Some thoughts on Skill Gems

Hello there,


I'm really greatful for a job with POE 2 - and you needed a rest to see clearly the situation. Don't be so hard on yourself, after hard work for months mind doesn't work properely, more balance in life - better the outcomes in work :)


After playing for a last 1.5 month on Mercenary, I've collected some thoughts:

My expectations was to build snipe build without flashy mechanics on crossbow with attack speed as low as it possible, due to the disco skills on screen in POE 1.
Simple - PHYS based + life and evasion. Sounds good? For bow build yes - but in reality for crossbow there is no good option to scale phys as good as it goes with elemental damage. Life is naturally non-existing in a tree - then in leveling was forced to turn into ES to provide decent defensive layer - and was simply oneshotted by any slam to the moment when I got Acrobatics. Adding Ethernal Youth to the tree was brilliant - bc I don't understand playing recharge mechanics - without old Wicked Ward.

WSAD - is my dream for POE1 - it makes whole gameplay better for shooter! TY :)

Additional issue is: you cannot go through center of a skill tree - bc there is no Ascendant class - and when you want to have fun build - I think you're stucked in the archtype class you chose at the start. POE1 was more customisable.

Ascendancy class - Witchhunter - Weapon Skill Point is useless - for me it's good to be cutted off. Sorcery Ward is a trap to play - due to the Huge Downsides. It's nah with Armour, but with Evasion it sucks. Concentration - is good, but I'd like to see on the No Mercy - faster acumulating Concentration Threshold.



Under leveling in campaign switched firstly from High Velocity to Plasma Blast - more clunky - but I like channeling skills like this. - sadly it was Ele-skill, then needed to make some adjustments. As clear I used Fragmentation rounds - but with transition to Ele also needed to add some things - wanted Stormblast Bolts - but it needed a detonator, and it has so few proj I couldnt kill even a normal monster with it alone :D (yes I didn't explode them - I play Amunition build not granade - then granades are forbidden) Strict rules only for a playrun or autoattacks. Then again I was forced to play Galvanic Shards (it was so away from my original thoughts - I don't like them, bc they are opposite of skills I like). Then after some time when I farmed a bit I switched lighting to cold and some if the issues dissapeard. (Galvanic for sure) - really handy were Permafrost Bolts, bc it provide almost instant freeze (really good defensively) and as coverge Hailstorm Rounds (for clearing maps). For boss DPS tried also Ice Shards - but! they're so weak.

Important fact is that I play with my friend on monk - and he plays Ele-Invoker with Power-Charges - whole problem at first was with ailments - he wanted to apply them all - but in optional preping towers for us - I run maps solo, then I needed protection. This was the point when I switched from combo lightning with him to Cold Dmg. With freeze I feel super safe - and can kite easily.

For now I play 5 Skills:
Clear:
Permafrost Bolts - really good coverge - nice spead - it's flashy - but have no better alternative - except Glacial + Fragmentation Round spam.

Bosses:
Plasma Blast for now my favourite skill - really like to see some alternate version without pierce. Sadly there is no way to cut of Pierce from it. Need an item which adds mod Your skills cannot Pierce - so Plasma ended as opening / support skill.

Universal:
Hailstorm Rounds - I like "Rain based Skills", it's ok - Emergency Reload Lover - I use it for support me from one side in clearing difficult map spot, or support to burst Rare minions with difficult mods like Shroud Walker / Temporal Bubble / Proximal Tangibility / Reanimate Minion or Hasted -> Slammers eventually Bosses When I'm on cooldown with Plasma.

Situational:
Shockburst Rounds - Whenever my friend applies shock then I use it - and it's pretty good skill to combo.

Support:
Emergency Reload - I use it mainly with Hailstorm Rounds - to provide extra burst and coverge.



Tried also:

a) High Velocity Rounds - very good for constant DPSing one target - was my first choice for campaign. I dropped it due to the Payoff on Armour Break - in my experience it was difficult to make usage from it BC there wasn't much phys scaling, also there is a problem of lacking good Physical support gems only there is a brutality and that's it. :(


b) Fragmentation Rounds - I have to say it - this skill is perfect for shattering enemies. I like it. It accompanied me in campaign - but it phys DPS wasn't good for an endgame.

c) Galvanic shards - it's too flashy for me - I don't like it at all. Good for chain, tried it in some maps, and I'm not impressed.

d) Glacial Shot - Good for trolling you and your teamate :D Seems good with additional Chain from terrain - bc it keeps growing around you with 2 clicks and Fragmentation Rounds does the rest.

e) Ice Shards - I don't feel confindet using them - maybe it can be more useful against minions - but not with this AOE - it's tiny. For now ithis skill should be buffed? Otherwise it's useless.

f) Stormblast Bolts - On it's own it cannot kill a monster - for me useless, bc don't use granades in build.

g) Ripewire Ballista - It would be brilliant to build it like in POE1 Totem Champion (have some flashbacks) - for now Ancestral Bond is too far away in a tree to try. In campain I used it as a CC control tool.

h) Armour Piercing Rounds - Armour Breaking is good option for High Velo, but I Armour Breaking Consumption on High Velo isn't rewarding enough to use this skill.



Maps:

Whole Delve type endgame map is good with towers - I like it. I really appreciate how the world is storytelling. All content is intact with lore - finally - in comparison to POE 1 which all content is rather random? Have no sense. Would like to see more Doryani imprint into your journey, like he could be your mentor in tackling the maps. Also he could serve player more useful maps - like Kirac.

Expedition doesn't make any sense - to be cutted off, or please give us some explanaition to have them timetravelled.

Finding Citadels is a mess for hours, simply I don't have that much time to spend to do so, then I don't play it - in comparasing I focus on Ultimatums / Sanctums. They are rewarding, constant - and more important - short. Mapping for me is exhusting. In POE1 after reaching endgame I switched my gameplay and dropped mapping to play a craft -> there is no craft :( Then I'm again forced to farm. but after every 5/6 maps I have enough , haha :D That's why I play only shortest content, can't even skip map by killing the rares (Augury so much) :(

Some maps generate tents and other stuff on tight roads - then you need to leave a map, bc you cannot pass through it - this is frustrating.


Items:

Uniques:
There is a little pool of useful uniques - and early game uniques are not very obtainable in earlygame. Having them in endgame is not rewarding.

Currency:
Hurts me how Transutation Orbs / Essences / Crafting Bench was treated. It simply made whole basis of craft - and starting craft is for me spamming omens - which have no it's own stash - clutters whole space and are not stackable. Only 3/4 omens are useable. Then in my perpective only Chaos orb craft is OK - but with a risk of throwing away your base.
Runes - Really good mechanic - I like how it works - need a unique stash for them?
Expedition Locker - Please!


In my perspective areas to improve (listed in importance):
1) Map upgrades
2) Stash tabs
3) Item distribution
4) New support skills
5) Balance existing skills
6) New skills
7) New classes

Hf Exiles :)