[Megathread] Path of Exile

[Gorsameth]

I get that, I'm just trying to understand the issue. Is there a wall that prevents the player from progressing where this matters? etc etc.

As far as I've seen there's no leaderboards or any competitive activity like D3 outside of the initial race, so the degree of rich get richer doesn't really matter unless you're for some reason forced into what he's describing. If you can still make progress and do all the content albeit less efficient than others then I don't see the issue.

Outside of how ridiculous this headhunter item seems to be anyway. But I guess its kind of cool in its own way that there's this uber rare item that's a game changer.

Ah, well no.
Just people being envious of other people doing something faster/better despite it having no effect on them.

[kenn9530]

I get that, I'm just trying to understand the issue. Is there a wall that prevents the player from progressing where this matters? etc etc.

As far as I've seen there's no leaderboards or any competitive activity like D3 outside of the initial race, so the degree of rich get richer doesn't really matter unless you're for some reason forced into what he's describing. If you can still make progress and do all the content albeit less efficient than others then I don't see the issue.

Outside of how ridiculous this headhunter item seems to be anyway. But I guess its kind of cool in its own way that there's this uber rare item that's a game changer.

the only wall would be is your gear good enough to survive and do enough damage, certain mobs can take you down fast when most other times you have no issues

[Morae]

I have a mechanic question. Google actually gives too many answer that arent relevant so I could not find answer that way.

Cast when damage taken gem. If I got two abilities linked to one cwdt gem, they do both trigger, but I thought they would always both trigger, but this does not seem to be the case. This would reduce the usefulnes of the set up slightly, which I find surprising. Guide does tell you to link these two abilities that way. Other is immortal call and other is to recast golem (i assumed this part was just to make surei its always up and gets resummoned easily). But if it casts golem and not immortal call, that could cause death. To me that seems pretty big nono. At least it seems to me that immortal call isnt cast every time a golem seems to be cast (that or there seems to be at least delay?).

Is this really the case or am I missing something?

edit: I think I'm just seeing things, but I'd like confirmation, if anyone knows details. I believe im just mistaking the cast order and delay due to it as another skill not being cast.

[Marrilaife]

Cast when damage taken gem. If I got two abilities linked to one cwdt gem, they do both trigger, but I thought they would always both trigger, but this does not seem to be the case.

The description says: Each supported spell skill will track damage you take, and be triggered when the total damage taken reaches a threshold. Cannot support skills used by totems, traps, or mines. Vaal skills, channelling skills, and skills that reserve mana cannot be triggered.

The only thing is immortal call has a cooldown and it doesn't start recharging until the effect drops. So you won't see it proc all the time because it won't ignore the inherent cooldown of the spell.

[Darleth]

I have a mechanic question. Google actually gives too many answer that arent relevant so I could not find answer that way.

Cast when damage taken gem. If I got two abilities linked to one cwdt gem, they do both trigger, but I thought they would always both trigger, but this does not seem to be the case. This would reduce the usefulnes of the set up slightly, which I find surprising. Guide does tell you to link these two abilities that way. Other is immortal call and other is to recast golem (i assumed this part was just to make surei its always up and gets resummoned easily). But if it casts golem and not immortal call, that could cause death. To me that seems pretty big nono. At least it seems to me that immortal call isnt cast every time a golem seems to be cast (that or there seems to be at least delay?).

Is this really the case or am I missing something?

edit: I think I'm just seeing things, but I'd like confirmation, if anyone knows details. I believe im just mistaking the cast order and delay due to it as another skill not being cast.

You could have also overleveled your Immortal Call gem which means it won't trigger anymore. In general if you want to go with a CWDT + Defensive setup, you usually want both skill gems to be relatively low level; that way Immortal Call can still be triggered AND Cast when Damage taken doesn't require more than 1000s of hp before it gets to trigger.

Obviously IC also has a cooldown as marrilaife said. So that could also be one of the reasons why it wont trigger properly (already triggered once and is in its cooldown phase)

[solinari6]

Noob question for you all ... the first time you played, how did you decide on a build? I've taking I think each class about 1/2 way through act 1, and I think I've narrowed down what class I want to be, but how the heck do I know where to put my points? I guess I'm supposed to follow a build, but how do I know which one? Just pick one? I hate how it seems like you have to know how end game works to level up correctly. I wish they'd just let you change your passive points as much as you want while leveling, and only "lock you in" when you get to max level.

