Path of Exile free to play in about six hours.

[Brimstone]

For some unknown reason, I skipped LA when I was offered it as a quest reward - and at lvl 51, my ranger has never seen another one. I'm currently running Ice Arrow - Chain - Leech - LMP instead, and if this is the weak sister of the elemental bow ranger options... well, I GUESS it'll do.

[shoju]

I will say that I absolutely, cannot stand the Vaal Oversoul fight. At all. I thought I was prepared. I had ~20% Chaos resist, + Chaos Flask. I had just hit a new level, so I wasn't worried about losing EXP.

In the end, I just couldn't kill him fast enough, Ran out of Mana, then I ran out of Health, Then the adds got me. So I rezed, took my portal, and went back at it. Then I ran into lag, and couldn't tell when the smash was coming, and just kept getting crushed.

Personally, I think that Vaal is infinitely harder than Piety. Maybe that will change in Cruel, but I'm sort of doubting it, since Vaal was just a shittier version of Normal Vaal.

On the other hand, in all my farming to get ready, I have amassed large amounts of rares, and not much I could use for myself. if anyone has a Default League character <45 and looking for something for them, let me know.

I think I'm going to spend a good amount of time in A3 Cruel farming up stuff. I'm running low on Scrolls of Wisom of all things. Just not sure what place to farm. Sewers? Slums? I know a lot of people end up running docks, but I'm not sure I'm going to be ready for docks for a little bit.

[Brimstone]

Shoju, if you catch me online (look for Tyrantico) I'll give you a couple stacks of scrolls.

[LennyLen]

Shoju, if you catch me online (look for Tyrantico) I'll give you a couple stacks of scrolls.

Likewise, hit me up if you see me online (I'm back from my week long holiday later today). I have about 8 stacks of wisdom scrolls.

[shoju]

Oh, it's cool, it just means I need to go do some farming, and pile everything up at waypoints, and what not. I've been picking up only magics, rares, and superiors lately, so I could build up my stock on Orbs. I haven't done it on my Templar... Ever. I think the last time I did it was when I did half a dozen or so ridge runs on my Marauder. I figure I'll probably blast through a couple of the early areas in act III a few times, get some levels, farm for new drops, and just sell everything

[shoju]

Well, I slowly made my way into the Catacombs, and then realized that the area was level 53! That was... a surprise. I had to take it slow, but I was able to snag some hallowed level flasks, and put some work into them. Still not finding any new gear though...

I figure I'll probably work my way through the battlefront, and get the Waypoint inside the temple there, and farm that for a bit. There are some bosses in there, so maybe if I farm that place enough I can get some upgrades.

[shoju]

Quick Question:

What do you think about using armor that is not "technically" your characters? My Summoner is inheriting all of my drops, and I'm finding that I can piece together a far more cohesive character if I use all the gear, and not just the pure ES gear.

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/113210

This is what I'm currently using, and having a pretty good time playing around with it. Not something I'd ever consider swapping to, but it's fun for a break.

[MonTy]

What do you think about using armor that is not "technically" your characters?

I think ES is really good once you get a ton of it. Until then I actually prefer armor hybrid.

[shoju]

My little summoner is woefully low on life, probably why I enjoy it as a distraction, but would never seriously use it for much. I have almost as much ES as life.

I think the most fun I've had so far is when I drop the skelly totem, and get 8 skellies out, 5 zombies, and 2 spectres, and I just sit back and Arc at things. it's hilarious funny to watch.

Though I have noticed, a few of the things I read talk about "picking" spectres. I'm not able to keep mine alive as well as I want. I've got it linked with life and damage, but man... They are hard to keep alive. So far, my favorite spectres to grab have been the alchemists in the sewers, but even then, I lost them once I hit the marketplace, and ended up picking up some archers, who weren't as cool.

It has me worried going into piety, that I'm going to end up losing them, and having to go with stuff that I kill from the adds.

Boss fights have been.... WOEFULLY slow. it's the only thing that I can say has been not fun. I think my vaal fight was over 8 minutes, because I was scrambling to keep my defenses up, and trying to get keep skeletons going, while raising zombies and constructs.

I bet Piety in the Crematorium was even longer. She nuked my skellies, and It felt like my minion explosions just weren't doing enough to keep her ES down.

I found myself running all the way back through the dungeon to build up mana, find more zombies, and what not.

It's a rush though. Deaths on her are far fewer than any other character I've played so far.

[shoju]

Man, Act III Cruel is really a step up in difficulty. Act II felt pretty easy, not a problem, (until Vaal, but I hate that fight) So far, Act III Cruel feels a lot slower. I have to be more deliberate in my pulls, Run away more, plan more. I'm not sure why. The only resist that sucks is Chaos, and I'm pretty sure it's just always going to suck. I'm not in the negatives on it, but I'm still rather low on it.

