[Megathread] Path of Exile

[Lagwin]

So, when does the open beta start? I may give it a try, seeing soo many positive comments that it resembles good old Diablo 2 etc Is that like d2? I saw itemization and tree (skill galaxy!), it's great. Still considering paying that 10$.

You've got 19 days and 2 hours ish to wait, if you desperately want to get in it is worth the $10 alone for the cash shop currency(what you actualy buy...the key is a freebie) and purchase extra bank tabs

[Fencers]

January 23rd is open beta/soft release.

Path of Exile will be in "open beta" for months. Maybe even a year or so. It's still an indie game. POE's devs are going the Minecraft/Asian MMO route of keeping the functional game in open beta till X number of patches.

Also worth noting once again, buying a support pack is both a beta key and micro transaction currency. Can spend those cash shop points on extra bank space [by default everyone has four 12x12 pages of bank space to start] or extra character slots [by default everyone has 24 character slots to start].

The minimum $10 grants 100 cash shop credits. Each extra character slot or bank page cost 30 credits. Very cheap and reasonable cash shop.

And yes, whatever is bought now will carry over to open beta and such.

Something worth considering should one be apprehensive about over buying a "beta key" via supporter pack. Supporters get quite a nice package with those supporter packs, not just the beta key.

[Repefe]

You've got 19 days and 2 hours ish to wait, if you desperately want to get in it is worth the $10 alone for the cash shop currency(what you actualy buy...the key is a freebie) and purchase extra bank tabs

Yep and you can probably do some sort of name reservation with access to close beta too since the characters you make won't be deleted, just reset to level 1 and stripped of all the items.

[Newbryn]

Does the Apex do anything or it doesn't have a use ingame yet?

[Fencers]

The apex is used at the top of the pyramid after waterfall cave. It triggers the act 2 boss.

[Newbryn]

The apex is used at the top of the pyramid after waterfall cave. It triggers the act 2 boss.

Ok thanks I didn't know since I already cleared him I thought it was optional item or something.

[Lagwin]

Ok thanks I didn't know since I already cleared him I thought it was optional item or something.

You'll pick it up 4 times as you run through the difficulties, it's after doing the bandit quests in act 2

[Cludo]

Hmm, I need some advice. I've played around 10-15 hours of PoE so far, Playing around with different classes and learning some of the early level spells and abilities. My max character was level 20.

I'm still undecided on what class/spec to play. All I do know is it has to be range because I usually have sucky ping (210-280) and it just works alot better for me. I know their are two classes that primarly focus on range attacks but all classes can pick up the skills and talents to do so too. What is a strong Class & Build I could use as a range (spell caster or bow, Im not too fussed as long as its not a zombie/necromancer type class) I'd be hoping to smash it out solo on Softcore to high level and progress quite alot.
The reason I'm asking on here and not figuring out for myself what to play is because I've not had much time with the game and nor will I with whats happening IRL atm.

TLDL Suggest class & Build for me to play, Softcore, must be range (Spell or Bow, Not Necro/zombie), Strong solo play. Dont suggest me to play game and figure out what I like best, Too much going on atm, Same with the website passive tree.

[Lagwin]

Hmm, I need some advice. I've played around 10-15 hours of PoE so far, Playing around with different classes and learning some of the early level spells and abilities. My max character was level 20.

I'm still undecided on what class/spec to play. All I do know is it has to be range because I usually have sucky ping (210-280) and it just works alot better for me. I know their are two classes that primarly focus on range attacks but all classes can pick up the skills and talents to do so too. What is a strong Class & Build I could use as a range (spell caster or bow, Im not too fussed as long as its not a zombie/necromancer type class) I'd be hoping to smash it out solo on Softcore to high level and progress quite alot.
The reason I'm asking on here and not figuring out for myself what to play is because I've not had much time with the game and nor will I with whats happening IRL atm.

TLDL Suggest class & Build for me to play, Softcore, must be range (Spell or Bow, Not Necro/zombie), Strong solo play. Dont suggest me to play game and figure out what I like best, Too much going on atm, Same with the website passive tree.

I wouldn't go with a witch just yet...they have problems indoors with some spells not casting.
It's down to ranger/duelist/marauder.

