Path of Exile free to play in about six hours.

[shoju]

I gotta say, I'm not real excited about the barter system. If only because I have yet to be able to find anyone who is willing to barter with me, so I've ended up vendoring most of my rares now, and trying to find good socketed pieces that I can try and build up.

Since there isn't another place to do this, Allow me to ask some questions here. I'm currently level 26. The skills I normally use are:

Q- Leap Slam (with a Level 4 Life Gain on Hit Support Gem)
W- Ground Slam (with a Level 5 Life Gain on Hit Support)
E- Infernal Blow (With a level 5 Life Gain on Hit Support)
R- Cold Snap (Aoe Freeze)
T- Glacial Hammer (Shatters a frozen Enemy)
I have autoattack on my left click, but rarely use it (is that bad?)
I have Raize Zombie on my Right Click

I also have Lightning Strike (I'll use that from time to time, not sure if I like it)
Decoy Totem (Will use this in place of Raise Zombie in dungeons)
Wrath (A Lightning Aura) I used for a bit, but don't care much for right now. (I actually have two of these. One in my Stash, and one in my gear)

So my questions:
1) How long should gear last?
I have a blue 2h'd mace it's pretty sweet. It allows me to support ground slam and infernal blow off the same gem. But, it feels like it's falling a bit behind in weapon damage. Do I care about weapon damage as much as I do my skills?

I have a rare helm, It's been lagging.

I have a blue chest, It's a little old.

My necklace requires level 10. I haven't really seen any good neckalces drop, but I've stashed some, just not sure what I should do with them.

I have a Gold, Lapis, Amber, and Coral I haven't done anything with.

2.) What about Rings?
I have a rare ring that I made (I was just using the orbs to see how they worked, and make a rare ring. I've been wearing it forever.) And I have a level 7 ring on the other finger.

Again, I have a bunch of unused rings in the bank. nothing that is Better than what I have unless I use orbs to try and make one. Is that worth it?

I've been really careful crafting my gear so that I can make sure that I keep my gems together, and my skills moving. I'm afraid that I might be letting my gear lag behind because of it.

I dont' feel like my deaths are because I'm undergeared. They are normally "Walk into crowded room, not realize there's a boss, lag, DIE." OR..... OH HEY! WHAT'S LEAP SLAM DO! And Leap Slam across a zone, and finally dying from everything I've aggro'd.

3.) Should I bother upgrading nifty flasks? Shoudl I keep them all?
I've stashed almost every flask I've gotten. I may have sold some of the small ones, that weren't "special"

4.) How often should I use my orbs? Should I buy gear from Vendors? I haven't yet purchased any gear, but I've used my orbs. Right now I'm sitting on

14x Orb of Transmutation
5x Augmentation
18x Alteration
10x Armourer's scrap
2x fusing
4x Whetstone
1x Chromatic

5.) Am I poor?
I like the game, and I'm getting by, I just have this feeling that I'm doing something woefully wrong.

6.) Weapons. Does this sound as good as I think it does?
Back on items for a tick. I have this sword. I think it's AWESOME It's a 1h'er. It's rare. It req's 15.

It's 13-19 Weapon Damage
6-11 Cold Damage
2-23 Lightning Damage
5% crit
1.3 Attacks Per Second
1% Physical Attack Leeched back as Mana.

The Problem? The Sockets If I use it (with either of my shields) I don't have enough sockets for my spells. Should I mess with it, and see if I can make the sockets better? I have a Killer Rare Shield, a Decent Unique Shield (They are both good in their owns ways) that I could pair it with, Or, I have another sword I could pair it with. It would allow me to have all three gems in the same weapon, but it doesn't have all three linked the way the mace does. This would actually give me some flexibility, but here comes the next question.

7.) Stats. Should I only be using Str based weapons? I'm confuzzled. The Weapon I linked in #6 req's Str and Dex. The one the I allude to, just reqs Dex. Does this matter to me as long as I can equip it?

8.) My build. Am I woefully off?

Should I be focused more on "Getting to the edge", and building towards a big skill? If I could make it down to blood magic, and get my +Life on hit, I think that could be a lot of fun. But then, I'm just not sure. It would allow me to take 5 +life flasks, and +life on hit and just go to town, but I'm not sure if it's successful.


Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[LochnarITB]

You've thought a lot more about this than I have so I won't be very much help with most of your questions. My planning has been pretty much "cold witch", "do I have a slot for that cool gem?" and "does stuff die?". For the tree, I generally save a handful of points and then try to find a line that points toward some special node. I focus on damage then mana and then life, with a little dex and str for gear. For equipment, I do check vendors for pieces, especially upgrading jewelry, but it has mostly been stuff I pick up that gives me better boost and still has the needed slots and links for my gems. Otherwise I leave any white items and vendor any unused blues and up to turn into orbs to buy anything I do come across. I have not tried trading with others but I never did in other games either so I probably won't.

[shoju]

You've thought a lot more about this than I have so I won't be very much help with most of your questions. My planning has been pretty much "cold witch", "do I have a slot for that cool gem?" and "does stuff die?". For the tree, I generally save a handful of points and then try to find a line that points toward some special node. I focus on damage then mana and then life, with a little dex and str for gear. For equipment, I do check vendors for pieces, especially upgrading jewelry, but it has mostly been stuff I pick up that gives me better boost and still has the needed slots and links for my gems. Otherwise I leave any white items and vendor any unused blues and up to turn into orbs to buy anything I do come across. I have not tried trading with others but I never did in other games either so I probably won't.

It's part of my problem. If I'm going to play something, I want to make sure that I'm "Doing it right". And part of the problem is, there just aren't a "load" of resources out there yet for POE.

I like the idea I'm going for with my character. I hope it works. I'm thinking very much of a Death Knight in his idea. Life Leech, Life on Hit, and what not, makes me think of the current tanking idea for Blood Dk's.

As far as gear, I REALLY like the skills I have going right now, which makes me very hesitant. If I ditch the mace, and go with the 2 sowrds, I lose out on Ground Slam, and Leap Slam, as they both require Maces of Staves. I might be able to use other gems I have, and replace them, but I thoroughly enjoy running around AoEing things down, with the slams, Infernal smashings, and a little bit of frost. As long as I don't get stupid, I've chain pulled entire dungeons so far (Chamber of Sins Level 1, and the Spider Hole) without stopping. It was good times. I then went through about 8 portal scrolls ferrying all my loot out, but it was good times.

[kandrathe]

I gotta say, I'm not real excited about the barter system. If only because I have yet to be able to find anyone who is willing to barter with me, so I've ended up vendoring most of my rares now, and trying to find good socketed pieces that I can try and build up.

You should... and I'm saying this because I should too... get more familiar with the Vendor alchemy so that when you do trade in good gear, like rares, you get a just return.

http://en.pathofexilewiki.com/wiki/Vendor_Recipes

Since there isn't another place to do this, Allow me to ask some questions here. I'm currently level 26. The skills I normally use are:

Q- Leap Slam (with a Level 4 Life Gain on Hit Support Gem)
W- Ground Slam (with a Level 5 Life Gain on Hit Support)
E- Infernal Blow (With a level 5 Life Gain on Hit Support)
R- Cold Snap (Aoe Freeze)
T- Glacial Hammer (Shatters a frozen Enemy)
I have autoattack on my left click, but rarely use it (is that bad?)
I have Raize Zombie on my Right Click

I also have Lightning Strike (I'll use that from time to time, not sure if I like it)
Decoy Totem (Will use this in place of Raise Zombie in dungeons)
Wrath (A Lightning Aura) I used for a bit, but don't care much for right now. (I actually have two of these. One in my Stash, and one in my gear)

My Marauder is 23, so we're nearly the same.

I think there is great variability in skills based upon weapon choices. I happened to get an awesome rare axe, so I've added sockets to it and linked them. On my chest I've got a life leech support gem linked to a sweep (aoe) gem, so every swing (middle click) brings my life bar up to full (for now). I use normal attack on left click, and use it when it will kill the target. For right click, I have the elemental attack Lightening Strike (linked to a support gem (weapon elemental dmg +63%). When I swap ('X') I have a shield and a 1 hander for more tank, less damage. I use shield charge, glacial hammer, and others* in the strength tree. I'm mostly shunning dex and int gems.

*I also have cleave, decoy totem, ground slam, heavy strike, leap slam, wrath, and a couple other defensive gems(on shield) -- but, I like what I see of purity so I might make an exception for it.

So my questions:
1) How long should gear last?
I have a blue 2h'd mace it's pretty sweet. It allows me to support ground slam and infernal blow off the same gem. But, it feels like it's falling a bit behind in weapon damage. Do I care about weapon damage as much as I do my skills?

