My Impressions getting to maps

Playing Invoker Monk (critical + elemental); Doing solo self found + no build guide
POE 1 player since closed beta

My first comment is that I'm sorry to see the game has been divisive. Not sure that can be solved, you can please some of the people some of the time...

I love the game. It took me a bit to ditch the POE 1 mindset, but once I did, I was having a great time.

Survivability:
Mobility: this is a big one. Monk has a lot of skill mobility. I use a lot of them. I didn't know people were having an issue with the dreadnought for example, I had so much mobility, I was the one doing the ambushing.
Stun lock: I noticed that I was dying to stun lock so I pick up stun resistance on the tree. That solved that issue.
Flasks: I was dying to some bosses due to attrition. So I picked up flask recharge on the tree. That solved that issue.
Life: Mandatory on gear. There could be some more life on the tree that is not coming from strength. However, energy shield feels much better and is worth getting early game as opposed to POE 1 where it's a late game mechanic

Skills:
Main Skill: I like that I don't really have one. I have a main damage skill sure, but every skill has a use. I currently rotate 6 skills. I love that. Nothing is more boring to me than spamming a single skill or two.
Skill interaction: I love this. I have great synergy between ice and lighting. It's really fun.
Vaulting Impact: It's like leap slam for monk. Great for getting out of being surrounded or getting to the ranged enemies. I like that melee can still hit you as I have to plan it out a bit. However, it gets stuck on terrain a bit much which causes me to use a bit less than I want too. It should be able to jump over small terrain.

General:
Respecs: I think I should be able to refund skills points that "break" my tree as long as have a "correct" tree when I hit apply points. I think this would solve much of the respec costs.
Quests: I don't like having to pick up quest items and putting in inventory. It should just update my quest state without having to have a physical thing in my inventory
Crafting: Overall pretty good, however some crafting quests could really help new players. The corruption alter in act three is terrible for example. I know not to use it unless I have a backup. How would a new player ever know that?
Skill Tree: I love the new skill tree. Everywhere I look there is something I want. The damage calc makes it much clearer as to what to get as well.
Ascendancy: I've done two so far. I had difficulty at first, but then I just over-leveled and had no issue whatsoever. This is what I did in POE 1 as well. I would just blow through the labyrinth. Not sure why so many people are having issues with this concept. Maybe the ascendancy quest should look at player level and give a difficulty recommendation.

Future of the game: I hope you guys don't succumb to the mob too much. I think the game is great. I think POE 1 players want POE 2 to be more like POE 1. I like that the game is so different. Please don't allow this to become a loot pinata, single skill spamming snooze fest. The game feels like it rewards intelligence and problem solving. Every encounter is a chance to level up my player skill. Every death I had feels like it was my fault. And I've died a lot.

Thanks for everything, keep up the great work!