Is it worth to start playing Path of Exile in 2024 as new player?

Hi, I’m considering getting into PoE. Before, only ARPG I played was Grim Dawn. Is it worth to get into it? If yes, how to learn the game? I heard it’s really overwhelming at first.

The "overwhelming" part is the character building. The skill tree is intimidating to look at, but overall once you learn how to use the search feature it's not that bad. And yes, it's 100% true you're going to "screw up your first build and brick your character". By "brick" it means you're eventually going to hit a plateau in end-game content you can do when it comes to maps (basically dungeon crawl with varying difficulty) before it's gets to difficult to overcome. At that point you have 2 choices - respec your character (which is expensive depending on how much rework you need to do) or completely restart.

If you're not worried about stroking your epeen bragging about the hardest maps you've cleared, or concerned about min-maxing your character, and just overall wanting to play for entertainment there are plenty of options on content to play. There are several league mechanics you can focus on instead that are not as epeen stroking, but are just as fun to do.

For the majority of the time, ignore the "jUsT uSe A gUiDe!!!" people. 95% of the guides out there are created for experienced players with 1000+ hrs played that go into far more detail than a new player will ever understand. They're all under the assumption that a new player is swimming in currency to either buy or break down and rebuild specific gear for a build. You're not going to have this until you reach high end-game content, so it's all moot. Those "just spend 30c (Chaos Orbs) on this chestpiece...." means squat to newbies since it'll be a long time before they even see 30c at one time.

The TL;DR version:
Yes, it's a harder game.
Yes, it has a higher learning curve.
No, you don't necessarily have to "jUsT uSe A gUiDe!!!", but they are a good reference if you're looking to improve your build.
Yes, you're going to screw up your first characters and most likely end up starting over.
Yes, Path of Building (3rd party app) can help you with builds but it also has a high learning curve since it's not what I would call "user friendly".
Yes, you should prioritize just having fun over listening to the epeen elitist crowd.

Yes, definitely. I would watch an introduction video (e.g. Zizaran's ones https://youtu.be/CPc4xY-14wQ?si=QFm1uPuwUXhX41uw).

You don't need to follow a detailed guide the first time (and you probably wouldn't be able to) but any guide will give you ideas on how skills work together and the kinds of things to think about.

Most importantly, play what seems fun to you while not expecting to see the whole game the first time.

Yea, it's worth playing. Esp since PoE2 is on the way. You'll get the main story that might carry over. Heist is probably the best end-game activity when it comes to story elements. There's an entire side plot and a lot of interesting character who chat with each other.

Some leagues lost a bit of their story being added to core like Ultimattum or Blight.

Far as actual gameplay. It's hard for me to say it's over complicated. Yes, some builds can go many layers deep but some can also be quite simple. Sometimes I just grab a skill I want to play and build around it. Granted I know which Ascendancy pairs well with that skill but it would be similar to knowing which secondary class pairs with your main in Grim Dawn. Just read what each does.

Of course you can look up builds on a specific skill that looks interesting to you as well.

I would suggest making a league character even if you do not intend to always play leagues. They will simply carry over to standard and you can keep playing that character where you left off.

Well in order to get into poe you will have to spend a huge amount of time learning a lot of the side elements of the game.
In a quick review you will have to spend around a year learning 3rd party programs that mess with the game. Helpful programs like PoB, craft of exile, poe ninja, awakened poe trade and other less important sites/ programs are absolutely mandatory and you can't play the game without them.
Also at the very start
Expect to spend over 2000 hours watching some videos to start getting an idea of the game mechanics. Once you spent that time learning full have to commit around 2-3 hours daily to be competitive (assuming you ll be playing softcore trade, which is the easiest mode.) poe is really hostile to casual players, you won't enjoy the game if u plan on spending 1-1+ h daily unless you have years of experience on it.
Best tip for a start, try to find a build to start from these forums, DONT try the ones from youtubers you will waste your time. Look for the class that suits you and then check builds on the forums that their creators upgrade each patch. They usually have tons of responses on them. Have fun!

Contrary to others: if you have the ability to think for yourself and learn....DO NOT USE A GUIDE. Do NOT watch videos. Do NOT let others tell you how to play. Do NOT let people with years of experience set your baseline expectations as low as possible.

Go in blind, like you would any other game. It is a fantastic game, and like many of us who started in 2012 WIHOUT VIDEOS or guides, it is not NEARLY as complicated as streamers/guides/forumers make it out to be.

The things that will ruin your experience before it even begins are:
1) Unrealistic expectations set from streamers and videos
2) Following a preset guide that removes all chances of actual learning
3) Getting to into the non-game aspects of the game re: PoB, videos, guides, 3rd party tools (you MUST HAVE%*!@*%#%#), etc.

Forum advice-givers like to tell you things are SUPER complicated and SUPER hard, or the learning curve is insane.....because they are coming from an expectation that you clear everything in the game in 3 months. The game is not designed for you to do that, nor should it be expected.

The people that parrot the nonsense above are the same folks who never learn anything in-game because they almost entirely rely on OTHER people's knowledge and are helpless without it.

Well despite the brave response above " go all in naked" its highly advised not to do so.
Game has changed since 12, and is now packed with an overwhelming amount of mechanics and micromanagement and so far, it has no ingame ways to prepare you what's coming ahead or what's happening.
Every time something happens you ll have to figure out on your own about it, with no clues given to you. Spending time outside the game to learn about it is non negotiable if you wish figure things out.

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panikouk wrote:

Well despite the brave response above " go all in naked" its highly advised not to do so.
Game has changed since 12, and is now packed with an overwhelming amount of mechanics and micromanagement and so far, it has no ingame ways to prepare you what's coming ahead or what's happening.
Every time something happens you ll have to figure out on your own about it, with no clues given to you. Spending time outside the game to learn about it is non negotiable if you wish figure things out.

a wildly inaccurate statement. The game prepares you for everything short of endgame content. You get introduced to league mechanics slowly throughout the campaign. There's a help menu if you have questions. NPCs tell you what to do.

That response is exactly the problem. Never actually tried playing the game for yourself to see how much information it actually DOES give you.

Also, the game hasn't changed much since 12 years ago. There's just a lot more of it to explore. The learning curve is pretty much the same.

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MiaGeorge wrote:

Hi, I’m considering getting into PoE. Before, only ARPG I played was Grim Dawn. Is it worth to get into it? If yes, how to learn the game? I heard it’s really overwhelming at first.

the game is overloaded that you simply cannot into the game without a semester of studiying . wait for POE2, maybe chris wilson has a better future for 2.

1 is done

i would say it all depends on your expectations.

if you come here wanting to explore the game and try to organically grow stronger while learning about the game yourself.

POE might be a difficult beast to tame. some skills are mechanically better than others. some simply underperform.

but there is a huge lot of things for your to learn and explore.

personally i feel there are too many "newbie traps" in the game that i simply will not recommend POE1 to newer players if self exploration is their purpose.

if you dont mind following build guides, then its a different story. POE1 has a ton of interesting builds you can try and has a huge ton of end game content.

my recommendations is watch some yt vids and see what poe has to offer.

if it piques your interest, just give it a go. its a free game anyway.