Hello all

Hi there I am a "new" player, kind of just browsing really a little too timid to jump into the game right away. So before I jump any further than creating an account I wanted to get some feed back from the community, of course I can't rely on you guys 100% and have to try out the game for myself but still never hurts to get some extra opinions. I've never played a game like this so it'll be my first. How do you like POE? Is the lore engaging? What's the game progression like? (i.e. do they try to speed you to endgame and not let you enjoy the ride? or can you take it at your own pace?) How in-depth are the "classes"? And over all what's the game like without purchasing anything?(A bunch of pay walls? ) Thank any and all for their time and I hope that maybe I might join the community :D

Many of us have been playing it for over three years. It's an incredibly addicting game, if you're inclined that way. If not, you'll wonder why we do it. The whole game is a slot machine. You kill stuff, and stuff is created. That's pretty much it. Jump in. Kill stuff. Don't worry about being the best or setting any big long term goals until you get the hang of killing stuff. Having I mentioned that you kill stuff? Repeatedly? That's pretty much all this game is... killing stuff. Once you kill stuff, you get to kill more stuff. That's pretty much it.

We've been at it for over three years. Some are getting sick of it. Others can't imagine why they would.

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How do you like POE?

I like it a lot. I've played games since I was 5, I'm 30 now. This is the ARPG I've played and enjoyed the most and one of my all-time favourites from any genre.

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Is the lore engaging?

I don't know, I don't care about lore. There's certainly a lot of it.

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What's the game progression like? (i.e. do they try to speed you to endgame and not let you enjoy the ride? or can you take it at your own pace?)

You can take it at your own pace if you don't want to compete in races and ladders. Temp leagues last 3 months, there are also a permanent softcore and hardcore league where some players play and improve their wealth and character pool for years.

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How in-depth are the "classes"?

I can't think of a game with more strategic complexity when it comes to character builds. Not even close. The permutations are the next best thing to endless.

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And over all what's the game like without purchasing anything?(A bunch of pay walls? )

It is absolutely playable without paying a cent but you have to use clunky mechanics like creating 'mule' characters to use them as storage space.

If you want to play without feeling constricted, you'll have to buy at least a stash tab bundle (150 game points, 200 points = 20 dollars) or, much better, 2-3 premium stash tab bundles (20 dollars per bundle).

If you care about aesthetics, you're in for some more serious spending. Your character will most likely look like crap without cosmetics and cosmetics are expensive. A whole armour bundle is 420 points and there are many other cosmetics - weapon, weapon effects, skin transfers (making one piece of gear look like another) and so on. You can buy points in packages of 50, 100 and 200 (5, 10 and 20 dollars). If you want to make your toon look best according to your own taste and don't care about prices, you can easily spend hundreds of dollars for cosmetics.

There are daily deals where something is sold at a discount every day. If you're patient, this can reduce your spending by 20-30%. It can also increase it if you're a sucker for promotions.

It is an awesome game, though it can be a little bit hard at times.
Onwards to your questions:
1. I LOVE this game. It's totally awesome and, at least in my opinion, beats the huge rival diablo 3 in many, MANY points.
2. The lore is pretty much just there. There is kinda a lot though. There are often things in the environment that provide you with information about what has happened in that specific location. For me it's still not enough though, but I think the majority doesn't care about the lore (unfortunately).
3. They don't speed you there. You have to get through a total of 3 playthroughs to reach the endgame, and even then you still have some amazing and challenging stuff to do.
4. Yes, you can do it at your own pace, most people prefer to clear and kill stuff FAST though.
5. The classes are pretty much only there for two major things: They determine the choice of ascendency classes and they determine your starting point in the skill tree/web/ocean. Also different classes can obtain different skills easier, though through trading with other players you can get any skill you like. There is not really a class system. A witch with an archer build? Hell yes! A Marauder throwing around all kinds of spells? Why not! A melee ranger? Strong af!
6. It's completely FREE. You don't HAVE to pay, but many people do anyways, either because they want to support the game and the developers or because they want to look cooler ingame (which sometimes fails HORRIBLY).

One last advice: Look up a guide and for your first char you should do what the class is supposed to do. A melee witch isn't that great to start the game when you're a new player, and without a proper guide you can get easily lost in that vas skill solar system/galaxy/interstellar supercluster.

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Alysma wrote:

all microtransactions sold in the shop are purely cosmetic, i.e. you can't buy in-game advantages.

This isn't entirely true. Stash tabs are not cosmetic, they make trading much smoother and easier and the game's drop rates revolve around an active economy with lots of trading going on.

