I have attempted to get into Path of Exile for the better part of the past few years. Every league it was the same story -- tried to follow some general build guide on YouTube, then failure. I never made it past Act 4 in the past.
By the time I started this league, I had almost 100 hours in Path of Exile. 100 hours and I never even beat the game. That is how disrespectful this game can be with your time if you don't have the proper help or know what you are doing.
With this guide, the campaign went from being a confusing slog to very enjoyable, especially when I hit level 33 and actually got to use Toxic Rain. I beat almost every boss without dying a single time. I had zero issues in any of the labyrinths. Most importantly, I felt very ready to transition to mapping when the campaign was over. For the first time after trying and failing repeatedly to do so for several years.
This guide was clearly a labor of love, and I think it should be a stickied post on the subreddit and this forum every single league. Path of Exile has a major new player retention/attraction issue. This guide is what GGG should explain in-game, but do not. It is, in my opinion, an actual solution to having a new person play and enjoy Path of Exile.
Of course, I do think there were some areas and things within the guide that could be slightly changed to make things even smoother than they already are. I think my biggest confusion was bouncing back and forth between the build in PoB and the build in the screenshot at the top of every act page on the guide. PoB seemed significantly easier to use (and probably easier for you to update).
My suggestion is to actually encourage using PoB because I think it is easier to use than the screenshot. I would do that and say "ignore literally everything on the screen that isn't the skill tree" because I think that is what makes PoB overwhelming -- the skill tree makes complete sense to follow, even when I was brand new to the game.
I think one additional area the guide could potentially improve in is to have a basic overview of what my character should optimally have by the end of each act, i.e. what should my gem setup be, how much health should I aim for, etc.
Obviously PoE is very variable and I think you did a great job accounting for that.
With this guide I did not struggle with health or mana really at any point. I did however get lucky early on and got a Belly of the Beast which made leveling even more comfortable. I also got extremely lucky and got an exalted orb while leveling. This allowed me to purchase a very solid bow once I got into mapping. Obviously that is luck based, but damn it was really awesome how well all that flowed with your guide.
TL;DR: Your guide kicks major ass, and I wish you were a developer at GGG because they lack, in a very serious way, this type of insight into attracting new players. That being said, PoE has always overcome its flaws because of its community. In my opinion, using this guide as a new player should be just as standard as downloading a loot filter or Path of Building. Otherwise, this game can be quite unenjoyable.
Please let me know how I can continue to help support this guide in the future. I really appreciate the effort and love you put into this. I finally made it to maps and I am still in disbelief about it!
Thank you for this awesome feedback, I really appreciate it!
I started looking at this guide because I wanted to try something different that was not squishy. The quality of this build guide is amazing - For a newer player, this would be invaluable.
I've been following trying so I could at least offer some suggestions. The only thing I can think so far is maybe a little more explanation on the gems and the links... for instance one of the first things is:
"
Link Onslaught Support with Splitting Steel & Chance to Bleed Support
Maybe something like:
Link Onslaught Support with Splitting Steel & Chance to Bleed Support - Onslaught support will give you a 20-39% chance on a melee kill (it goes up with the gem level) - to get a buff that will increase your attack, cast, and movement speed by 20% - This will only trigger off of hits, Damage over time effects will not give you a chance at the buff. There is also a 10% chance every time you hit a rare or unique enemy with a melee attack you will be granted the buff.
A lot of the interactions between skills and supports are not real "Obvious". I know it's listed on the gem, but if this is for new players explaining some of this may be helpful. I know it's a big undertaking, but I am sure you would get some help if needed.
Keep up the GREAT work.
Thank you for the feedback.
It's actually quite hard to give the right information with the right scope at the right time. Instead of repeating the gem infromation like you did, I'd rather make a general tip to actually read the gem infromation when buying or chosing it as a quest reward, ALTHOUGH this should be common sense :D Anyway, I made a note on my 'improvement list' and might add something like this to the guide for 3.19.
Where are you at right now?
Last edited by fezz8386#7997 on Jun 18, 2022, 9:20:30 AM
This guide is a true labor of love! I tried other guides before, but yours is on another level, really appreciate. For the first time I'm enjoying the end game.
This guide is a true labor of love! I tried other guides before, but yours is on another level, really appreciate. For the first time I'm enjoying the end game.
This guide has been my very first experience playing through PoE. I’m currently still only on Act 7 but This guide has been so informative. I don’t have to spend hours delving down different rabbit holes trying to learn mechanics. The guide seems to give me the main information I need when I need it, allowing me to continue forward without the confusion. I have learned so much just from playing alongside this guide I’m genuinely excited to keep pushing! I don’t have much to compare it to, but it’s like night and day compared to trying to play this game blind. Thanks for all the effort you put into this guide!!!
This guide has been my very first experience playing through PoE. I’m currently still only on Act 7 but This guide has been so informative. I don’t have to spend hours delving down different rabbit holes trying to learn mechanics. The guide seems to give me the main information I need when I need it, allowing me to continue forward without the confusion. I have learned so much just from playing alongside this guide I’m genuinely excited to keep pushing! I don’t have much to compare it to, but it’s like night and day compared to trying to play this game blind. Thanks for all the effort you put into this guide!!!
I really appreciate the positive feedback. Let me know how the progress to the end of the campaign and the start of the endgame felt once you've experienced it. Looking forward to it!
Is there any way to incorporate this? Do I need to try and grab some leech?
For reference, this is my current armor, I'm at level 77:
As long as you can afford to lose the Lightning Resistance on your current Body Armour the 6-link Cherrubim is an upgrade (since you currently only use a 5-link - the focused ballista isn't connected and does nothing here, just FYI). But sooner or later you should focus on getting a better 6-link Body Armour with life, resistances and the prefix craft "Gain #% Maximum Life as Energy Shield".
BTW: Life leech isn't a thing with this build so just ignore it (this is only relevant for hit-based builds - but this one is a DoT-based build).
Is there any way to incorporate this? Do I need to try and grab some leech?
For reference, this is my current armor, I'm at level 77:
As long as you can afford to lose the Lightning Resistance on your current Body Armour the 6-link Cherrubim is an upgrade (since you currently only use a 5-link - the focused ballista isn't connected and does nothing here, just FYI). But sooner or later you should focus on getting a better 6-link Body Armour with life, resistances and the prefix craft "Gain #% Maximum Life as Energy Shield".
BTW: Life leech isn't a thing with this build so just ignore it (this is only relevant for hit-based builds - but this one is a DoT-based build).
Thanks, I was aware of the unlinked gem, just levelling it in prep. It was the leech I wondered about and you have answered that, thanks!