I have a rare helm, It's been lagging.

I have a blue chest, It's a little old.

My necklace requires level 10. I haven't really seen any good neckalces drop, but I've stashed some, just not sure what I should do with them.

I have a Gold, Lapis, Amber, and Coral I haven't done anything with.

2.) What about Rings?
I have a rare ring that I made (I was just using the orbs to see how they worked, and make a rare ring. I've been wearing it forever.) And I have a level 7 ring on the other finger.

Again, I have a bunch of unused rings in the bank. nothing that is Better than what I have unless I use orbs to try and make one. Is that worth it?

I've been really careful crafting my gear so that I can make sure that I keep my gems together, and my skills moving. I'm afraid that I might be letting my gear lag behind because of it.

I dont' feel like my deaths are because I'm undergeared. They are normally "Walk into crowded room, not realize there's a boss, lag, DIE." OR..... OH HEY! WHAT'S LEAP SLAM DO! And Leap Slam across a zone, and finally dying from everything I've aggro'd.

I let the vendors be more of a guide on what type of normal gear should be for my level. When I find stellar white item I might want to use, I'll use Transmutation to see if I can make it into a stellar blue item. I do this more on rings, necks and belts.

3.) Should I bother upgrading nifty flasks? Shoudl I keep them all?
I've stashed almost every flask I've gotten. I may have sold some of the small ones, that weren't "special"

I sell them -- I find too many normal ones -- even some of the blue ones sometimes the upgrades are less desirable (less healing over shorter time). Also, vendor recipes...

4.) How often should I use my orbs? Should I buy gear from Vendors? I haven't yet purchased any gear, but I've used my orbs. Right now I'm sitting on

14x Orb of Transmutation
5x Augmentation
18x Alteration
10x Armourer's scrap
2x fusing
4x Whetstone
1x Chromatic

I don't use them unless I need to use them. Me? 40xPortal scolls, 3 Augmentation, 23 transmutation, 19 Alteration, 21 whetstone, 3 fusing, 1 regret, 4 alchemy, 3 chromatic, 28 armorers, 1 blessed, 3 glassblowers, 3 chaos, 6 chance, 1 jewellers, 1 scouring.

5.) Am I poor?
I like the game, and I'm getting by, I just have this feeling that I'm doing something woefully wrong.

Compared to me, you seem more ok. I found out early it paid off to run a zone repeatedly, and hit the zone bosses a few times to get "currency" and possible gems. I'm sporting more gems (15 or so) perhaps (with a couple dupe strength ones just level them up).

6.) Weapons. Does this sound as good as I think it does?
Back on items for a tick. I have this sword. I think it's AWESOME It's a 1h'er. It's rare. It req's 15.

It's 13-19 Weapon Damage
6-11 Cold Damage
2-23 Lightning Damage
5% crit
1.3 Attacks Per Second
1% Physical Attack Leeched back as Mana.

The Problem? The Sockets If I use it (with either of my shields) I don't have enough sockets for my spells. Should I mess with it, and see if I can make the sockets better? I have a Killer Rare Shield, a Decent Unique Shield (They are both good in their owns ways) that I could pair it with, Or, I have another sword I could pair it with. It would allow me to have all three gems in the same weapon, but it doesn't have all three linked the way the mace does. This would actually give me some flexibility, but here comes the next question.

Sounds like my aging rare 2H axe -- Quality +12%, 42% inc PD (35-55) ED, +3-11 Fire, +5-10 Cold, +30 accuracy, CS 5% APS 1.0 -- 2 sockets linked -- I'm looking for an upgrade now, normal mobs are taking 2 or 3 hits. :-)

7.) Stats. Should I only be using Str based weapons? I'm confuzzled. The Weapon I linked in #6 req's Str and Dex. The one the I allude to, just reqs Dex. Does this matter to me as long as I can equip it?

You can go that way, although I suspect focusing on Strength first, with enough of the other to get accuracy and use spells will be the better first build. I figure I'll make a mess at first, delete it and try again with more experience the 2nd, or 3rd or 4th try. Which is why for this game -- hardcore even makes MORE sense than in Diablo. It doesn't take 200 hours to get reasonably far into the tree to know if you've made a mistake.

Here is mine.I'm headed now for Reaver by way of Lava Lash and am contemplating Blood Drinker.

