone the edge finding works fine. When I need to find the Mighty Silverfist or The Venom Crypts then this stops being an actual strategy.
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" PoE 1 offered us significant points on which we were able to determine our path through the different areas to not miss anything. Like act 2 lead us to the different areas via roads we were able to follow. Some parts of the road were broken to lead you to specific quest parts you had to get. If you ever missed any of such points or didn't found them, you could use "U" to pop up a window which showed you approximately in which direction you will find the new area you are supposed to head to.... It riddles me, why they didn't implement that in PoE 2 to begin with. This was one of the reasons why i feared PoE 2 degnerates the same as D3 did compared to D2. Last edited by Ondrugs#1147 on Feb 19, 2026, 12:57:38 PM
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" Then they must be aware. Maybe it's something they are going to add with future updates. I hope so. Last edited by mattia2103#3008 on Feb 19, 2026, 4:53:04 PM
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" Or they lost their hand regarding map design and intuitive tilesets. It's a great skill for players but doesn't sell much mtx, does it? |
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I agree,
When there are 6 acts, With the current size of the maps, playing through the Acts on a new character causes a lot of player fatigue. There is a lot of good content, player traps, events that happen during the Acts that we want to keep, but a lot of the fluff that provides little value, should be minimized as much as possible. Some maps need more checkpoints, especially in dead end areas. I also think if maps are generally linear horizontal, it would fit well with our FOV and the aspect ratio of everyone's monitors. |
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The problem is not that "maps are too big", the problem is that people have become incredibly impatient and have very short attention spans. They're used to scrolling through TikTok and watching a series at the same time... So putting them in front of a map that will take them 15 minutes to clear is unbearable for them. And here, I'm not even talking about downtime, I'm talking about the time it takes to complete a task. Even if there were waves of enemies without interruption, if it takes more than 5 minutes to finish you'll see people complaining that it's too long...
It's crucial that they understand that the downtime allows them to recover after intense combat. Without it, an hour of gameplay would give them a headache. It also helps to space out dopamine spikes, and we know that waiting is very beneficial for intensifying dopamine spikes. If rare monsters constantly spawned every 10 meters, seeing them would do nothing. In conclusion, I would say that the large, labyrinthine map is a very courageous design choice that goes against the general trend towards ever-faster speed, and that the complaints were completely predictable, coming from people used to everything being instantaneous, at the cost of everything becoming bland. Personally, I like the fact that when I launch a map, I know it's going to be a medium-length experience. I hate the idea of a map being like fast food, quickly consumed, quickly digested, so you can quickly move on to the next one. That's compulsive consumption; it's simply unhealthy. Last edited by Vergoth42#2613 on Feb 20, 2026, 8:33:28 AM
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you've made a good point. 10 years ago, I have had professional experience with geografic map scouting and tracking, creating layers. There always have been clear geografic indications, structural processes and geographical dividing lines
My last isometric game was Sacred 2 years ago. So Poe2 was new for me. Want to add some perspective - there are view points missing (vistas) - The map need some reference points like this masonry is always at the edge of the map (SE or South west), at least in the 90% end of a corner. Or ruins in a desert map that indicate you have reached the centre of the map - The is currently now sign if your starting location is the north or south of a map -> your picture is a cross-reference and fits regards |
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