Are there any builds that are actually fun and engaging to play?

Hey there,

New player here. I only started this league and was wondering: are there any builds that are actually engaging to play?

I like the sheer complexity of PoE's skill tree, itemization and mechanics. And the infinite amount of builds you can dream up. But the actual game play is... rather dull? It seems as if every character ends up being a one-button killing machine that just runs through maps and obliterates everything while occasionally dying to one-shots.

Are there builds that reward good execution? Where multiple skills work in conjunction and you have to use them properly to dish out more damage/be more tanky than you would otherwise? Or is everything just mindless one-button mashing that relies more on proper planning/setup rather than execution?

I guess, you could say that playing with five permanently active flasks requires more than one button. But pressing the same five buttons every couple of seconds isn't my idea of fun and interactive game play.

A good example of interesting game play are the boss fights. They are fun. But they are so few and far between. And with the whole portal mechanic it is rather frustrating to farm for multiple hours to only get a few tries at a complex combat encounter. Unless you look up the fight on YouTube beforehand or are massively out-gearing it, a few tries seem way too little to learn as complex of a fight as Sirus. I'd wish you had infinite tries and the boss would just reset to 100% if you die. That way you could actually learn the fight and slowly progress to victory.

Anyway.. are there builds that are more complex than piano flasks, movement skill, right click?

I've never played a build that consisted only of flasks, movement and right click *shrug*

Look at contagion/essence drain builds. They're a bit more strategic.

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KirenaStern wrote:

I've never played a build that consisted only of flasks, movement and right click *shrug*

What builds did you play?

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Shagsbeard wrote:

Look at contagion/essence drain builds. They're a bit more strategic.

Thanks, will do!

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Loregar wrote:

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Shagsbeard wrote:

Look at contagion/essence drain builds. They're a bit more strategic.

Thanks, will do!

Or consider giving Stormbind some love - https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Stormbind

If there was a sentence that summed up how this game took a left turn and got lost, it is this....

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It seems as if every character ends up being a one-button killing machine that just runs through maps and obliterates everything while occasionally dying to one-shots.

It's still enjoyable, but I definitely miss the game when it was slower and more deliberate.

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2891892 <-- No 6L budget build which can crush the end-game. The catch is that you'll need piano skills.

As long as there are one-button builds that can finish the game, people are going to consider more complex builds inferior. Don't buy it. It's about fun... not about efficiency. Don't make the game into a job.

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Loregar wrote:

Are there builds that reward good execution? Where multiple skills work in conjunction and you have to use them properly to dish out more damage/be more tanky than you would otherwise? Or is everything just mindless one-button mashing that relies more on proper planning/setup rather than execution?
..

Anyway.. are there builds that are more complex than piano flasks, movement skill, right click?

Just finished a berserker Warcry build that probably works for you. You have to pay attention to which warcries on on cooldown to keep Berserk rolling by increasing Rage (which also means timing your cries correctly), keep the duration for armor penetration/etc up, trigger the right exerted attacks for your next couple of skills, etc. Used General's Cry to smash groups with Consecrated Path to get crit and regen, etc.


It's one of the more technical builds I've ever done, and it was fun. I went pretty defensive with big attack/spell block, but I think it'd work ok more aggressively too, just laid out differently.

"Are there any builds that are actually fun and engaging to play?"

You described PoE gameplay pretty well.

Neverhteless its pretty cool when whole screen explode.