Welcome aboard, Exile.

Best bet is to just jump in and play. Get the hang of how the game functions. Don't worry about making a great character; most people's first few end up being terrible. The depth and complexity of the character building system is insane. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but starts to make sense after playing for a while. You can always post your questions here or read up on the wiki (that Alysma linked.)

This is a good start guide (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_by-r2rX5WY) and there are a bunch of others but frankly, playing is the best teacher. The game has become pretty huge in terms of content so there will be enough to keep you busy for a long time.


Good luck

Wolf

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EmpressHarmony wrote:

Hi there I am a "new" player, kind of just browsing really a little too timid to jump into the game right away. So before I jump any further than creating an account I wanted to get some feed back from the community, of course I can't rely on you guys 100% and have to try out the game for myself but still never hurts to get some extra opinions. I've never played a game like this so it'll be my first. How do you like POE? Is the lore engaging? What's the game progression like? (i.e. do they try to speed you to endgame and not let you enjoy the ride? or can you take it at your own pace?) How in-depth are the "classes"? And over all what's the game like without purchasing anything?(A bunch of pay walls? ) Thank any and all for their time and I hope that maybe I might join the community :D

This is the best game i have ever played. Has its failures, but well, what doesn't?

Lore is engaging, but a lot of people don't play for it, don't even read it. Myself, i read it only after 4+ months playing it.

You progress at your own pace, even though some run to the end, a lot of players just play it through calmly enjoying the game, even though they did it more than 20 times.

The classes weren't much specific until ascendancy. Now the class you choose matters a lot, so it is good planning before, or you will have to use a lot of regret orbs to rework your tree or create a new char.

Without purchasing it is a normal game. You don't need "skins", you don't need extra tabs. You can trade by learning how to and posting in the forum your shop thread or you can play alone and will take more time to get the items you want to have. Most players buy the tabs because they like to be part of the game economy and/or just want to keep some items because they like it. With the initial 4 tabs you can trade and do everything else like someone with 100 tabs. You just won't have a collection or a lot of wealth(unless you are lucky).

And that is it. I think.

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EmpressHarmony wrote:

Hi there I am a "new" player, kind of just browsing really a little too timid to jump into the game right away. So before I jump any further than creating an account I wanted to get some feed back from the community, of course I can't rely on you guys 100% and have to try out the game for myself but still never hurts to get some extra opinions. I've never played a game like this so it'll be my first. How do you like POE? Is the lore engaging? What's the game progression like? (i.e. do they try to speed you to endgame and not let you enjoy the ride? or can you take it at your own pace?) How in-depth are the "classes"? And over all what's the game like without purchasing anything?(A bunch of pay walls? ) Thank any and all for their time and I hope that maybe I might join the community :D

How do you like it?

Well you're on the games official forums, so most of the people here love it; the other 10% are here to hate/troll. Most of your other questions are a bit hard to answer if you haven't played a game like this before, because that makes comparisons harder.

Lore?

It's fine. Nothing incredible, but I've seen much much worse in other games. One big plus is they don't shove the lore in your face - no mandatory cutscenes, you can skip like all of the dialogue. They didn't focus on it much in the beginning of the game's life, so that's a big reason it's not exceptional. You'll find things out in the environment that you can click on to learn more about the lore, and all NPCs have 8-12 dialogues that you can ask them about to learn more.

Progression?

Progression does not speed you to end game, but that is relative to your playtime. If you are going to play 10 hours a day, you will be at end game in 5 to 7 days. If you play casually you will have plenty to do.

Classes?

There is a lot of depth to the classes. And classes are just the tip of the iceberg. Lots of depth/choice with skills, supports, and gear too. And it's complimentary - all of the systems in this game get stronger and synnergize with each other as they level. Your passives + skill gems + gear all improve each other, because your passives are % based, gear gives +flat integer value stats, and gems improve both their flat values and % bonuses.

Purchases?

It's not pay to win. I've had extra (paid for) stash tabs for a while, so I can't give you a fair assessment of what it's like playing with the default amount of tabs. There is a lot of stuff you'll want to save, but very little of it will be mandatory.

Join the community?

A new league starts on Friday. Everyone who chooses to create a character in that league will start without access to their accumulated gear, characters, levels, items, etc. It's a great time to start playing PoE without feeling like you're way behind everyone else - you'll be starting exactly where they are. (minus the extensive knowledge of game mechanics - knowledge is power in this game, and your first character will probably be a flop - either with too little damage, or too little defense). You learn as you go though. And we're always here to devour your soul help you.