Armor upgrading is slow

I'm used to upgrading my armor constantly in other RPGs at low levels. In PoE it is happening quite slowly. I assume that is inevitable because of the need to match color sockets.

I was doing fine until I got to the prison. I have to up my playing skills which is fine. But I suspect my gear is also weak.

Does it makes sense to farm for better gear at level 10?

At lvl 10? No, doesnt make sense to me. You should be able to get to lvl 25-30 with just the crap you find on the way. Just check out the gear on some of the race winners from past events. Most of them have sub-optimal equipment but can still make it to the end of Normal and into Cruel.

Now, if you're not being smart about your loot or are just very unlucky, then you may have to farm a bit or xp grind to get a much needed passive point to boost you along. You really shouldn't have to farm or grind at lvl 10 though.

Personally I can see what you are saying, I think this game does indeed follow a different speed for upgrades, and that is very likely due to the need to match color sockets to what you actually use.

I think that throughout the game, you are less looking for items that ARE direct upgrades, but more for items that CAN be turned into upgrades. I find myself keeping an eye out for that item with the sockets I already know i need, then trying to turn it into something amazing. The alternative is finding an awesome item, and trying to change it's sockets to fit, which works... sometimes.

The issue is a lot of the real big changes in gear don't really show up till around level 30, where you can get 3 to 5 linked sockets on an item and really make some crazy skills. So in that way i find the first 20 odd levels of progression not nearly as fun as the later game, where you are searching for +quality gems and armor with just the right sockets.

This is also why i have 19 stash pages and save all of my yellows for the recipe to turn a pair into an alchemy orb... i may have a problem, but it sure is fun..

Oh, also, you missed the patch notes where it said that next lvl item tiers are not necessarily supposed to be an upgrade. GGG changed the item progression not too long ago. It used to be you got a new item upgrade every 4 levels or so. But now its not so obvious.

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FaceLicker wrote:

Now, if you're not being smart about your loot or are just very unlucky, then you may have to farm a bit or xp grind to get a much needed passive point to boost you along. You really shouldn't have to farm or grind at lvl 10 though.

What are the most important gear mods at early levels? My gear mostly has spell damage, energy shield, life and mana.