New to path of exile and want to make a battlemage

Any suggestions? I think templar would be good to start with but are there any other characters?

Thanks all.

If you want to mix weapon attacks and spells I can't recommend it to a newcomer. It's possible but PoE heavily rewards specialization and splitting your investment into two different fields is a big disadvantage even if they overlap to an extent. Best leave that for later when you amass some funds and experience with the game.

However, if you wanted a mage that can tank damage and use his spells from short range Templar or Marauder would indeed be the best choice.

Loong way before you bro...
1st,check Classes/Builds section - each contains sticked topic Builds List.Seek for something you like,and build your toon similar way.
But if you insist to create something own-invented you need to familiar with this and PoE Wiki.Look at players' builds anyway to learn what cool skill combinations and defensive mechanics they use.

there are a lot of gems which may specialize in attack vs. spell damage which also give you a nice feel of battlemage.

molten strike is melee and physical based, but it's like you're casting a spell due to all the particles and projectiles.

lightning strike gives a similar feel

you could try cast on crit but that's more of an advanced build and probably too expensive for a new player

you can employ lots of cast when damage taken links to cast spells for utility.
EX: Cast when Damage Taken -> Ice Nova -> Curse on Hit -> Enfeeble
You can be phys/attack based and still cast ice novas for utility that way.

Yeah, the only similar attempt I had was using heavy elemental melee and mix spell like ball lightning as support spell for HoT + shock + curse elemental weakness + EE (still EE is annoying to use this way) to boost the melee damage. I know.. it is hardly battlemage but that's the only thing I got that is close enough and works fairly well.

A good place to start are the Build Lists

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/549763

complied by Bada_Bing. Even if you don't want to just copy another build it's a good idea to look at similar builds to see what other players would do. I'm not entirely what you mean by battlemage though other than maybe an int aligned class fighting with weapons? Maybe you mean a character which utilizes both attacks and spells for damage? If that's the case I feel I should tell you that's extremely sub-optimal unless you're using a trigger gem like CoC(Cast on Crit) like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRXG3i2XzPM&ab_channel=LeporL

Most rpg players have an idea what a battlemage is which is spell and melee attacks, and its not like im new to rpgs or mmorpgs been playing many years I understands the cons of going hybrid.

"

xoriandruid wrote:

Most rpg players have an idea what a battlemage is which is spell and melee attacks, and its not like im new to rpgs or mmorpgs been playing many years I understands the cons of going hybrid.

You're missing a big aspect of PoE which does not really apply to most ARPGs. The gem system in this game is very unique, you can build anything from any starting point. The passive tree is shared among all classes and you can spec in whatever direction you want. Specializing in an elemental type or phys damage is almost required in order to get a build into the lategame for PoE. Anything that doesn't do this generally requires a lot of wealth and knowledge to build, neither of which you have.

Their suggestions may not be what you want to hear, but they do have a lot of merit to them. That said, you can still create the feeling of a battle mage due to the versatility of the gem system. There are some spells you can use for utility, and a lot of physical spells end up looking like mage abilities (check out Ice Crash, for example).

"

xoriandruid wrote:

Most rpg players have an idea what a battlemage is which is spell and melee attacks, and its not like im new to rpgs or mmorpgs been playing many years I understands the cons of going hybrid.

But you don't know specifics and nuances of mechanics of Path of Exile.I have made several 52-56 level characters and still I'm learning.

Btw,I forgot to mention,for designing builds use PoE Builder or offline application Poe Passive Skill Tree Planner (google it).

"

xoriandruid wrote:

Most rpg players have an idea what a battlemage is which is spell and melee attacks, and its not like im new to rpgs or mmorpgs been playing many years I understands the cons of going hybrid.

I'd suggest checking out a cast on crit or cast on melee kill build as that is probably the closest way to viably use both attacks and spells.