Path of Exile

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Pasteton

Blackwing Lair Raider
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Still if I haven’t played since pre fall of oriath it’s a lot to jump into now and should feel like at least a couple expansions worth of new game.
The path to Uber elder is one hell of a grind tho, I doubt most players will do it for at least their first 2-3 leagues
 

zombiewizardhawk

Potato del Grande
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I'm really tempted to try PoE again for like the 4th or 5th time. ARPGs are probably one of, if not my favorite genre of video-games, but PoE just doesn't seem to have a natural "progression" to any of the builds I've ever attempted. Almost everything seems aimed/designed for end-game, but my character feels like a worthless turd on the way there, so I never make it and end up back in Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 seems to do a much better job at seeing your character "evolve" in power - where you may start with a firebats build through your 20-40s, moving to a gargantuan build until your 50s, and then finally capping it off with a zombie dogs build until you hit 70 and start working on end-game uniques/sets/etc. Everything in PoE seems designed around perfect color 6-linked items, full access to every skill, ascendancy, etc. The issue I always run into with this game is the journey to those builds fucking sucks in the interim, because your character mostly hits like a wet-noodle, doesn't have much in the way of defense, and just generally feels useless. It isn't nearly as "natural" as Diablo 3s system.

So, I guess my question is does anyone have any sort of suggestions to circumvent this in PoE? Is this just how the game is designed and I'd have to tough it out in order to get to the real meat and potatoes of the game, or are there builds out there that have a better flow to them? I've tried a couple of the "season starter" builds that I found on YouTube, but those don't seem to be helping and I'm running into the same issue where most of what the prescribe still seems aimed at the end-game. I'd love a "dps while moving" style build, as those are some of my favorites in the genre, but anything that gives me the sense of progression without the feeling of a useless character would be fantastic as PoE is a game that has a ton of great ideas.


PoE is a lot closer to Diablo 2 progression/char development style than it is to Diablo 3. You don't change builds as you level up, you pick a build and work towards that (whether that be with the low level skills or the skills you don't get til level 28). You don't need a 6link to do literally anything in PoE. You don't need 42.6million dps with 19k life. You don't need 400exalts worth of gear.

Guides mostly focus on the end-game gear/setup/playstyle/etc. because that is the part that the guide helps with. The leveling process just requires basic knowledge of the game mechanics and what you want to do.

The only way there is a sense of progression for characters comes in the form of upgrading your gear and getting levels for more skill points.

What do you mean by "dps while moving"? When was the last time you played the game and what skills did you find fun? If you can narrow down what you're looking to do for me I can try to write up some actual tips/advice/guide stuff for you. I don't consider most of the guides on the poe forums to actually be beneficial to new players but more of a guideline for players who already at least have some experience with the game.
 

zombiewizardhawk

Potato del Grande
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Still if I haven’t played since pre fall of oriath it’s a lot to jump into now and should feel like at least a couple expansions worth of new game.
The path to Uber elder is one hell of a grind tho, I doubt most players will do it for at least their first 2-3 leagues

If you play a decent amount, getting to uber elder isn't very hard or grindy. If you only play a few hours a week, yes, you probably won't get there (or shaper or uber atziri etc.)
 

Kirun

Buzzfeed Editor
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What do you mean by "dps while moving"? When was the last time you played the game and what skills did you find fun? If you can narrow down what you're looking to do for me I can try to write up some actual tips/advice/guide stuff for you. I don't consider most of the guides on the poe forums to actually be beneficial to new players but more of a guideline for players who already at least have some experience with the game.

I think the last time I played was sometime around the Abyss expansion? I don't think I made it much beyond Act 3, however.

By "DPS while moving", I meant a build that kills shit while it moves around the map. One that doesn't really have to stop for DPS, where as you move around/explore, shit is just sort of dying in your wake. Something similar or along the same lines as a WW Barb in D3. I looked at a Righteous Fire build, but it seems to be pretty gear/mechanics heavy to pull off and as a newbie, it didn't seem very conducive to what I'm looking for (which is to get into the swing of things relatively quickly).

I tried a Scorching Ray trickster build that was decent and I really enjoyed the "tankiness" of it compared to some of the other builds I've tried, but I really disliked how often you had to stop for DPS. I'm currently trying out a Flicker Strike build that looks really enjoyable/fun, but the slog through the low game is really starting to grate on me. Especially since I don't know a ton of what seems to be the "basic" dos/don'ts of a build before it's fully fleshed out.
 

Borzak

Bronze Baron of the Realm
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A lot of the builds you find on the official forums will have a write up of how to level that build. Switch from X skill/gems at Y level and so forth as you go. Normally labeled new player or "cheap" to appeal to those who don't want to spend 40ex on a build to start like some of them listed.

I average two characters a league. Not a fan of leveling either. Some people who have done it enough can go from 1 to maps in 4-6 hours give or take. I'd have more per league but I don't want to relevel.

Doing damage while having to move gets less of a big deal the higher the level you get. At some point you will get to where you stop and you kill or nearly kill everything on the screen at once and then will move to where you can kill another pack or such.
 

