How similar is this to Diablo2/LoD

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xjlxmchammer wrote:

So what defines a character's build? It seems what people are telling me is that an assassin can be exactly like a witch, same abilities and everything.

Choice of which skill gems is primary. It's more about what skills you use than the character tree. There are a few nodes on the the tree that can radically change your build, but it still comes back to how those interact with the skill gems you choose to use.

There are also items, but few of those are build defining. Most serve a secondary role. There are exceptions... like "Facebreakers" which can really change how your character will work. Most are minor tweeks to your character though. Very similar to D2 here. There were items that could change your character dramatically, and others that were just kind of cool to have.

One thing to note: There's an expansion coming out in March that will shake up this discussion. The choice of character currently has little or no effect on your build. That's set to change with Ascendancy.

Don't get married to a single character... ever. Play the game with the idea that you'll play many different characters as you progress.

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What defines a build?

Passive Skill Tree
Gem Combinations
Unique Weapons (because they have unique mechanics)

imo PoE is very similar to D2, most things from the mechanical side of the game are same (except for lesser animations - makes it hard to know for guys that are not from d2 to understand what is going on for the first time but easy for them who come from there). In addition to that there are also other components in the mechanics you may be familar aswell from other a-rpg's

the skilltree may seem confusing but once u got a deeper look at it it's not that hard to understand.

to the active skill component (the skills u use to attack/cast), they are gems that will be socketed and linked into your gear and they level then with you (especially that linking that active to support creates a very individual style of how you use these attacks/spells).

when it comes to endgame this is different from D2, instead of running one instance over and over again PoE uses a map system where you open an instance to where ever you llike to go to level (you may also know a smiliar system from other a-rpg's here aswell).

to your specific questions:
1. yes (see above)
2. pvp ts exists ;D ...but got not that large player base here, you can do lowlevel duel or highlevel duel or also go for a brawl with many people into the (sarn) arena, balance here in pvp is much llike balance in d2 pvp, there is not much balance at it's current state. you also mentioned to host players like it is in d2 that is not possible in PoE, however you could challenge them to a duel instead (if the other one agrees), there is also a temp league from timme to time (not that often) called 'cutthroat' where all players are hostile to each other and can invade istances where other players are in.
3. yes
4. most common builds can be done with cheap items aswell, so dont think about that to much when you first start the game - you should not think like: my first char becomes a hammerdin where do i get my enigma, or did you do so for the first time in d2?! :P
5. yep there are seasonal leagues you can do them or do standard/hardcore permanent leagues (these two equals to nlsc/nlhc), both permanent and temp leagues got a huge playerbase (other than d2 where the nl-mode was like dead).
6. you can reset some few points or use an item that refunds some points aswell but that may be expensive if you want to reset the whole tree in addition to that there are also skilltree resets from time to time whenever there are major changes in the tree itself (due to patches).

hope you give PoE a try ;D

Ok so last set of questions. i thank everyone here who took the time to reply; i really appreciate it guys

So you get gems that give you abilities. These gems level up with you, hence they become stronger. Some gems you can get through quest, random drop, and through trade. So that means i have to get these skills gems very early if I want to maximize them or do they auto level up when you pick it up

the gems you want to use as primary spells/attacks you should get early, yes, most of them you get fromm quests (each class gets slightly different gempicks from quests as a reward, so for example witch get's near to no attack based gems but most of the offensive spells).

even if you took the wrong gem as a reward you can vendor the other gems after the quests for the gems are done.

gems gain xp without a mali, gaining 10% of the total monster xp all the time even if your character not gains full xp due to level/ area differency, that makes them fast lvl up to their max/ to your level if u get one or the other later, so dont worry about that.

edit: the do not autolevelup if you pick them up, you must socket them into our gear to make them gain xp and you can freely socket and unsocket them at will (not like in d2 where once you sock something in you cant change it).

Sometimes, you're aiming for a build that relies on certain support gems or passive nodes, so using your core gem early is not very efficient. What you can do in that case is switch to your offhand and equip any item with the right colored sockets. (2h can have up to 6, 1h and offhand can have up to 3 each) and put them there. Your gems in those weapons gain experience just like the ones in your actual loadout, so when you are ready to switch to them, they will have the right level.
Another thing to note is that gems have attribute requirements. This means that it is possible to level a gem beyond your ability to use them, if you should fall below the attribute requirement. E.g. you have a belt equipped that gives you 30 Strength and you have leveled Increased Duration (STR requirement). Then you find a different belt, that does not have a Strength bonus. Suddenly, you don't meet the Increased Duration's requirements anymore and the skill is unusable.

Even if you get gems late to your build, they level up pretty fast, so going from level 1 to level 15 isn't too bad. For me, who is not a very good player, it might take a couple hours.

Melee gems are less important to level as melee is more reliant upon good gear for DPS. Level for spell gems is more important, as damage scales with gem level instead of weapons.

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orionite wrote:

Another thing to note is that gems have attribute requirements. This means that it is possible to level a gem beyond your ability to use them, if you should fall below the attribute requirement. E.g. you have a belt equipped that gives you 30 Strength and you have leveled Increased Duration (STR requirement). Then you find a different belt, that does not have a Strength bonus. Suddenly, you don't meet the Increased Duration's requirements anymore and the skill is unusable.

Yeah, sometimes you find a piece of gear you really need to swap out. If this happens, and you don't have a back up gem, you can de-level your current gem to the point where you can use it if necessary. Recipes are in the POE wiki. Not the ideal solution, but sometimes you need to.

OK so can someone link me a site to a nice, cheap, and fun witch build. I've tried a few links but the links that show the passive tree says the patch don't match hence i can't see it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zsakMbLXmQ

thats a link to ZiggyD's beginners guide, on his channel you will also find easy builds and a lot of other helpful info.

The game is very complex and will take a while to learn but its very worth it.

Also check out the witch section of the forum their are tons of builds there and many are beginner friendly, the main thing is dont select a build that requires specific unique items to work.

Or you could just hop into the game and experiment a bit to see what you like