Path of building - the fun killer for console players

I am very wary of an in-game "planner" the likes of PoB. There are three main reasons (and many others which I won't mention):

1) It turns the game into a simulator: Sure....PoB already does that too, but at least the sheer fact that it is SEPARATE encourages folks to play and think a teensy bit if they don't want to minimize and exit the game. A built-in planner thats right there that gives you every bit of information takes all the fun and experimentation out of the game. It cuts the depth of thought by a significant percent

2) On the topic of thought, IT ISN'T NECESSARY. What IS necessary is experience: play the game more, you learn more, you build better. It's a continuous cycle....if you let it be. PoB and build planners did not exist for years at the start of the game, and folks did just fine. Learn the mechanics of the game THROUGH the game. Failure is often the best teacher, you hit a wall and you have to think about how to overcome it with the tools available to you. You don't need some program telling you "This node will provide 1% MORE damage/defense". The exact BEST nodes are irrelevant: a real build requires broader and far simpler thinking. And it should constantly shift based on the items you might find, especially uniques. All it takes is a handful of regret orbs to completely change how a build might function with a particular drop...provided you stop and THINK about how you might do that.

3) The game definitely needs something, but its not a build planner/creator. It needs accurate tooltip data. If PoB can provide accurate data, then the game certainly can. That alone is all that is needed to greatly simplify the "insurmountable" learning curve that people like to say PoE has (it doesnt'). Perhaps in addition to correct toolbar, we could use 2 or 3 full resets per character at various stages of the game (Act 5, Act 10, Uber Lab for example).


If you give too many tools directly in the game, it becomes all about playing the TOOL rather than the game. Especially when it comes to rpgs. The fun is in the journey, not knowing how everything is going to turn out before you even wake up on the beach! Those who claim PoB is "necessary" are the same people who have never once tried just to "play" PoE...like any other game out there.

An accurate tool tip tool is not going to tell me what lethal pride I need and then search for it on the trade market. It's not going to show me where my cluster jewels go. It's not going to show me if I have an underlying mana issue that I don't know about. Path of building needs to die and it's counterpart needs to be in game. If the goal is to fully support consoles this is the only way to go.

When following build guides most have pistol information that you will only find inside the pob. When to switch this gem. When to craft this item etc. There's a difference between exploration and information handicap/blackout.

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XVIHAMMERXVI wrote:

An accurate tool tip tool is not going to tell me what lethal pride I need and then search for it on the trade market. It's not going to show me where my cluster jewels go. It's not going to show me if I have an underlying mana issue that I don't know about. Path of building needs to die and it's counterpart needs to be in game. If the goal is to fully support consoles this is the only way to go.

there's a site for the timeless jewel stuff. not sure if im allowed to link it here but just google "timeless jewel calculator". its a github page.

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XVIHAMMERXVI wrote:

An accurate tool tip tool is not going to tell me what lethal pride I need and then search for it on the trade market. It's not going to show me where my cluster jewels go. It's not going to show me if I have an underlying mana issue that I don't know about. Path of building needs to die and it's counterpart needs to be in game. If the goal is to fully support consoles this is the only way to go.

Experience and knowledge will help with all things cluster jewels. Plus trial and error. You learn the placement of the nodes, the common layouts for your specific builds, etc. And if you really care....just read up on how cluster jewel notables are organized (there is a specific order that you can just learn).

And guess what? You aren't SUPPOSED to know what lethal pride you need. That is min-maxing stuff that mostly doesn't matter for nearly every player who ever touches PoE. The whole point of the design of those jewels is the MYSTERY of them. Again....the journey, not the simulator. The BIG aspects of those jewels are known to everyone, and again can be learned through trial and error after farming like 3 5-ways.

And thank you for proving my point....you are talking about things that pretty much don't matter for 99.9% of players because you care about the TOOL giving you the highest numbers, rather than the actual functionality of the game and build.

You want a PERFECT PERFECT min/maxed build? Then you should be using 3rd party software because that would be abosolutely wasted information in-game.

https://vilsol.github.io/timeless-jewels/tree

You can use this timeless jewel calculator on your phone or other device that you use to access PoE forums.

The Fun Killer on console is the game performance. DCing 10 times per hour is way more awful than having to start up your PC and import your PoB.

Min-Maxing is the fun that can be had as things come to a close.


This game is trying not to end, so to focus on such things would not be reasonable.

The capacity to rush the game to its end and with no risk is The capacity to squeeze the experience out of it.

As you can tell by the new movement in PoE 2 improving the gameplay itself, the 'playstyle' of the game, is a focus and a better one.


The game is very doable just on immersion alone. You pick stuff up, you make progress, you reach a high level just playing the game. Path of Exile 1 feels like it rushes through the experience and I sometimes have to stop myself from skipping the voicelines.

The 'playstyle' of the game is just a bit stressful and getting to you. Depictions of violence requiring your disciplined attention, getting a bit close to your anatomy.


Try to appreciate the fact that it's just a game.
> Or try my "Naked Savage" challenge for some simplicity.

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Alot don't own a computer.

you sure?

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XVIHAMMERXVI wrote:

Let me preface by saying I LOVE poe. I play on console and it's incredibly rewarding seeing the skill tree and all the options. The problem is pob is required to play the game. I've had to depend on pc players just to get any sort of a build going. This league I'm playing lightning strike warden. Because I can't use path of building I can't find the lethal pride that I need. Effectively brick ing my build as it's a requirement in all variants of the build. I shouldn't need a 3rd party program to play your game.. this is a barrier for many console players.

Alot don't own a computer. How do you expect us to enjoy the game when that enjoyment entirely depends on a 3rd party program? You limit our progression vastly. Pob has to go for the greater good of the game.

If couch coop and attracting a broader audience is what you seek to do your going to have alot of people quit before they even start. Either ggg needs to make a fully functional version of it within the game or put it on the website.


There's no hope I'll ever hit a hundred because I can't properly gear myself. I can't see where cluster jewels go. I can't find the right timeless jewels. I can't see additional information included im build guides. It's time for the death of path of building

Going to take a go at answering this as a fellow XBox player and as someone who uses PoB at league start to assess a build potential but not during the league.

Pob is 100% not required to play PoE at all, it helps with some things such as assessing if a build will suit you, and as others have said min/maxing your final endgame build. Otherwise you don’t need it at all.

Almost every build you can get from a good content creator or build guide will now provide the PoB import as a pobb.in link which can be opened on your phone tablet or on the console itself in its included web browser (Edge for us) and serves perfectly well enough to follow the guide for the build. I have done this many many many times.

The unique jewel you mentioned is a specific issue and the problem is more a console player base size and trust issue and less of a PoB issue. Yes in theory you could import the specific jewel for sale into PoB and confirm that it does do what you need it to do in the correct location. Most timeless jewels don’t suffer this issue, I for example use a Glorious Vanity one this league so only the name needs to match not the number, the lethal pride iirc (been a long while since I used one) is more complex.
Honestly I’d have just avoided a build that requires it, and would have used my own drops to use in a build that one would improve.