back after 1y, 99refunds, what has changed?

hello, i havent played poe in 1 year but feel like giving FM a try.

i played domination and now have a lvl 81 scion in standard with 99 refund points and no idea what i should do with them.

the char was a ST COC arc+fireball GMP carpet bombing machine, topped off with MoM and Ele-eq.

it was op but got boring and im looking to respec this one or start a new guy in HC.
i dont remember much of the game except:

-ranged was way easier than melee
-coc is op
-dmg reduction by armor favors big hits instead of many small hits
-grinding sucks and its not worth my time dedicating my life to finding good uniques with having only 200MF
-the game is online for no reason creating desynch that ruins the experience. i guess anti cheat is an argument for it being online when playing alone.

i thought of making a summoner for farming but then again id quit playing after 2h due to senselessness, dat word.
id like to play a fun life leeching melee build that requires a fair bit of microing.
i dont need ability to farm azi.. (name) boss on uber or what i gathered so far haha just enjoy some new content on a different char that isnt a spam-kite fest.

i dont even know what SoV or FM brings, or if i can access this new content in the standard league without having to make a new char.
better to play SoV first and then FM? doesnt matter?
sorry i guess i should have checked the faq.

i have a bunch of uniques i could potentially link and then recycle my char and make a build that works with the junk i got haha.
i got an abyssus helmet, whats that used for? max block builds due to 50% more phys dmg taken?

ps, im poor as i put all my money into fuses trying to 6L that MoM body armor befor i quit :)

/ramble yadda yalla

"

l2ebel wrote:

sorry i guess i should have checked the faq.

oh wait i actually did but it hasnt been updated since beta, this site is quite a mess.

The general gist of this OP seems to be a request for build/gear help, so probably Gameplay Help is the best place to go. Buuuut, I'll bite.


The SotV Expansion has brought about a wealth of new Skill Gems (both corrupted Vaal Gems and normal gems). Corrupt gems require mana, but also must be fed by the souls of the monsters you kill, for example Vaal Haste will give you a massive boost to your movespeed, attack speed, and cast speed for a short period but also requires 24 (I think) monster kills to charge. SotV also adds in the potential for standard instances (non-map) to spawn Corrupted Side areas with unique bosses, map mods, and the chance to drop Vaal Gems and Map Fragments (used to access Normal Atziri).

The Forsaken Masters Expansion also introduced new Skill Gems (most notably the Spell Echo, Ball Lightning, Lightning Tendrils, and Herald gems), as well as the Masters - a set of 7 (sort of 8) new NPC characters who provide vendor services and unique crafting options as they are levelled up. Their levels are increased through the completion of their individual missions, which can spawn both in normal instances and map instances - as well as by accessing their daily missions by having them in your Swanky New Hideout. Hideouts can be obtained by levelling a master up to a set level, and then using their dialogue options.

Essentially, there is a ton of new and interesting content to keep you busy while you level up. But the crux of your question relates more to new build styles and gear, so lets have a look at the current Meta.

Spell Echo has had a massive impact in a variety of areas, essentially allowing a double cast of spell skills without cost. It has been used primarily in wander builds, but has also turned the formerly underwhelming Summon Raging Spirits skill into an Uber Atziri capable build.

As for Fun, the classic Elemental Buzzsaw has been ripped due to changes to Spectral Throw, but the Crit versions of ST are still very much at the fore of "Top OP" builds. This has been helped by the addition of several uniques, most notably the Uber Atziri specific drop - Atziri Acuity, gloves which allow leech to be applied immediately when a critical hit is achieved.

I see you're a CoC fan, so you will probably be interested in one of Mathils (Elebuzzsaw) new builds - The Fakener. Essentially it is a CoC build linked to Cyclone which procs discharge and a number of other lightning skills. It's fast, furious, a little OP, and can be built relatively cheaply using a high crit dagger. HERE is the link.

If you're looking for fun builds that can be used for quick and easy farming, I strongly recommend the Super Cheap SRS build under the Scion build list (HERE), as well as looking at some of the current Ranger/Shadow bow builds and Claw builds.

Unfortunately, standard Melee is still a little underpowered. Crit based Reave has seen a good resurgence, especially with Vaal Reave which procs a high number of stacks (massive increase in AOE for reave), and VictorDoom has posted a solid feedback page on his Uber Atziri kill using a 2H Melee (HERE). But without uber gear, it's still a little tricky to take into endgame, especially with the Passive Tree changes which reduced the possible overcapping of resists.

We're eagerly awaiting patch 1.3 which is rumored to contain a number of balance changes, though. In that case, if you want a character that is likely to require little further investment in development, I would strongly reccommend a crit based character, as they have traditionally had the least impact from balance changes in the last 12 months.

Cheers, and welcome back!

SCION BUILD LIST
SHADOW BUILD LIST
RANGER BUILD LIST
WITCH BUILD LIST


PLEASE NOTE: I am a casual scrub, and as such this information may be complete bullshit.