Does anyone else strictly do their own builds?

Somebody in another thread said that everyone looks up and plays someone else's build and that everyone wants to play whatever the current "best" build is.

Well I am not part of this everyone group.

Since beta, I have only played my own builds. I have never looked up someone else's build and never will

The main appeal of POE is figuring out builds that work. I don't like trading either so I play SSF.

But the skill tree is what brought me to POE, and looking up someone else's build just seems like it would suck all the fun out of the game

I like the challenge. (Yeah I know I currently have only 1 achievement, but really havent been trying to complete them yet. I don't have much time to play and have been a little overambitious with some Metamorphs)

I like the new league, and it is forcing me to go even more into survival build mode.

Anyone else hardcore, SSF, strictly own builds mode in this game?

my friend is that way. he doesn't even read patch notes, he just plays. but he also doesn't succeed lol

i do my own builds, but i'll get concepts from other builds. i always build them and fine tune how i like and think is best, but a concept if unique enough is good to find somewhere.

now-a-days build concepts are pretty easy to figure out as well. GGG is kind of designing things to be more basic in that way, but theres still interesting ways you can apply it and thats what i like tinkering with.
it isn't always a breakthrough but its usually fun even when something doesn't work

Trying but this patch is making it hard to try anything new or slightly different.

Played for many years and I've never followed anyone else's build. Only times I've even looked at them have been to help people figure out what they're doing wrong with the build they're following.

i Do every league. .
I don't always get very far with it.
But it is far more enjoyable trying to figure out your stats and build on your own.
Also it adds a layer every couple levels when you need to replace your gear and switch out passives and crafting for stats and stuff.
But at the end of the day its up to the person if you want to instantly get to end game and crush bosses with the exact same items and stats as everyone else.
that is also fine.
I work, only play a couple hours every week, Honestly its enjoyable but slow.

If you are into speed its not for you

I dont follow builds, but usually search for inspiration, tips and different variants of a similar concept i have in mind on the forums.
I also look for some builds certain players did, like Octavian foe example, as i know that i like the way they build characters and think about the game.

Mostly start building around a skill i deem strong and fun for me (dont like mines ie), i try to build a character that i can start a league, boss and clear adequately, and finally reach and hopefully beat endgame with. My ideal build can do it all in one package and is stil fun to play after 100h+ of brain-dead mapping.

So in the end i usually built a somewhat meta build (since i need a strong base skill) with a personal touch and look where it goes. Some end up very, very basic, some not so much.

Im happy with my current choice and build, but im not sure i can beat something like Sirus with it.

Right now i know game enought to build my own builds. But no build is 100% new because everything already was done and everybody takes an inspiration from other builds or mechanics.

Right now im running with the most "just me" build from years due to not so popular skill i chosen.

Playing my own builds as off meta as possible so have no problems with nerfs of meta builds.

I don't bother with build guides, but that is hardly unusual. Almost every successful SSF player knows enough about the game to adjust their skill tree in response to the gear they happen to find. Which means they can adjust their endgame tree as well. It's an important skill in this game for anyone to have, in my opinion. Even people who blindly follow guides.

Unfortunately, GGG does heavily punish players who play off-meta builds or (especially) off-off-meta builds, so I do have to keep my eye on that a little if I don't want playing the game to feel like cancer.

This punishing of creativity is probably the biggest weakness of the game in 2019, to be honest, as it would be in any ARPG with so much (currently wasted) diversity potential.

Always make my own builds mostly check patch nodes if my starter gets nerfed too hard which is almost never lol
then i look for what is buffed and looks fun to play and doesn't require uniques and such unless farmable.
last league i sticked with 1 character for the first time ever lol cause everything else was shit:') normally i make around 5/10 different ones but got my first level 91 that league x'D