Ranger is the classic bow class and is primarily evasion bassed but evasion only works so far then you need a good amount of healt to back it up...the attacks are fairly week unless you manage to get good weapons and passives.
The duelist is armour/evasion is a good choice as it gives you some flexibility on where you can go with bow skills and any of the marauder area keystones.

The marauder is strength melee to begin with until you can get at a key stone in the center which applies your strength bonus to bows there are some benefits to this though...you will have a flexible character, you can use blood magic, there's a ton of regen,health and armor and ele resistances.

[Repefe]

TLDL Suggest class & Build for me to play, Softcore, must be range (Spell or Bow, Not Necro/zombie), Strong solo play. Dont suggest me to play game and figure out what I like best, Too much going on atm, Same with the website passive tree.

On the official forum there are sections for each class that feature and discuss builds made by players. If you don't have much time you can just go there and copy the most well recieved build. The basic decision making may be something along the lines do I want ele or physical damage ranger or do I want cold or lightning damage witch (if you don't want summons). I haven't looked into either of them, so don't know much.

[Fencers]

TLDL Suggest class & Build for me to play, Softcore, must be range (Spell or Bow, Not Necro/zombie), Strong solo play. Dont suggest me to play game and figure out what I like best, Too much going on atm, Same with the website passive tree.

Templar with a bow focusing on elemental damage or Templar dual totem shocker. Very strong specs, maybe the strongest in the game currently, but also the easiest to progress with. And you DO WANT at least one character to progress with relative ease ahead of other characters in Path of Exile.

The reason being that some classes [namely Witch, Shadow and Ranger] benefit a lot from the hand me downs and combination skill gems. A Templar or Duelist have access to red & blue and red & green gems early to mid game. Until you build a cache of items, flasks and gems early/easy access via either Templar or Duelist pays off big time.

Elemental bow Shadow is also a viable choice over elemental bow Templar for softcore. If you do play HC, than the Templar is better choice.

Never play a Witch or Ranger to start. They are the most gear dependent of classes and play poorly in groups early to mid game. Witch and Ranger also have far more limited build paths without a cache of items/gems.

Do note Path of Exile currently follows the "'linear warrior, quadratic wizard" gameplay trope. So that 1-shot machine of a Duelist you met at level 8 will soon be useless compared to the fully gear Witch who struggled to kill a zombie with a fireball at level 8.

Lastly, never level a main skill gem unless it is a quest reward gem or you have at least one copy of the gem at level 1 elsewhere. It's highly inefficient and a common mistake of "newbies". The option to level gems doesn't mean you have to level gems. If you follow my meaning.

[Schmiggy]

Just a disclaimer to anyone who hasn't played this yet - try not to fall victim to the hype some of the people in this forum and others are spreading. That's not to say it's not a good game, it definitely is, but for me it fell somewhat short of the hype.

It has some really good and interesting features - I loved the skill tree and the flexibility it offers, and the unique approach to gem socketing.

What really killed the game for me though was the desyncing - I don't know if I just happened to have the bad luck to experience it more than others, but it killed the combat and immersion for me. I also found that when striking an enemy, the hit and the loss of life + animation were also out of sync making it feel like the actions you were performing were different or delayed to what your character was doing.
Another gripe of mine is the colour scheme - all of the colours look washed out and faded. Even areas that are teeming with lush plant life aren't anywhere near as engaging as they could/should be in my opinion. This may not bother many people but for me, combined with the above desyncing and combat issues, it's enough to kill the entire experience for me - I just found it impossible to get "lost" in the world and story.

These are just my personal experiences, and the purpose of this post is just to present a different side to the coin so that people don't go into it expecting it to be everything they were looking for only to be disappointed. Take the game on it's merits, you may love it, you may not, but definitely give it a shot.

If I get any spare keys before open beta, which I think is unlikely, I'll definitely pay it forward.

[Fencers]

They are working on the desynch bug. Usually happens when using skills which move a player quickly across the screen- such as sprinting or shield charging.