Caliane

Avatar of War Slayer
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It can feel that way.

first, stop following build guides that focus on required build enabling uniques. that helps alot in smoothing out progression.

Second is the issue with LINKS. yeah, certain builds especially, really feel like they need 5-6l to function. And as you note, not having them makes your builds feel like shit. This is also build vs build. And, amusingly one of players biggest complaints.. in the other direction. GGG has accidentally alleviated this, by adding more and more "MORE damage" multiplier supports, and less build enabling ones.
So, in 95% of builds these days, the difference between a 4l and a 6l is just 150% more damage, not actually any mechanical change to enable a build. and that 150% more damage coincides with the 150% more hp of transitioning from yellow to red maps. so 4links can take you to t10 fairly easy. and its t13-16 that needs those 5 and 6ls.

in general smoothing out curses, move skills with 4l in all sockets is a fairly natural progression imho. Still I can understand, the rng of links, and socket colors is way more RNG then, Diablo, grim dawn, wolcen,, etc with there VERY simplistic item progression. But that is also a huge part of the reason PoE is better. gear is not simply a +1 to stats, constantly, like in those games.
 
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zombiewizardhawk

Potato del Grande
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Jonkimble Jonkimble Deathwing Deathwing I found an exalt today and you'd be proud of the slam!

AwwwYeah.jpg



Also did a red elder and only got gloves, my new goal is to get a jewel to drop before the stupid league ends.
 

Kirun

Buzzfeed Editor
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Kiroy

Marine Biologist
<Bronze Donator>
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Kirun Kirun re the leveling, I recommend finding youtubes not so much about builds, but about leveling techniques. There are like 4 or 5 core skills to level with regardless of your final build (subject to change next patch cause its a skill patch). Most people who have been playing and built up the knowledge have 0 issues leveling regardless of their character pick, it's really just a knowledge gap.

I certainly understand that w/o having leveling knowledge this game would get frustrating very quick.
 

Kirun

Buzzfeed Editor
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Kirun Kirun re the leveling, I recommend finding youtubes not so much about builds, but about leveling techniques. There are like 4 or 5 core skills to level with regardless of your final build (subject to change next patch cause its a skill patch). Most people who have been playing and built up the knowledge have 0 issues leveling regardless of their character pick, it's really just a knowledge gap.

I certainly understand that w/o having leveling knowledge this game would get frustrating very quick.

Yeah, I did a bit of research and now that I have the grasp on Sunder/Ground Slam/Rain of Arrows/etc. being the mostly defacto "leveling" skills, it made things a shitload easier. The next bit of knowledge now is just learning some of the item mechanics/interactions and such. One of these days I'll tackle crafting, but that seems pretty damn involved and will require a lot of currency investment it seems.

Speaking of currency investment, anybody have a good guide on what items to pickup and when? I downloaded an item filter that helps, but I think I'm supposed to be selling certain rarities and in certain quantities if I want to take the most advantage of it, right?
 

zombiewizardhawk

Potato del Grande
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My personal opinion is that all those "how to level to 70 in 4 hours with x skill" type stuff is bad for new players and only useful for experienced players.

Kirun Kirun you can go fast with almost every skill/build in the game. How much experience do you have with PoE and the different skills? What kind of playstyle do you like ie: super mobile, ranged aoe, tanky, summoner, something else?
 

Kirun

Buzzfeed Editor
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My personal opinion is that all those "how to level to 70 in 4 hours with x skill" type stuff is bad for new players and only useful for experienced players.

Kirun Kirun you can go fast with almost every skill/build in the game. How much experience do you have with PoE and the different skills? What kind of playstyle do you like ie: super mobile, ranged aoe, tanky, summoner, something else?
zombiewizardhawk zombiewizardhawk I covered my play experience and playatyle preferences a couple posts ago.
 

zombiewizardhawk

Potato del Grande
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I could be wrong but this late into a league cant you just buy better boots for 1 ex? A quick 30 second look has comparable boots for 1c in softcore bestiary.

I didn't even look tbh, i chaos'd into those a few days ago and figured i'd go for a slam with t1 cold t1 chaos res.
 

Deathwing

<Bronze Donator>
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Looking for some tips on how to do the Pale Court achievement. Solo, but it seems someone killing tomes as their primary purpose would vastly help.

Got enough chaos to blow on ~6 sets, it's my last achievement for 36!
 

Deathwing

<Bronze Donator>
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Got 36 achievements! First time I actually hit that goal.


Shit, now I have to find a new game to play while waiting for next league.
 

Deathwing

<Bronze Donator>
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I got to thinking...if your ability benefits from Ancestral Call, is there really a reason to use Multistrike? Assuming you can get a comparable damage multiplier.
 

Caliane

Avatar of War Slayer
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Id say its more the other way around. Anc call is more of a placeholder till MS. Since MS is a massive dps increase. While Anc call, just gives you auto targeting.
 

Deathwing

<Bronze Donator>
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I was trying to compare situations where both abilities spread damage. AE, essentially. On single target fights that matter, AC gets subbed out anyway. And it's those fights where MS's downside to lock you in place for 50% longer that really shows.