checkpoint reset in the labyrinth instead of total reset on death

Suggestions: 1) checkpoint reset in the labyrinth instead of total reset on death
2) town portal use in the labyrinth (even if only in the areas with the stash)

Dear GGG,
Sorry in advance for the long post.

I really love Path of Exile. I think it's really difficult to make an ARPG that keeps the interest of players since diminishing returns are inherently built into the structure of such games, hence the “grind.” The new content you release periodically keeps the game exciting and fresh. Of course, with new content tends to come more powerful elements to the game, and I think the inevitable side effect each time is that the best players become more powerful as they are able to access all the new content, and the so-so players like myself may struggle to do so. By so-so players, I don't mean completely casual players who rarely ever get past cruel. I mean players who can complete merciless act 4 in standard league (but will usually get killed at least once against Malachai in the process), and no matter how hard we try, cannot defeat Atziri, much less Uber Atziri, and get slaughtered fairly regularly in Zana's map and by certain end game map bosses. Before Ascendancy, that was okay, even though frustrating. Going after Atziri and playing certain map bosses was a choice that so-so players could avoid and elite players could farm for the fun and the challenge. Sure there were certain uniques that could fall in Atziri, but in theory, so-so players could trade for them, and probably could get by fine without them. To me, the game was still balanced.
What is frustrating to me now is that in Ascendancy, I think things have shifted a bit, making the game even more frustrating for players like me. The issue I have with the Labyrinth is 1) why no town portals (at the very least allow access from the stash rooms), and 2) why does the entire thing have to reset each time a character dies? I just find that point 2) makes it really hard for players like me to unlock these fantastic ascendancy class passives because I get killed so easily in the labyrinth (i.e. I took my level 75 Witch into the cruel labyrinth expecting a cake walk and still got killed by the end boss in seconds (teleported into traps, and CI doesn't do well in that kind of environment with no flasks to go to. It made me consider quitting POE and reminded me of why I avoided building a CI character for so long.)
Okay, I understand the challenge for elite players, but realistically, they don't get killed in the Labyrinth anyway and don't like to slow down to pick up anything but the highest end drops, so points 1 and 2 changing wouldn't affect most of them much. I see post where player say they can grind the labyrinth 40 times (in a day?) trying to get better helmet enchantments while it takes me an hour and a half to get to the end where I got killed in cruel (except on normal difficulty). It's one thing for the labyrinth reward being nice drops, or treasure chests, but the enchantments and especially the passive skills are things that every player good enough to finish Merciless should be able to access, right? Otherwise, elite players will be the only ones with all 6 Ascendancy passive points which I think further divides elite players from every one else and causes more frustration for the rest of us.
Personally, I was only able to defeat end game Piety, Malachi, and Dominus from studying videos and fighting them over and over. That opportunity wouldn't reasonably exist if I couldn't resurrect at the checkpoint and try again many, many times. But there is no such thing for the Labyrinth, especially if it takes me an hour to reach Izaro each time.

My suggestion is that instead of the labyrinth restart when a characters dies, give us the same option as in the rest of the game to restart in town, or at the checkpoint. If I had to complete The Grand Arena, Kaom's Dream, Belly of the Beast and the Harvest every time I got kill going after Malachai or anywhere in between, and if that was the only way to access special powerful passive points and enchant my armor, I expect that casual players would quit POE in droves. There really isn't much incentive in the game to complete the latter part of Act 4 in Merciless, and that's quite fair; but there is massive incentive to complete the Labyrinth at each level at least once, but the restrictions make it exceedingly frustrating.

I think Ascendancy passives are extremely exciting as well and enchantments. I like that the Labyrinth is an alternative to grinding the same maps and areas, but with the way it stands, without the resurrecting at checkpoints and ability to portal out, the last 2 of 6 ascendancy passive points seem to be the dominion of elite players.

One of the beautiful things about POE is that a player can try any gem or try any point on the passive tree with any kind of player (as long as you can level enough point to get there and meet the basic requirements), but with Ascendancy points, I am dying to try them (literally, my characters are anyway) and can't. Maybe I'm just lousy at puzzles, but I get to a place every time I try the labyrinth where I don't see an alternative to taking a massive hit (usually from floor spikes, or buzz saws or spinning and weaving contraptions) where I don't see a way to safely weave through or around them. Sure I can survive the hit in normal and even cruel with my OP character, but there is a lot more at stake in Merciless. The one time I tried the Merciless labyrinth, I was moving along carefully for about an hour, and came to an area that seemed impassible with buzz saws and decided to quit rather than take a 10% experience hit. Maybe I will try again the next time I level up, but knowing that I only have to make one mistake to make 60-90 minutes of effort go up in smoke, especially in that closed quarters final fight with Izaro with my CI witch, I don't like my chances.

Winterlude