Solo endgame -- what to expect?

The only complaint i have towards Path Of Exile is that melee builds scales much better than Spellcasters and summoners.

For an example, if you do have 10000000000 EX on a Melee Build and on a Spellcaster build,
the melee build will do 5000000x more damage.
I understand that lvling a melee build is harder but it shouldn't be this unfair with the same equal currency spent into gear in the late/endgame.

Right now the limit of spelldamage/fire e.t.c is like 100 on a Staff. It would need to be on about ehm..360 spelldamage to be equally strong as a endgame melee build/class.

If endgame should be better for ranged/spellcasters/summoners then, GGG needs to create more endgame weapons for spellcasters.

Right now, you use searing touch from level 13 to ehm..60+ until you can afford Eldritch Battery which is VERY VERY expensive.

Searing Touch is a mandatory and there is no better weapon - spelldamage/firedmg wise before 60+

It is very very very depressing to play with a lvl 13 staff all the way up to 60+ (that is if you can afford Eldritch Battery by the time you reach 60)

Also, i'm not QQing about it, i do love Path Of Exile.
I just wish that there would be other spelldamage weapons.
My 77 burning witch cannot get a better weapon than Searing Touch...AT ALL.

Eldritch Battery doesn't scale as good as Searing Touch. (Because burning witch needs burndmg) So you basically play with a lvl 13 staff until...lvl 100 because there doesn't exist any better weapons at the moment.

I play solo only in nemesis. About to be level 86. Maps are what you do endgame, there's nothing else. At 67 you still have a ways to go. If you feel like it takes a long time to level at 67, you may not enjoy the whole endgame thing.

Maybe just play new characters, many people prefer doing that. Personally I just want to get as high level as I can, which can certainly be done solo. I've done up to 75 maps solo so far. I'll be doing a 76 today most likely. So, you can do it, if you want to.

But yeah it is slower and more dangerous.

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Earthslug wrote:

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mustafa2812 wrote:

Honestly because of the decreasing returns for XP to the point of tedium, for me the leveling stops being fun at around lvl 80.

This...


my main is 85 and Ive had it with the 10hour setback every time I die...

Began a new char, still convincing myself not to sell the gear of my main.

I'm not understanding this mentality.

Are those last levels that important to your build? I don't even bother mapping the skill tree past 80.

What if your character were already level 100: would you stop playing it because you can't level anymore?

Endgame is all about finding drops. Who cares if the encounter kills you until your exp bar is empty; exp isn't what you're mapping for.

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merlecorey2013 wrote:

Alright, so I was thinking about buying a supporter pack. You know, to show my support for the game and, well, the goodies are sort of nice, too.

I almost clicked the "Buy" button.

But then I started thinking. I don't have a regular group to play with, and most of the time I end up playing solo. So what do I have to look forward to? I am level 67 and the xp grind is becoming annoying. It's not a nice, relaxing grind, either: losing concentration means a waste of a *lot* of time. What's left? Maps? I tried soloing one, it was mildly entertaining, except for the part where the boss ate all xp I got clearing the rest of the map. Challenges? I tried a couple of those and they didn't look particularly interesting.

Am I missing something here? Because so far the rest of the game looks to me -- a solo player -- like it's going to be somewhere between uninteresting and painful. I hope I am wrong about this.

(Please don't take this as a QQ: it is entirely possible that the endgame of PoE is simply not for me. I am perfectly fine the possibility of not playing it and, well, spending my money on something else.)

solo.. if you invest lots of time into trading - is possible. youll get better gear and steamroll these bosses that currently eat your XP

if you are not into trading - no luck. drops are tailored for trading and playing in parties.

without serious gear you cannot really attempt maps higher than 68 or 69lvl. there are 78lvl maps so you clearly see how much content is not available with med-gear (some will say it is by design..)

end game is to bring your char to ~80 and start another char. 80+ is for no-lifers or for people willing to trade and play in parties

i play solo, found most of my gear except like 10-20 items, sell mostly gems and some twinking uniques and managed to get few 80+ chars but mostly because i was lucky with drops and got 470+dps 2h and 320dps 1h. without them - would have had no chances as my second best drops were like 40% worse..

my advice - reroll a new char

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sidtherat wrote:

solo.. if you invest lots of time into trading - is possible. youll get better gear and steamroll these bosses that currently eat your XP

if you are not into trading - no luck. drops are tailored for trading and playing in parties.

without serious gear you cannot really attempt maps higher than 68 or 69lvl. there are 78lvl maps so you clearly see how much content is not available with med-gear (some will say it is by design..)

Exactly this!

If you're not trading, if you don't enjoy leveling multiple characters, just stop now.