[Coldkil]

Noob question for you all ... the first time you played, how did you decide on a build? I've taking I think each class about 1/2 way through act 1, and I think I've narrowed down what class I want to be, but how the heck do I know where to put my points? I guess I'm supposed to follow a build, but how do I know which one? Just pick one? I hate how it seems like you have to know how end game works to level up correctly. I wish they'd just let you change your passive points as much as you want while leveling, and only "lock you in" when you get to max level.

Point is, PoE works in the opposite way - classes have nothing to do with the playstyle for the most part, and it's all about the skillset.

Imho, find a skill you'd like to try. Then you build around it - some classes will have an easier time usually due to the starting point being nearer to the important nodes that enhance the skill of choice. Sometimes the link is clear, some time it isn't. Also passive tree is the way to stack up defenses like HP/ES nodes, resistance, dodge/block and so on; the damage nodes are "secondary" in the sense that first you don't want to die, then you try to stack as much damage as possible, and a great part of it comes from gear.

[Gorsameth]

Noob question for you all ... the first time you played, how did you decide on a build? I've taking I think each class about 1/2 way through act 1, and I think I've narrowed down what class I want to be, but how the heck do I know where to put my points? I guess I'm supposed to follow a build, but how do I know which one? Just pick one? I hate how it seems like you have to know how end game works to level up correctly. I wish they'd just let you change your passive points as much as you want while leveling, and only "lock you in" when you get to max level.

I would say look at a couple of youtube starting build compilations, a bunch get put out every league like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZltcpqUX-v4. See if anything looks nice and just go with that, as you said PoE isn't the sort of game where your going to get to the absolute endgame on your first character.

I would advise to just follow a guide for the first couple of builds to have time to develop a feel for the game before trying to do it yourself.

[solinari6]

Point is, PoE works in the opposite way - classes have nothing to do with the playstyle for the most part, and it's all about the skillset.

Imho, find a skill you'd like to try. Then you build around it -

Yeah, but how can you do that? If I start building a char around a skill I learn that I like in Act 1 ... what happens when I get further into the game and realize that skill is hella lame, and I should have been building around something else? It just seems like the amount of research you need to do just to not screw up your first character is a bit overwhelming.

[Ashnazg]

Noob question for you all ... the first time you played, how did you decide on a build? I've taking I think each class about 1/2 way through act 1, and I think I've narrowed down what class I want to be, but how the heck do I know where to put my points? I guess I'm supposed to follow a build, but how do I know which one? Just pick one? I hate how it seems like you have to know how end game works to level up correctly. I wish they'd just let you change your passive points as much as you want while leveling, and only "lock you in" when you get to max level.

If you're playing the first time, you shouldn't worry about the end-game too much. Just about every published build (especially the one that has {all content} in the build description on the POE forums) has the capacity to blow through all non-boss content (e.g. red maps, league mechanics, etc). By the time you'll get to that stage, you'll have more of an idea how the game works and more of an idea for what you want out of your second character.

[Coldkil]

Yeah, but how can you do that? If I start building a char around a skill I learn that I like in Act 1 ... what happens when I get further into the game and realize that skill is hella lame, and I should have been building around something else? It just seems like the amount of research you need to do just to not screw up your first character is a bit overwhelming.

Just reroll. Most skills if not all give a pretty decent first impression on how they work - though gameplay really speeds up while progressing.

There's no "lame" skill. All skills are basically viable, while some meta builds are extremely powerful but also require quite the investment and a solid knowledge of the game.

[WoWGoneBad]

Noob question for you all ... the first time you played, how did you decide on a build? I've taken I think each class about 1/2 way through act 1, and I think I've narrowed down what class I want to be, but how the heck do I know where to put my points? I guess I'm supposed to follow a build, but how do I know which one? Just pick one? I hate how it seems like you have to know how end game works to level up correctly. I wish they'd just let you change your passive points as much as you want while leveling, and only "lock you in" when you get to max level.

