Alt-Tab Enumeration Issues & Taskbar Disappearing Problem in Fullscreen/Windowed FS Modes

System Specification:
OS: Windows 11 (latest build)
GPU: NVIDIA 4050
Monitor: 1920x1080 / 144 Hz
PoE 2 Version: Current 0.4 Patch
Steam Client: Latest

Issue Description:I'm experiencing a critical incompatibility between Path of Exile 2 and Windows 11's Desktop Window Manager (DWM) that prevents functional Alt-Tab navigation and Taskbar accessibility.

The Problem Manifests in Two Modes:
Mode A - Regular Fullscreen:
Pressing Alt+Tab generates 20-50+ "phantom" game window thumbnails in the switcher menu
These phantom entries are non-functional duplicates of the same PoE2.exe process
Makes it impossible to navigate to other applications efficiently
Thumbnails persist even after closing all other windows

Mode B - Windowed Fullscreen (Borderless):
After Alt-Tabbing or pressing the Windows Key, the Taskbar remains hidden behind the game window
The game window acts as a forced "top layer" that ignores Windows Shell priority
Windows Key press does not reveal Start Menu; Taskbar stays occluded
Shell_TrayWnd loses Z-order priority despite Windows configuration settings

Troubleshooting Attempted (All Failed):
✗ Windows 11 Gaming Mode: Disabled
✗ "Optimizations for windowed games" setting: Disabled
✗ NVIDIA G-SYNC: Disabled in both exclusive fullscreen and windowed modes
✗ NVIDIA Driver Fullscreen Mode setting: Tested "Exclusive" and "Windowed"
✗ VSync: Disabled
✗ Alt-Tab grouping (Windows Settings → Multitasking): Configured
✗ Taskbar settings (Lock taskbar, "appear on top"): All enabled
✗ Steam Launch Options: Tested -window-mode=exclusive, -window-mode borderless, -popupwindow
✗ DirectX version: Tested both DX11 and DX12 (if available)
✗ NVIDIA overlay, Discord overlay: Disabled (temporarily, then re-enabled as required)
✗ Restarting Windows Explorer: Only temporary fix; issue recurs immediately
✗ PowerToys "Always on Top": Taskbar is overridden by game window regardless

Key Observations:
The issue is specific to PoE2.exe; other fullscreen apps do not exhibit this behavior
Mode A suggests PoE 2 is creating child windows or auxiliary window handles that DWM enumerates as separate Alt-Tab entries
Mode B suggests PoE 2 is using aggressive window positioning (SetWindowPos) that bypasses Shell_TrayWnd priority
Both modes indicate the game may be using SetWindowDisplayAffinity or similar WinAPI calls that override DWM conventions

Questions for GGG:
- Does PoE 2 use explicit window enumeration filtering or child window management that might conflict with Windows 11 DWM?
- Are there undocumented launch parameters or config file settings that affect Alt-Tab behavior?
- Is there a planned fix for Windows 11 DWM compatibility in upcoming patches?
- Can you confirm whether PoE 2 uses SetWindowDisplayAffinity(WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE) or similar WinAPI calls?

Impact:This issue significantly degrades the user experience when multitasking, as switching between PoE 2 and other applications (Discord, browser, documentation) becomes frustrating.

The easiest quick fix so far:
- Maintaining Widnowed Fullscreen and pressing Win button to force the start path (which makes the taskbar visible as a consequence). For fulscreen only the constant Windows Explorer reset worked, but this is not practicable do over and over and over again.