The self-found high level gear is so bloody rare that you could play for 6 months without ever dropping anything useful (except currencies) to upgrade your high-level character.

In 8 months of playing beta, my only great moment was dropping a Bringer of Rain and a Soul Mantle, the rest was useless crap. I had to trade for a few decent items.

And even if you drop your dream item, you will still have to waste your currency to get at least a 5-link so your build can perform above lv60. Trading for a 5/6-linked is way cheaper than trying to make it yourself.

You have nothing but pain and frustration at end game.

Even if you WANT to do maps, sustaining a working set of maps is very difficult and expensive (in-game currency, of course).

And as you said, one moment of enjoying the scenery or lapse of concentration and you can loose several hours of hard work.

I'm not playing anymore and won't come back until this changes.

I refuse to do map management.

I refuse to play their wanna-be e-sport called pvp.

I want free-range pvp.

I want an end-game that allows me to not really start "grinding" until I reach level 92-93...


They want to be a D2 clone, then be one.

Im solo endgame right now. Ill give you a bit of insight into what I do, and what you can expect.

Im 76 right now. My gear is pretty bad aside from the one unique weapon I bought which is the cornerstone of my build and cost me just about everything to get.

At my level there are no good spots to farm XP, it take ages to level up, and a death means a LOT of time spent leveling wiped out. It kind of sucks, because it limits what I do.

WHen I fresh level up, I run dropped maps. I can expect to either clear it no issue or die 2-4 times depending on the mob layout and unique boss location/boss type. 2-4 deaths is a lot of XP considering how long it takes to even get enough to not be zeroed out on the level after that many deaths, so I only risk it on a fresh level.

Sometimes ill clear 3-5 maps no issue, or with one death, and ill have 25% a level or a bit more.

What I do now, is a race through Lunaris Temple avoiding Kole (not worth the trouble) get to the 3rd level and I farm that, I don't do piety (on a fresh level I will but the loot is meh for me anyway) Ill run lunaris level 3 and docks (which is crap xp) for a change of pace. Both levels are safe and the only deaths that occur are rage inducing desync and occasional WTF rogue exiles that wont let me run and potal out. If I see something that looks rough ill just reset the instance, not worth risking a death.

I get almost no drops and no currency farming lunaris/docks, the best I hope for are 3 link with 3 colors for a chrom orb or a rare with a minion/skill gem mod that gives alch shards.


For endgame maps ill get about one unique per day, sometimes as many as four, mind you I only run them fresh leveled so not every day I do them. Ever.Single.Uninque...is utter crap and meant for noobies on endgame maps, to the point where I just pick them up and ID them when im full and at the vendor, its not exciting. What low level unique did I just get? Who cares I don't even need gear on normal difficulty so they are "for fun". I desperately need endgame gear for higher level maps and certain rare maps...desperately. I need currency as well, which doesn't drop, or selling sellable unique, which don't drop.


Basically...you are better off stopping after you can clear Act 3. Reroll another character. Endgame isn't fun, its not rewarding. You take drop penalties for most the maps that are not endgame dropped maps, and the dropped maps can be difficult. Perhaps this all gets fixed with another act coming in the next 6-9 months...but the endgame map drops are pathetic.

You simply should not be getting gear that can be worn by a character under level 60 on a level 66 or higher map.

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jpmorgan wrote:

They want to be a D2 clone, then be one.

This.
PoE is not anywhere near Diablo 2 but Diablo 3 ... sadly.

I'm not really sure what all the nay-saying is about here. I'm currently level 85 on my Ranger in Domination and am continuing to level at a decent clip. I won't say I have never partied ever, but 99.9% of my playtime is spent completely solo, the only groups were two level 70 maps once, and Dominus on merciless. I'm currently running maps 70+ exclusively unless I'm too tired to bother with the hard stuff. To say it's not possible is not a true statement, because I'm doing it. If OP has any questions about how to handle solo play and have success with it, feel free to message me.

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midlevel wrote:

I'm not really sure what all the nay-saying is about here. I'm currently level 85 on my Ranger in Domination and am continuing to level at a decent clip. I won't say I have never partied ever, but 99.9% of my playtime is spent completely solo, the only groups were two level 70 maps once, and Dominus on merciless. I'm currently running maps 70+ exclusively unless I'm too tired to bother with the hard stuff. To say it's not possible is not a true statement, because I'm doing it. If OP has any questions about how to handle solo play and have success with it, feel free to message me.

with trading (lots of it) - it is perfectly possible

without or with occasional trading - you need a lucky drop. you cannot substitute decent melee weapon with some garbage - no matter how hard you try or no matter how skillful you are. same applies to caster stuff. most builds are gear dependent and because most of the content is gear-check not skill-check you need that gear.