The problem with your taking them through only 1/2 of act 1 is that you do not get to see the later level gems that can really determine your build style. You gotta be willing to go to at least level 30ish were you can get almost all gems and test them out ingame to see what suits you best.

Take Cyclone for instance, you need to be level 28 before you can even use the gem, and then you gotta get about 10 levels on the ge to really start feeling its power. At that point you are around level 35ish. So you are not really getting the prime feel of the classes.

Then there are the Ascendencies, you need to make it to Act 3 and get all 6 Trials done before you can even attempt Ascendencies. And that is where most of your skills will really shine.

For me myself, I started each class just as you and finally landed on Necro Witch. Once I figured out the Ascendency, I then decided on what would be my bread and butter skill. After that I built around building up my minion damage and spell damage.

As others pointed out, it is best to look up some of the builds you are interested in. As coldkil pointed out it is more about a skill(s) you want to use and then building around it. Using the builds of other players will help you determine your build path. I am working on my 4th Witch and think I finally got my build semi right but think I still need work.

I can agree about the skills as you level, and IMO that is probably the best part of the game for me. There is no real cook9ie cutter build per se, but you really need to think about your build tree and plan it as you go. On the positive side you do get about 6 2point respec books between Act 1 - 10 and Orbs of Regret drop fairly,at least for me but I also use the Rarity gem and a few rarity pieces to keep that going. So by the time you hit 75ish you should have around 20 or so points to go back and rethink your tree. At this point you should have an idea of what you want your build to be.

[Edge-]

So is this league just dropping currency like candy? Even outside of Legion encounters, I had 4 freakin exalts drop this weekend. FOUR! I don't think I've had that many drop in the past few years combined, good lord.

At least it let me get a few big upgrades that gave me bunches of life and some damage. Just a few more levels and I should be over 7K HP, though I need to rotate some gear to be more damage oriented still.

[WoWGoneBad]

So is this league just dropping currency like candy? Even outside of Legion encounters, I had 4 freakin exalts drop this weekend. FOUR! I don't think I've had that many drop in the past few years combined, good lord.

I think I hit 6 so far. I have 4 in my bank and used 2 to get some chaos for leveling and endgame start gear. But yea...... it is raining currency. Was there a big push for more currency or is this just a fluke?

- - - Updated - - -

Cant wait to get this on my melee toon when I find one I like lol

[Marrilaife]

So is this league just dropping currency like candy? Even outside of Legion encounters, I had 4 freakin exalts drop this weekend. FOUR! I don't think I've had that many drop in the past few years combined, good lord.

Dunno, everyone is saying so and I feel depressed because I definitely don't see it, while my target gear is fairly expensive so I can't upgrade my character further without that currency (I need better weapon and 2 items costing several ex) so my dps is starting to lag behind, already took long to fix basic survivability to stop being 1 shot by legions and that set me back a lot. Most my currency comes from selling some good drops I found, kaom's chest, 2 decent melee weapons and 1 good corrupted jewel. Rest is from small sales like divination cards, fossils, or <10c worth equipment items, vendor chaos recipe, etc.

Noob question for you all ... the first time you played, how did you decide on a build? I've taking I think each class about 1/2 way through act 1, and I think I've narrowed down what class I want to be, but how the heck do I know where to put my points? I guess I'm supposed to follow a build, but how do I know which one? Just pick one? I hate how it seems like you have to know how end game works to level up correctly.

I can tell you how I picked mine:
1. I wanted to play a spellcaster, so I narrowed down to pick a build that casts spells (i.e. not a melee, bow, trap, totem, minion etc. build)
2. I watched videos showcasing various spells in the game how they look like
3. I picked one I liked and then searched a build guide that will be made around that spell (in the meanwhile I found out 2 of the spells I thought about weren't having any builds for, so decided to skip them in case they turn out to be too weak)
4. That spell was only given in like act 3 so I levelled with a different spell until then picking generic talent nodes like "increased spell damage" or "increased health" etc. so I don't have to change anything, only when gotten the "correct" spell invest in more specialized nodes (for example stuff like crit, channeling or damage over time fits into such criteria)
5. When I got to mapping I was checking on poe ninja website things like most commonly used items or "talent tree heat map" to see what top players of that spec are picking as a guidance, I found out there are variations of that spec and picked the one that appealed to me the most, but finding stuff like "nobody picks x" or "60% of players using this spell pick y" helped me make my choices.

