My advice to new players.

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Acolina87 wrote:

Are you a ruthless enjoyer?

YEP COC!

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AintCare wrote:

I'm interested in this thread, but I need tl;dr of the OP

I added it at the end: "TLDR: Start playing Path of Exile on your own, but be prepared for a progression wall. Follow beginner build guides like Enki's Arc Witch or Zizaran's on YouTube for assistance. Engage with helpful players in forums or chat, but be cautious of trolls(global chat especially). If you're short on time, play on the Standard server. Consider trying Ruthless mode for a less overwhelming experience with fewer mechanics, though it's harder to play. There's no wrong way to enjoy the game, so have fun your way. Microtransactions are mainly cosmetic, and $40 can buy you enough stash tabs for a lifetime. Updates with new content arrive every three months. Avoid negative Reddit discussions if they affect your enjoyment. A sequel to the game is expected next year, with a beta release date announcement on July 29th at their official Twitch and YouTube channels(Exile-con, like Blizzcon but for PoE)."

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innervation wrote:

I would posit that the broken part is watching the streamers.

I'm only using Grinding Gear's own words. They design the game with an eye towards streamers, and specifically used the words "Aspirational Content" for stuff that they don't expect any but the top half a percent at best of their players to ever get to, but which they expect normie, non-turbosweat players to experience vicariously through watching streamed play.

Is that a horrible approach that actively and deliberately chases off people who might otherwise have punched through the wall and become path of Exile players because those people are being told "you'll never be good enough to actually do any of this, so just sit down, shut up, and watch your betters do it for you"? Who knows. But I sure know I wouldn't be here if I adhered to expectations and never got any further than clearing blue white-tier maps while wistfully watching my 'betters' Boomer Zoomer their way through uberjuiced T16 pinnacle content so quickly I can't even tell what they're doing.

"Aspirational content" is their words, but it still has to be your aspiration. For many people, watching streamers is a gateway to copy + pasting the streamer's aspirations and overlaying them on top of their own gameplay. Down that path lies frustration, unfair criticism, and burnout.

You say that you "wouldn't be here if I adhered to expectations and never got any further than clearing blue white-tier maps while wistfully watching my 'betters' Boomer Zoomer their way through uberjuiced T16 pinnacle content so quickly I can't even tell what they're doing."

But in saying so, it seems obvious to reason that if you hadn't watched what the streamers were doing, you'd be having quite a bit of fun 'playing the game'. You may get stuck at some point in the progression, sure. Just like everyone does in every game worth playing. You pick up Elden Ring? You're gonna get 'stuck' somewhere. You pick up LOL or DoTA or Rocket League? You're gonna get 'stuck' at some ELO that isn't the top tier.

In PoE, just like those other games, it doesn't mean you failed. There is no external imperative to improve. There is only what you want to accomplish. I will end with a second encouragement to everyone to make sure 'what you want to accomplish' is truly yours and not someone else's.

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KatCut wrote:

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AintCare wrote:

I'm interested in this thread, but I need tl;dr of the OP

I added it at the end: "TLDR: Start playing Path of Exile on your own, but be prepared for a progression wall. Follow beginner build guides like Enki's Arc Witch or Zizaran's on YouTube for assistance. Engage with helpful players in forums or chat, but be cautious of trolls(global chat especially). If you're short on time, play on the Standard server. Consider trying Ruthless mode for a less overwhelming experience with fewer mechanics, though it's harder to play. There's no wrong way to enjoy the game, so have fun your way. Microtransactions are mainly cosmetic, and $40 can buy you enough stash tabs for a lifetime. Updates with new content arrive every three months. Avoid negative Reddit discussions if they affect your enjoyment. A sequel to the game is expected next year, with a beta release date announcement on July 29th at their official Twitch and YouTube channels(Exile-con, like Blizzcon but for PoE)."

I didnt read the above, but I read the tl;dr.... you do like to type.

my version of it would be 'play the game, don't look at others, ask questions on forum only after checking wiki.

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KatCut wrote:

Eventually, you'll find yourself immersed in the game, theory-crafting builds on your way to work, accumulating 5,000 hours of gameplay.

...

PPS: This text was grammatically corrected by AI

sounds about right

The whole issue with this topic is that it's not really about what the game is about, or difficulty, it's all about the fucked up world we live in today.

No one has time spare; so whenever they do get their hands on something to do they will always want to do everything as fast as possible. And unfortunately, Poe is not a game that gives you time, it takes your time.....all of it.

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AintCare wrote:

my version of it would be 'play the game, don't look at others, ask questions on forum only after checking wiki.

This is pretty on the money, i'd only add don't forget you are playing for fun and enjoy the learning experience, failures are many in PoE but some of the failures are the most fun and some of the successes are boring AF.

Every players different so comparison doesn't really get you that far beyond that.