To Continue...? Some Concerns

G'day guys,

Let me first off saying I'm completely new to POE and I'm absolutely loving it. Been looking for a game for a while and I feel like I've found something that is truly unique in it's own right.

However, I've sunk a few hours (10 messily hours) - and I've hit 37 on my witch act 4. I've read a few things stating the below which is a concern to me any clarification would be great!

1. Your first character will suck...
2. Your first character will most likely start to struggle act 4-5 onward.
3. Building incorrectly will most likely lead to starting a brand new character.

If people could share light on this I'd be really grateful.

Also - I noticed the Cosmetic shops with the huge over-looking angels and what not... for $450 USD (expensive) however cool. Is there any benefit to this at all or is it purely for cosmetic purposes either way... very tempted.

In conclusion I'm loving the game, I don't think I'll get burnt out very easily but I do want to avoid some of the concerns listed above.

Much appreciated.

Luke

In order to play this game correctly, the key is PLAN AHEAD, always.

Before you even go to character creation, you have to have in your mindset what build are you going to play, passives you're going to take, optimal rares that you will have to craft/find/buy, uniques as well -crafting part and gems as well.

That's pretty much it, plan ahead is the most important thing, because if you're blindly picking whatever you think is good you will usually end up with a character who can't do much of endgame content.

So literally before you do ANYTHING, you should check out build guides on forum, once you become more experienced download Path of Building and start creating your own build.

All are cosmetics only with no benefit in game.

As for your progression depends on your type of play ...You might hit a wall or not,are you willing to take the risk and make new character or fix it and persevere?Want to follow a guide to learn the game in the process?That's totally on you and what type of player you are

Hey guys,

Appreciate the input so far! Appreciate the speedy responses.

I see, well as far as (selecting passives) I don't think I've done any of this yet... not sure how. But that's ok I'm sure it's hiding somewhere.

I've planned on going (Fire Witch) and prioritise fire damage with elemental output and area of effect range.

However, I'm sure it won't go (exactly to plan) I think the risk is IMO a little bit more enjoyable which I'm sure I'll change my mind once I've "stuffed up" ... can you re-roll your points somehow just in case?

Couple more questions for you both:

1. There are (passive gems) sitting in my inventory no idea what they do or how to slot them.
2. I see a lot of people GLOWING like crazy! Are these cosmetics or can you obtain items in game to have these types of different effects?

Sorry for all the questions just super keen to keep learning and playing cheers to you both for your time and all others to weigh in.

Luke

Just go and check out builds on the forum for your class, most of the guides are well detailed, explain everything, including the gear you're gonna need, priorities, semi-priorities to make the build function as well as everything else.

Pick the one you find likable/suitable for your playstyle and that's it.

Glowing things are usually microcosmetics but that's not always the case since there are items that have base MTX as well.

Fantastic thank you again I do appreciate it

If you go 100% on your own with 0 previous knowledge of the game chances are very big that your character will struggle once you reach a little higher level. The game is simply too complex to guess your way through it the first time.

Unless you love reading the ingame newbie manual and the wikipedia and don't mind remaking your character until you get it right(some people love these things so it is not in my place to say it is wrong to do so) I suggest that you look up a "low buget league starter build guide" in the sublass part of this forum.

Here is the witch one:
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-forum/22

here is the wikipedia:

https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/

It is extremely important that you don't go for the builds that require lots and lots of currency to get going. Find a newbie friendly one with good explanation on how to progress from low level to maps.

Once you get your first character to maps you can start adding things to that build and try out different approaches yourself. Learn to utilize the various player created tools like:

Path of Building:
https://github.com/Openarl/PathOfBuilding

Filterblade: (lootfilter)
http://filterblade.xyz/

Trade macro:
https://github.com/PoE-TradeMacro/POE-TradeMacro

Then when you have time you can learn how to craft and what the different rolls on items can give:

https://poedb.tw/us/

and/or

http://poeaffix.net/

You can also ask people for help if there is something you don't understand, just be respectful about it and don't spam same question over and over :)

Good luck Exile!

You're playing an "old school" game. That means you're not supposed to be able to beat it. You have to be good at it, and that means you have to learn. Sorry. It's not a game where there's a path to the end that anyone can simply follow. There's skills to develop and situations to learn.

But that's why we're still playing in five or more years later.

Hello,

Thank you for the very detailed information provided below I will take time to look into this further.

100% a learning curve. I get that, I've already (made a mistake it seems) and have gone straight up to FIRE increase damage which looks like no builds do that.

I've selected a https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2025472
"Flame Blast Build" as I've enjoyed using fire up to this point and have the skill in use currently.

I took your advice to solidify this as a low cost build to enjoy and get going.

I guess my biggest question.

If I go down this build route which isn't far off what I had selected. If I want to go (ICE) or (Electric) with the fire affixes already selected obviously this would be an issue.

Is there anyway to re-set skill points?

I have quite a bit of information to get going a bit deeper you guys have definitely given me further things to think about.

Luke

When you pull up your skill tree there's an option to "reset skill points". You likely have a dozen or more points just from quests. You can "buy" more with regret orbs. You unbuild your tree exactly the same as building it... backwards. You wont be able to undo points until they don't break your path into two parts.

Most of us just start over... easier.