Tower rework?

Hey everyone,

I've been thinking about how to make the towers in Path of Exile 2 more engaging, and I wanted to share an idea that could add a whole new layer of strategy and variety to the game. What if the towers could dynamically change the maps to different biomes based on your choice? Here's how it could work:

Dynamic Biome Changes selected on completing a tower boss.
Fire Biome:

Imagine if a tower erupted in flames, burning all the trees around it and transforming the surrounding maps into desert layouts.

Ice Biome:

A tower could cause a hurricane that freezes everything in its path, turning the maps into icy wastelands.

Water Biome:

Flooding an area could create fertile lands and spread jungles all over the place. This biome could be teeming with life, including special fish bosses and minions that invade your maps.

Vaal Ruins:

While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, have truesight option orso for uncovering ancient Vaal ruins this could add a layer of mystery and history to the game, with unique enemies and loot tied to the Vaal civilization.

Map Variety and Travel
By combining the delve mechanics of POE2 with the maps from POE1, we could have a system where traveling through multiple maps with similar layouts keeps the gameplay fresh and avoids repetition. Clustering 3-4 maps in a biome would ensure that while the layouts are similar, the experience remains varied and engaging.

You could add some events if you repeat the same option too many times. Like you choose the same option with 5 towers.
Wrath of the Gods/Nature Strikes Back:

If you burn too many areas with towers, the wrath of the gods or nature itself could strike back, introducing unique bosses that you must defeat to restore balance.

Special Invasions:

Flooding a zone could lead to special fish bosses or minions invading your maps, adding an extra layer of challenge and excitement.

Conclusion
This idea combines the best of both worlds. It would make the world feel more alive and reactive to our actions, enhancing immersion and replayability. I can't wait to see what Grinding Gear Games comes up with for the endgame in POE2. Keep up the great work, GGG! I thoroughly enjoyed the POE1 season and gauntlet (goddamn act 9 boss got me), and I'm looking forward to the 0.3 update.

What do you think about this idea? Share your thoughts and let's discuss!

I would certainly like something done to Atlas, as it currently does not excite me to play in the slightest. Perhaps adding some determinism to the biomes could be a solid step in the right direction. Personally, while I have only thought about it a little here and there, I kinda want the sprawling lack of direction done away with entirely. Make it like a Path A/B/C thing where you're gonna go in a linear path for 3-5 maps before reaching another fork of A/B/C (maybe sometimes it's only A/B) paths and then you choose again. There can be notes hinting what sorta biome, general difficulty, and special encounters might be down a certain path. But you would still put some sorta Tablet item in to juice your path (and influence certain parameters of your next A/B/C fork) as well as Waystones on each map in your path. Could even make it ramp up your juice as you continue to successfully clear maps, instead of having to Atlas around to find an area w/ good overlapping Towers to get some temporary juice. Who knows, it might even provide a better avenue for making Citadels more consistent for those who want to *target* that path.

I do know Atlas needs a whole lot of work, I just don't know what would be the best way to execute a mapping type experience with end-game (that's a POE2 thing and not just re-making POE1). Sometimes I wish I could just put Waystones into Campaign and play through a lot of those areas instead of setting up towers for mapping. But the bones on your idea for making Towers more meaningful, and the opportunities that could bring in terms of special events/encounters sounds grand.

It's certainly too late to see any of this make it into next season, and I am looking forward to what they've cooked up (even if I may just do Standard next season to take a bit of a break so I have more to look forward to the following season). But I hope they figure out what they wanna do with end-game and how they want it to play and that we start seeing a more clear "vision" of it soon on live.