There are specs that will heavily favour specific ascendancy, for example playing traps / mines favours saboteur, playing undead minions favours necromancer, but there are specs that can be adapted to multiple ascendancies, for example elemental spellcaster can be made as inquisitor, elementalist or trickster, or generic melee skills can be made any duelist sub-spec, or berserker or juggernaut.

Tbh if you find a build on the official forums you can always drop in and ask the author what is his opinion for example "can your build be used on a champion instead of slayer?" From what I've seen, most guide authors tend to answer questions, usually in a short laconic manner due to the volume of questions but usually they don't ignore it.

[WoWGoneBad]

Why did you guys not say Rangers are so MUCH FUN.....

I am building a Caustic Ranger and dude she can really lay on the firepower, downside she runs out of manna REALLY fast.

Question, does XP "decay" if you spend a few days out of game? I was around 8 bars in on Sunday and logged to see them all gone on Tuesday. Weird.

[Edge-]

Why did you guys not say Rangers are so MUCH FUN.....

I am building a Caustic Ranger and dude she can really lay on the firepower, downside she runs out of manna REALLY fast.

Question, does XP "decay" if you spend a few days out of game? I was around 8 bars in on Sunday and logged to see them all gone on Tuesday. Weird.

It shouldn't. You only lose XP on a death, but even that's pretty damn forgiving until you hit about level 90 or so.

Also, rangers can be great, but their builds are usually super squishy from what I know. Still haven't made one, might try out a ranged character for the next league though.

[Darleth]

Question, does XP "decay" if you spend a few days out of game? I was around 8 bars in on Sunday and logged to see them all gone on Tuesday. Weird.

There is no decay. Only if you die you lose XP (5% after reaching Act 6, 10% after finishing the campaign).

Also, rangers can be great, but their builds are usually super squishy from what I know. Still haven't made one, might try out a ranged character for the next league though.

Ranged (bow builds) is the epitome of "just dont get hit 4Head". You are pretty much locked into certain items, which usually means you wont have a lot of different defensive layers and rely mostly on evasion and movement. Unless you aren't a 100% sure about being able to play a build like that, you will have some issues.

On the other hand, Ranger is perfect for MF builds and going fast though.

[kenn9530]

Point is, PoE works in the opposite way - classes have nothing to do with the playstyle for the most part, and it's all about the skillset.

Imho, find a skill you'd like to try. Then you build around it - some classes will have an easier time usually due to the starting point being nearer to the important nodes that enhance the skill of choice. Sometimes the link is clear, some time it isn't. Also passive tree is the way to stack up defenses like HP/ES nodes, resistance, dodge/block and so on; the damage nodes are "secondary" in the sense that first you don't want to die, then you try to stack as much damage as possible, and a great part of it comes from gear.

actually picking the right class can make a build much better than if it was a different class, ascendency and where you start on the skill tree can make a good difference, most classes have a variation of most builds but some perform much better than others.

[potis]

Just reroll. Most skills if not all give a pretty decent first impression on how they work - though gameplay really speeds up while progressing.

There's no "lame" skill. All skills are basically viable, while some meta builds are extremely powerful but also require quite the investment and a solid knowledge of the game.

This hasnt been true for a good 2 years since their meta and logic of the game has completely shifted.

Before, you only had Saboteur being kinda obvious and straight forward with "Traps and Mines" and maybe summoners, but there were a few variations all around with golems at least and Ascendant, for a few patches now they have pretty much gone the way of "If you are gonna play X ability, you will pick X ascendancy".

Thats why ever since Juggernaut was changed, you had a ton of them playing all sorts of shit, because it was one of the few left that could be "Play as you want".

Edit:Wrong quote , this was about the whole "Play what you want" above