* desync: remains a priority, can definitely do things better, particularly with respect to fast moving skills that don't work well with the combat predictive mechanics PoE uses

Full Q&A: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/vie...d/60234/page/1

[obake1]

Yeah, the desync issues are annoying in the shadow build I played. I made it to Merciless without much issues even when using whirling blades as my primary attacks. Had to quit that character because I wasn't leveling fast enough even when ledge farming as my gear was pretty bad. Rerolled a spark totem shadow and made it to 66 without much issue. It was a much better experience as it's not heavily gear dependent. Self found gear for the most part, but I have heard it's going to be nerfed in some way. I may just use that build in open beta depending on what they do with lightning damage.

[Niku]

Lastly, never level a main skill gem unless it is a quest reward gem or you have at least one copy of the gem at level 1 elsewhere. It's highly inefficient and a common mistake of "newbies". The option to level gems doesn't mean you have to level gems. If you follow my meaning.

How come I shouldnt level my main gem? I admit to doing this. And playing an archer. :P

[obake1]

You don't want to level some gems, in particular auras, because the mana requirement goes up. If you keep leveling it, you'll have no mana left after putting up all your auras to spam your main attack or you might get one hit off and have to pot because your mana regen is bad, etc. For example, I kept my Clarity gem at level 5, which reserves 140 of my mana. Although you can level it to 20, it would reserve 440 mana at maximum level and the return isn't worth that much.

[Vespian]

How come I shouldnt level my main gem? I admit to doing this. And playing an archer. :P

Yeah, it doesn't make much sense. Oh, it makes sense in the context that if you find a very useful or valuable gem and you absolutely need that gem to be able to reroll your character, you might want to keep it at level 1. The way I see it. If you die @[HC], you will lose that gem either way, just start over. I think Fencers is a bit too caught up in dying all the time.

How this is a common mistake of "newbies" eludes me and is probably a form of elitist thinking of a malformed brain. Or something. I've been playing 6 to 7 years of Diablo II [HC] and while I definitely agree that it's nice to have a living high-level, never, ever, let it stop you to play the game your way.

You don't want to level some gems, in particular auras, because the mana requirement goes up. If you keep leveling it, you'll have no mana left after putting up all your auras to spam your main attack or you might get one hit off and have to pot because your mana regen is bad, etc. For example, I kept my Clarity gem at level 5, which reserves 140 of my mana. Although you can level it to 20, it would reserve 440 mana at maximum level and the return isn't worth that much.

While true, I doubt Fencers meant this. Most skills take gigantic leaps in usefulness each level. Such as Zombie gems. You can't just dictate that all gem should remain lvl 1. And if he meant this, why reference having copies of said gem?

[Niku]

You don't want to level some gems, in particular auras, because the mana requirement goes up. If you keep leveling it, you'll have no mana left after putting up all your auras to spam your main attack or you might get one hit off and have to pot because your mana regen is bad, etc. For example, I kept my Clarity gem at level 5, which reserves 140 of my mana. Although you can level it to 20, it would reserve 440 mana at maximum level and the return isn't worth that much.

Well sure, would suck if you didnt have enough mana to keep using it. Havn't run into this problem though.

Yeah, it doesn't make much sense. Oh, it makes sense in the context that if you find a very useful or valuable gem and you absolutely need that gem to be able to reroll your character, you might want to keep it at level 1. The way I see it. If you die @[HC], you will lose that gem either way, just start over. I think Fencers is a bit too caught up in dying all the time.

I'm never playing any hardcore in these types of games! Would just be devestating to die.

[Lagwin]

I think what fencers is getting at is that while you main gem is generally one from a quest reward and then built around and leveled up you may come across one that isn't a reward and use it when you get it and level it past a useful level for alt characters...for instance Fork for me i used on my marauder combined with lightning strike and leveled it several times...problem being i changed my build slightly and dont bother using fork with it atm...i was going to use it on an bow class only to realize that the initial level 20 requirement is now level 40, and it can happen with other gems.

And the desyncing is getting worse by the looks of it, i really hope the alleviate the problem soon because it is just about game breaking.

Did anyone else experience a massive lag spike a few hours ago...everything stopped working on screen, people died or go dc'd as it lasted a good 30 seconds or more

[Speedlance]

I recommend joining the hc races, those are really fun, I got to lvl 71 during the race in christmass by purely playing 6-7 hours per day + a little more at the end I wasn't particularly fast but I'd hoped to reach atleast lvl 78 but I guess I'd need more time or a team to do that.
Its what d3 should have had, its a good way to keep the community interested