I've been running a few things trying to get some "better" gear, but I'm just not having much luck. I've tried crafting things, and the more I craft, the more I absolutely despise the randomness of the system.

To be honest, at this point, my interest is starting to wane. I don't play with people. I only play default league, and don't know anyone in my level range, and I tried a public group once, and the lag, combined with someone snagging the one piece that I REALLY wanted (that was mine) before I could get to it (yay timer), just turned me off to public groups.

I think my gear knowledge in WoW is probably what is killing me in this game. Knowing that I could look, and find, and put together a list of what I wanted, and then work towards either crafting it, or getting the drop was much more interesting to me, than the super awesome fun time that is everything being random.

I'm going to see how I feel after I get to the end of Cruel, but at this point, I don't know if Merciless is going to make me feel any better. Huge penalties to resist (which I have ALWAYS hated as stats), mean I'm going to have to work twice as hard as a melee to make sure I'm not eating pavement.

[LennyLen]

I don't play with people. I only play default league, and don't know anyone in my level range, and I tried a public group once, and the lag, combined with someone snagging the one piece that I REALLY wanted (that was mine) before I could get to it (yay timer), just turned me off to public groups.

You must be around my Shadow's level, as I've just started Act 3 Cruel as well. I've been playing solo as well, but I'd be happy to party up with you if you see me online.

[MonTy]

I don't know if Merciless is going to make me feel any better.

It won't. Merciless requires a huge grind as melee. You've got to have max resistances, 3k+ life, 4k+ armor, and other stats or you'll just go splat so often. I'm in Merciless with my new Melee character and been having to farm Ledge until around lvl 59.

After getting a dozen or so characters to end-game, I think this is my last character. Although if he does die I'm sure I'll be playing him in default when I feel like grinding, but I'll certainly be playing less and less.

Even though the game is grindy, I love feeling of progression in it. You grow exponentially as you upgrade gear. More skills, better skills, and greater stats. I've had some pretty decent gear on my higher 70+ characters, but I could still have upgraded them to about 2 or 3 times as powerful as they were (4k life, 5k armor, 5k dps)

But yes, I notice a lot of people losing interest, which I kind of expected after getting my first character to end game map progression.

[shoju]

You must be around my Shadow's level, as I've just started Act 3 Cruel as well. I've been playing solo as well, but I'd be happy to party up with you if you see me online.

I'm level 53. Next up is the Battlefront, but I'm not sure I'm "ready" for it. I'm open to partying up with a lurker

It won't. Merciless requires a huge grind as melee. You've got to have max resistances, 3k+ life, 4k+ armor, and other stats or you'll just go splat so often. I'm in Merciless with my new Melee character and been having to farm Ledge until around lvl 59.

At 53, I'm still just over 2k HP, Not sure what my armor is, but my ES is stuck at 600.

I figure I will probably make a bee line to the ledge, and see what I can do there.

Most of my gear is late 30's to early 40's. my jewelry is definitely lower than that.

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/113210

After getting a dozen or so characters to end-game, I think this is my last character. Although if he does die I'm sure I'll be playing him in default when I feel like grinding, but I'll certainly be playing less and less.

This is the furthest I've made it in the game. I love Act III. It is my favorite Act BY FAR.

Even though the game is grindy, I love feeling of progression in it. You grow exponentially as you upgrade gear. More skills, better skills, and greater stats. I've had some pretty decent gear on my higher 70+ characters, but I could still have upgraded them to about 2 or 3 times as powerful as they were (4k life, 5k armor, 5k dps)

My big problem is that melee is at a huge disadvantage. It's frustrating. I feel more gear dependant on my Templar than on my Witch, or my ranger.

I like the game. I like the gameplay. But the more I play, the more I'm finding that the bartering and crafting system is just not my thing. I feel like I've wasted so much trying to make pieces. I could have just used that same currency to trade for something better.

I looted a sweet 5 socket chest that would be an upgrade for me. I blew through almost all of my chromatics, and my small pile of fusings trying to get it to something I could use. And now it sits. Not usable yet. And I'm out of orbs.

But yes, I notice a lot of people losing interest, which I kind of expected after getting my first character to end game map progression.

I would like to see the end of Merciless, but I'm not sure it's going to happen. Finishing Cruel, and then getting the gear together in early Merc will be the key. If I continue to feel like I've been stuffed, I'll probably pack it in, and just go back to playing games on the Wii, and enjoy my retirement from online gaming.

[shoju]

So..... Summoners are broken. Seriously. 440 HP 399 ES. non maxed Resists. Blew through the Fetid Pool Cruel, no problem. It was over before I realized it, Was NEVER in danger.

Having 10 Skellies
6 zombies
2 spectres

Makes life great.

[LochnarITB]

So..... Summoners are broken. Seriously. 440 HP 399 ES. non maxed Resists. Blew through the Fetid Pool Cruel, no problem. It was over before I realized it, Was NEVER in danger.

