I'm not enjoying the game, but it isn't far off.

I'm an avid action combat and RPG enjoyer (recently 1300h+ in Elden Ring, just finished a level 1 run), but PoE2 is the first ARPG I've played for more than a few hours. I'm 60h+ in ATM and just completed Act 3 on my Frost-Fire-centered Sorc after rerolling from Monk. I wanted to post the thoughts I've been collecting during that time before the holidays, and I'll do my best to be concise and fair:


1. GENERAL PACING

- Map sizes are too large (presumably even after the checkpoint change) and maps become repetitive. Giving each Act map something unique (like a special objective or something to gather or environmental destruction etc.) would go a long way to keep things fresh
- Act 3 is way too long and has the largest maps
- Inventory is too small. Short breaks are good, but I have to go back to town more often than I'd like to
- Aggro range of mobs is too high (maybe due to fire skull minions and chaining projectiles of my build?) and general gameplay loop of mobs swarming you in masses at high movement speed becomes exhausting. The way mobs swarm you also promotes spamming abilities, which I don't like. I'd prefer less and more dangerous (but fair) mobs.
- Losing progress is a dealbreaker to me, e.g. how all mobs on a map respawn after death, how ascendancies are handled (depletable access item, no checkpoints during trial) and how endgame seems to work (death = lose map, lose exp) etc.. I have a strong emotional "OK, I'm done" reaction to this design approach, because it feels like my time is being wasted, which I detest.
- Lategame combat pacing on maps looks like PoE1 insanity to me. I was looking forward to PoE2, because it's advertised to be slower and more methodical, but that seems to be true only for the early game. Once the interaction with mobs becomes close to nonexistent I lose interest in the combat, because I enjoy the back-and-forth dance in action combat games.


2. COMBAT

- Skills without gem mods (i.e. when you first get them) can feel very weak and bland (e.g. Frostbolt, Fireball). A new toy should feel exciting right away.
- Dodge roll without (sufficient) invulnerability frames feels bad. Almost every game with a dodge has invu frames and players are expecting it. Many boss attacks are big AOEs and rolling with correct timing but still taking damage feels bad
- Getting surrounded by mobs and checkmated is not fun to manage if it can happen frequently
- Getting staggered out of instants or sub 1sec "casts" feels terrible and it's often hard to process when a lot is going on ("did I just get staggered or was it lag, something else?")
- Mobs moving my character around feels like desync, because it's so choppy
- Game should have combat text option, because it's fun (see Vanilla WoW crits) and informative. I don't know if mobs resist my elemental damage, or when I crit and for how much, or even if an ability like Cold Snap went off at the last second of a Freeze etc.. I also don't know what my damage profile looks like without memorizing the DPS numbers in the skill panel. Spam is an issue for ARPG combat text, but IMO it's worth trying and the pros outweigh the cons.
- You can minimize having to learn a boss by following 3 principles: 1) get behind boss (melee range), 2) stay max range (if ranged class), 3) never stand still. If the telegraphing/visibility were good in PoE2 and dodge roll more reliable, then I'd consider this a problem. As it stands, I consider it a boon.
- Broadly speaking, the game tries to merge two combat approaches and doesn't do either one well. If you want mindless farming-type of combat with mowing down lots of enemies while chilling, then the oneshots and surround-checkmates need to go. In this case, people will use abilities, including dodge roll, when it "feels right", because there is too much information to process on screen and one decision doesn't really matter that much. If you want Soulslike action combat where you have to pay attention, because one wrong move can kill you, then interacting/reacting to mobs and tactics need to matter a lot more and you can't have stampeding mob hordes all the time + the telegraphing has to be very formulaic and logical.


3. VISUAL CLARITY + TELEGRAPHING

- Many content creators play with bright gigantic cursors, which is an indicator/result of too much visual clutter in the game
- Oneshots/high damage attacks have to be properly telegraphed and/or logical to feel fair. This game makes Elden Ring look fair.
Especially bosses suffer from "how could I possibly know that was going to happen?" syndrome. Ideally, a player has at least a small chance to properly deal with a new deadly mechanic, because it "makes sense". You want players to admit "alright, fair enough" after they die, because that's motivating, not have them checkmated by something they can't understand or can't react to in time when first encountering it. This is especially important for the systems in the game that make you lose progress.
IMO the best boss in terms of telegraphing is Zicoatl. The triangle attack is not a oneshot and the perfect example of "alright, fair enough". His other attacks are also logical and give you time enough to react. He's relatively easy, so I'd love to see him get a 50% hp enrage that makes all his attacks faster. This is another way to properly introduce mechanics to the player, by making them progressively more deadly, which feels fair compared to "here is a random oneshot, memorize it!". If you intend oneshots to be a form of gear/spec check, then I'd much rather see more DPS checks or unavoidable rot damage than so many oneshots.
- Mid-/Lategame builds can fill the screen with effects constantly, which is visually too overwhelming to be a basis for informed decisionmaking on the spot. This forces players to play "by ear" a lot, which is unpleasant and unreliable.
- Perspective and zoom level hinder visibility. Too often, boss attacks/animations happen off-screen, resulting in no time to react. I suggest slightly zooming out the camera and lowering the POV a few degrees. A good example of this is Lost Ark, which has the same spectacular boss fights, but way less visibility issues thanks to a better perspective.
- Projectiles and ground effects especially are a big problem
- I sometimes fight rare mobs and don't even know it when they are smaller and in between other mobs
- Debuff durations should be visible as cooldown overlay on icons, especially for stuns, freezes etc. that give players openings they want to minmax


TL,DR

My biggest issues by far are progress resets, bad visibility/telegraphing and combat not being "Soulslike" enough, i.e. the way the trailers and previews make it look like.
IMO many people will hard-quit due to progress resets (I do), they will be frustrated/feel treated unfairly due to visibility/telegraphing issues and look for ways to not interact with bosses as much as possible, and they will burn out quicker from repetitive fastpaced combat with visual overload, ability spamming and not enough interesting/varied interactions while fighting mobs.


Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas