Questions about the PoE Skill Tree

First, let me introduce myself, I'm genbor, and pretty new to PoE. I only actually played Diablo 2 before but I really liked it, and I heard Diablo 3 wasn't as good as people wanted it to be, so I decided to try my hand at PoE which seems awesome.

Anyways, now that introductions are out of the way, I usually like to do some research before I get started in a game, about mechanics, and class/build information, that kind of stuff. What I found lacking was how there was little, to no information on the classes, I assume because skills are more determined by the skill gems you prefer, than what would be considered class standard, so I moved on to the PoE Skill Tree. I must say I had mixed feelings about it. When I first saw it, the size was pretty overwhelming, and while I like having detailed customization, I prefer to be able to understand what I'm doing, like in D&D type of games.

So to get familiar with the Skill Tree, I have some questions. I've seen quite a lot of additional Dexterity Perks available, along with attack speed. Does Dexterity allow for converting the damage modifier taken from Strength, to Dexterity? Or would it be better to just go with Strength as a duelist and focus on some attack speed perks from the Dexterity branch?

Is it worth getting at least one Intelligence based skill or if my class doesn't have the affinity I shouldn't bother?

My last question would be whether, even as a Duelist, would it be worth investing in two different Branches (say Str, and Dex) or should I just go all the way in one?

I can probably guess people will say it depends on your play style, but I just want a general heads-up before I even try to unravel what and how I should spend my skill points on. Thanks in advance.

I have no idea how duelist work, never realy played one. But you should go into the Duelist class forum and look for popular builds - so you can see their skilltrees and their explanaition on how their build works - thats what i would do :)

The way that the classes are setup on the skill tree based on what's available to them(this doesn't mean you have to play this way) is as follows:

Witch - Int
Shadow - Int, Dex
Ranger - Dex
Duelist - Dex, Str
Marauder - Str
Templar - Str, Int

3 base stat classes, 3 hybrids.

Again, that being said - that doesn't mean you have to play them as such, the skill tree just compliments them in this way.

As far as skill choice, that's all on you. I can't tell you to get an Intelligence based skill gem because it may be totally worthless with the build you're trying to make.

I can make a suggestion however, in that I feel you're looking at build development backwards.

Decide what type of "class" you want to make first. Is it a Necromancer, a 2h AoE? A Fire based Spellcaster? A bowcaster? An evasion based crit dagger?

Then decide what class on the skill tree compliments that build the best, based on the skill gems you'll need to successfully complete the build.

You're going to fail your first build, it's a given. The best thing to do is just to experiment.

All of the above. With a lot more emphasis on experimentation!

Experimenting with weird, strange builds is almost half the fun of Path of Exile, and I regularly find myself going "Can I make a build out of using this skill gem?" whenever I find a new one I haven't played with before.

But again, don't be disheartened by failed builds. Path of Exile rewards you for learning, and the only way to learn is to try!

If you plan a route to one node, and that node is bad, you can use the route you used before to get to better nodes. It is the opposite of diminishing returns, which means it is upminishing returns

There's a lot of mix'n'match going on for these things, Really.
A lot of Duelists and Rangers gather up enough Intelligence to run their aura skill gems, Like Wrath. Other's don't use Intelligence at all.

As the others say, It's about trying it out. Follow Elynole's advice and then pop into the specific class' forums to see the popular builds done there.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll go and look for builds that would match my playstyle and try to have that as a guide for my very own one. Hope to see you all in-game. :)