Having 10 Skellies
6 zombies
2 spectres

Makes life great.

I had a single issue playing a summoner. It was BORING! It was actually going fast but I felt like I was just a bystander. I enjoy my ice spear/fire trap witch so much more. I'm always getting her into trouble and having to work my way out. The biggest drag on playing her now is that she does die. I'm in act 3 merciless and having trouble getting past level 64. I've probably lost at least a few levels in XP from deaths.

[shoju]

So..... Summoners are broken. Seriously. 440 HP 399 ES. non maxed Resists. Blew through the Fetid Pool Cruel, no problem. It was over before I realized it, Was NEVER in danger.

Having 10 Skellies
6 zombies
2 spectres

Makes life great.

I had a single issue playing a summoner. It was BORING! It was actually going fast but I felt like I was just a bystander. I enjoy my ice spear/fire trap witch so much more. I'm always getting her into trouble and having to work my way out. The biggest drag on playing her now is that she does die. I'm in act 3 merciless and having trouble getting past level 64. I've probably lost at least a few levels in XP from deaths.

I'm running a Lightning Summoner, to deal with the lack of interactivity that you can sometimes have.

Currently, I'm using 2 auras, (prepping to add a third when My mana will support still casting summons)
Then I use
Arc, with added Lightning damage, as I was told (and I hope this is right) that the added lightning damage rolls seperately from the spell on checking for Shock, since it's "2" effects), and then the Lightning Damage Aura.

Then I'm running Summon Spectre, with damage + Life
Skellie totem (does anyone not run that?) with + Life, in a +1 Minion
Helm
Raise Zombie with Life, Added Lightning Damage, and 5% melee physical damage.
My other spell depends on where I'm at. For Fetid Pool, I was running Corpse Explosion, Sometimes I run Lightning Warp (bosses mainly).

Now, I'm debating on what to do from here. The Next Skill point gets me more minions (+1 Z/S). Then, I really don't have anymore "close" minion nodes. There is one, but it's 4 points away, and then +3 points to fill it out. Then pay off is another +1 Z/S

OR, I could finally start adding some survivability to my little summoner. I made bee lines to all of the summoner stuff, Stopping only briefly at the beginning of the witch tree for a pittance of life and ES early on, just so I could survive early.

My tree looks like this

Personally, at this point, I'm not losing minions too often unless it's a boss fight, or something goes bad, and I'm thinking it might be time to invest some time in the witch, and improve it.

I was thinking building towards this when I'm in the 60's But not going over towards the other Summoner Node until the very end of it.

Not sure though.

I have to say, the Summoner chews things up so much faster than the Templar does. I know I said the Witch was a side project, but beating the pants off the fetid pool on Cruel was great. I had just hit 39, had no xp to lose, and said "let's see how fast I die"

Turns out? Spectre Roa Carcasses are AWESOME, if you don't mind that they will die from time to time.


EDITING
because I don't want to reply to the botter, in case it makes removing harder.

Went to Brutus last night, fearful he was going to hook me, pound me, and crush me. I had

11 skellies
7 Zombies
2 Spectres (using bone archers from the prison)

If the fight lasted 10 seconds, I'd be amazed. I dropped the totem, arc'd twice, used my Animation Health Flask, My Mana Flask, Arc'd Again, and he was dead. Man.... This is silly.

[shoju]

A Maintankadiner who lost his HC summoner tossed me a perfectly rolled on all but Health Sidhebreath, and a pair of "meh" Summoner Unique Boots. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to play the summoner for a while. This is an order of magnitude I can't explain easier than melee. Faster, Safer, and not as boring as I was led to believe.

At this point, I'm just trying to figure out what to do with flasks. I swapped from Vitality to the mana regen aura, and have no mana problems, and I can't tell a survivability difference on the minions. So now, I'm running 3 life flasks (2 animation) and 2 mana flasks. I thought about adding an armor flask, but honestly, the only thing I die to is Chaos damage. But, even that's getting easier since I'm spending some time on my health.

If anyone has the unique summoner shield, I'm in the market.

[Crushar]

Junior here. With musical season over I finally have time to do things again and have decided to try PoE out. Account name is Crushar

[RTM]

So..... Summoners are broken. Seriously. 440 HP 399 ES. non maxed Resists. Blew through the Fetid Pool Cruel, no problem. It was over before I realized it, Was NEVER in danger.

Having 10 Skellies
6 zombies
2 spectres

Makes life great.

Whoa, I'm going to have to check this game out again! A pimped out necromancer in D2 is one of my fondest gaming memories.

[shoju]

I'm now level 48, and I have

11 Skeletons
8 Zombies
and 3 Spectres.

It's seriously great.

Summoners are a little weak early on, but once you get rolling, you'll only die, because you did something dumb. Like running away after zoning in, and realizing that you don't have any minions.... that will get you killed quick.