[Frag]

If I needed any proof that POE provides a superior HC experience than other ARPG's on the market, I was given it a moment ago:

HC, lvl 51, A3 Cruel, Markplace, playing a bow ranger, sturdy but not a tank: Round a corner into 4 blue whirling slenderman guys and 3 chaos vipers with the tri-shot and my HDD dies. Come back on the laptop and my character is still in HC.

Also, streaming has been going well, which is nice.

[bldavis]

i have more currency then i wish to list here, and that is using some of it to try to upgrade a few whites to replace items my witch has been using since about 3
she is 21 now

as far as weapons shoju, i am pretty sure leap slam is useable with axes and swords..yeah just checked and its swords, axes, maces, or staves

[Frag]

Shoju: Yes, you're off. Going for crit/to hit passive/items on a Mara isn't the best choice, due to the very cool Resolute keystone, I'd recommend this: http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill...vIv8pz2SPe- for now, expanding towards this: http://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill...nPPd9kj3vg==

This build mostly assumes you're going to be using maces/mauls. Swords aren't particularly the realm of a Mara tank, their dex requirements go awful high and the bonus accuracy/crit damage doesn't assist given the normally taken RT keystone. If you wish to use swords, a quicker trip down towards the Duelist area might be advised and I must warn you, that's a very advanced build as it's much weaker than most other builds.

Cheers.

[shoju]

Well, I switched over to dual wielding last night, as I picked up yet another super awesome sword. On small packs, I'm mowing them down so fast it's unbelievable.

The problem? Big Packs. I'm still trying to get the Vaal Ruins done. Once I enter the 3rd area (pools and streams I think it's called) and I start looking for a way to remove the mist, I get thoroughly destroyed by the same type of pack every time. It's normally 3-4 "blue" humans, 3-4 cobras, and at least 1, but twice last night it was 2, rares in the pack. I'm just not able to get stuff down fast enough to stabalize with the dual wielding. I'm going to give it a go tonight, see if I run into it again, and see if maybe it was just me being ill and under the weather.

So far, of all the things I've messed with (dual wield, sword and board, 2h'er) I don't see a huge difference in the gear making me feel more "sturdy". It feels like it's come down to my abilities more so than the weapons. Maybe it's just me being comfortable with one over the other.

Frag, I looked at the Resolute Technique, and it's interesting. I've thought about getting it, I guess I'm just not sure what to think of it. Does accuracy really become a moot point? If so, It would fit in really well with what I'd like to do.

As far as picking a weapon type, I just don't know that I care for those types of skills. As I'm finding already, while leveling, they can end up as either Dead Points, or you end up using a vastly inferior weapon while waiting for a good new weapon. I might look into those later, but for right now, I'm sort of trying to shy away from picking up skills that choose weapons (I even hate that spent points on 1h'er and 2h'er points.)

[Frag]

Accuracy is a huge issue, especially for a tank character that in some sense relies on leeching life for survival, also you won't have the points to spare to up crit chance without a larger opportunity cost. It's very viable to skip doing damage nodes until endgame and just pick up tank passives along the way to ~60. That's more of a HC playstyle, but it should do you well. Dual Wield Swords is, ummm, suicide =/ As for your specific encounter, the cobras are what are killing you, kill them first and dodge their projectiles as much as you can.

[shoju]

The big problem is, I just can't find a good 2h'er to upgrade to.

My 2h'er.
Smoking Spiked Maul of Accuracy (magic Item)
27-51 Phys damage
10-19 Ele Damage (Fire Damage)
5% Crit Chance
1.20 Attacks Per Second
20% Increased Stun Duration on Enemies
+63 Accuracy.
3 Linked Red Sockets

The Swords:

Damnation Fang: War Sword (Rare Item)
27-51 Physical Damage
5% Crit Chance
1.20 Attacks Per Second
18% Increased Accuracy
77% Increased Physical Damage
+8 Dex
+3 Life Gained when Killing An Enemy
1% Physical damage Leached Back as Mana
5% Enemy stun Reduction Threshold
2 Linked Red Sockets.
1 Green Socket

Blood Scratch, Broad Sword (Rare Item)
13-19 Physical Damage
6-11 Cold Damage
2-23 Lightning damage
5% Crit Chance
1.30 Attacks Per Second
18% Increased Accuracy Rating
+12 Dex
1% physical damage leached back as mana
blue and green linked sockets.

I mean, the first sword alone does as much damage as the 2h'er I was using.

Maybe I'll see if I can parlay my rare swords into a sweet 2h'er. I just haven't been able to get anyone interested in a trade. Hell, I'd probably toss in the other Dex Sword I have in the Stash, as well as my Rare Shield if I could get an up to date 2h'er.

[bldavis]

ill check what i have, i am pretty sure i have a decent 2hd...it will have to wait til i am home from school though

[shoju]

Not a problem. I'll be on around 6est, and then maybe later, depending on how I'm feeling. i'm on day 5 of the winter crap you get from living in ohio, and suffering through massive temp swings.

[kandrathe]

Here, we just get "cabin fever". So, we go to Arizona -- or the tropics for a week or two or 20.

[shoju]

Here, we just get "cabin fever". So, we go to Arizona -- or the tropics for a week or two or 20.

Last Wednesday day it was 33, the snow was beginning to melt. Again.
Last Thursday it was 58. Yes. FIFTY EIGHT.
Friday it was high 30's, low 40's.
Saturday, we got 2" of Snow.
Sunday we Got 2" of Snow.
Monday was in the 20's, no snow.
Tuesday was in the Mid 30's.
Right now, it's 38. Everything is melting. When I woke up this morning it was 17.
Tommorrow? 40.
Friday? 30. Rain Snow Mix
Saturday? 20. Lows in the single Digits overnight.
Sunday? 45.
Monday? High 30's and rain.

The constant flux of temps, and humidity just kill my sinuses, and lungs. I would love to move somewhere with a consistent climate.

[kandrathe]

The most consistent I know of is southern California.

[shoju]

A little dry for my tastes. If I could find something more... "wet" I'd be happy. Moderate 50's to low 70's, not dry, not cold, not too hot, I'd be a pretty freaking happy guy.

[shoju]

Spent some time farming, and I ended up getting more gems than anything else that might possibly be useful. If you are playing non-hardcore, and have a need for some gems, I have

Poison Arrow
Rain of Arrows
Fork (support)
Ethereal Knives
Ice Shot
Temporal Chains
Dual Strike
Viper Strike

Wrath (2 of them)
Ice Spear
Fireball
Ice Nova
Freezing Pulse
Cold Snap

Decoy Totem (11% quality)

Heavy Strike (I know, it's common)

I also have a Templar(I think req's STR and INT) 1h'd mace for Spell Damage. Rare.
I have a HUGE evasion Leather Chest Level 25 req. Rare

If anyone is interested, let me know, PM me here, or PM me on the POE site (Shoju) and I can link the items to you.

[MonTy]

My HC two-handed Marauder finally bit the dust at level 72. Honestly surprised I lasted that long since his build really wasn't optimal for HC. I died to a two-hit combo by brutus in one of the random end-game maps. I had a feeling a level 66 brutus would be extremely dangerous, but thought my stats were enough to take a hit or two (3.4k life, 4.4k damage, 80res all, 5.5k armor).

Here's some of my better gear:
http://i.imgur.com/WTXVfp7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JQhvMHr.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7dNMuuE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cUvKVZD.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/kVFEBGz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RuMPzuz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/IJnezft.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5QqtusZ.jpg

With that said, if anyone needs help in softcore feel free to ask. In game name is Monty. I'm making another Marauder but better talent tree for HC and will take advantage of those endurance charges.

[shoju]

Congrats on getting so far! I want your gear.

So I'm into act 3 on my marauder. I'm up to 37. He's fun, and I want to get to the end, but I've been suffering some brutal lag lately. Not sure what the problem is.

So when the lag is bad, I've started working on a Templar. This character is goin to be just for me. I don't care if the tree is the worst thing ever. I'm making a "Prot Paladin". 1her, shield, and all of the shield talents I can.

I'm not sure how good it will be, but I'm going to give it a whirl.

Build

Gems: Shield Charge (Have), Tempest Shield (Have), Molten Shell (Need), Enfeeble (need), Enduring Cry (Need), Immortal Call (need)

If anyone has the gems I need, I'll gladly find a way to purchase/trade with you.

[MonTy]

I don't care if the tree is the worst thing ever. I'm making a "Prot Paladin". 1her, shield, and all of the shield talents I can.

I like it. All my builds have been fairly standard, so I'll have to come up with a quirky one sometime soon :)