Which build for a Hardcore newbie?

Which build do you recommend for a Hardcore newbie on a budget?

Never played PoE HC before and my SC chars usually die around 90 times before they reach level 90, half of the time by idk what.

Looking for a league starter in trade league.

I heard good words about Spectral Shield Throw Gladiator being tanky and popular, cheap to start, scaling good with investments.

Others claim Earthshatter Juggernot is the answer. Dunno how I feel bout that. I did a SC Boneshatter who committed suicide more than a dozen times (yes I'm aware these are two different skills).

Any other candidates you wanna refer by name, link, pob or video?

I am aware of general tips, such as max res, high armor/eva/block, 300hp per act and 4000+ for maps, stun/bleed/ailment immune, suppresion, phasing, logout macro, automataed molten shell, blink n stuff and the overlevelling zone by +7.

BR

If you die 90 times by level 90, I would not recommend HC.

Just being real with you, if you're dying 90+ times before lvl 90 in SC, you're probably not ready for HC yet. No build will save you from the learning curve.
I'd recommend sticking to SC a bit longer, focus on surviving rather than pushing DPS, and work on mechanics and awareness first.
When you’re more consistent, die a lot less (or not at all) before 90–95 and late endgame, and have learned more basic game knowledge, then it’s time to step up and dive into HC.
Without that, it’s not really going to get you any better. Good luck!

"hardcore" and "newbie" in one sentence. Peak content.

Don't let people discourage you. If u want to play HC, just do it, no matter how much u died in SC before.

Playing HC is always way different than SC, because u'll pay more attention and care more about ur choices. (at least when u're new to HC)

As for builds, Spectral Shield Throw Gladiatior is a solid build, I played it last Gauntlet I believe and it was a breeze. It lacks in single target damage, but the map clear is good.
If u want other builds, I'd recommend checking out some of Zizarans builds, although u might have to scroll through his YT channel quite a bit to get to the 3.25 Settlers builds he did. It's been 11 months, but he usually has some nice allrounder builds specific for HC and most of the time SSF aswell.

Anyway, good luck on ur journey and I hope u won't see the beach that often :D

hi viper. welcome.

all of the replies, are good advice to save you the frustration. there are many systems within the game or environs that you can find yourself in, that will easily take your time invested and make trivial. best you can do in the HC space, is to expect failure and learn as much as you can from it. the only way to get better at HC and to earn that Lv90 HC (achievement) goal.. is to practice and humble yourself into learning the whys.

with that.. 90 deaths before lv90 is high. do practice HC runs in SC.. give yourself 5 deaths, then 3 deaths, then 1 death before you delete the character. most importantly LEARN the boss fights. there are plenty of resources out there to learn the campaign lesser and act bosses. learn them. PRACTICE them. a good example of this would be the Act 5 Innocence (lesser boss) and what to do when hearing the words "I AM YOUR GOD". what to avoid, or how to avoid it and those mechanics becoming second nature to you.. can be extremely helpful in your quest.

be wary of projectile type mobs. all i will say on that one. research.

never be afraid to use portals. NEVER. especially first starting out in the HC leaning curve. portal scrolls are easy to obtain, and can be used at anytime or area within the campaign, and can be hotkeyed. mapping is different.. however portals can help you to get to mapping.

edit: never underestimate the helpful power (crutch) of decoy totem. can save you ina pinch.

on builds:

you want to focus builds that put a buffer between you and the enemy. you want builds that will slow the tempo of the mob packs. or slow the game down in general. the only two build types that can do that.. easily and with low budget are totems and minions or to some extent "freeze" mechanic builds.

a pack of minions can distract, totems can TAUNT (mastery) and can block projectiles and in some cases boss mechanics. but most importantly it slows the tempo of the game down. freezing enemies is godly.. shattering them, satisfying.

until you learn more about the mechanics.. "in your face" game play, melee build, self casting (without the use of decoy totem), or any type of streamer "meta" is NOT what you want to do. most build guides are focused around concepts and gear, you won't understand yet, or be able to afford. IF YOU must play something other than my suggestions. (which is cool man..) i would highly recommend pohx's rf build and step by step.. found here: https://pohx.net/ . pohx is well respected, never click baited BS and will walk you through not only the hows.. but the whys as well.

there is a great deal more i could share with you, on the journey you're about to take. but discovery is best for HC and learning by doing or failure is key to becoming a good HC player.

i wish you all the best.

I think not knowing boss and/or mob mechanics are likely what got you killed so often. I used to die 100's of times during a league on softcore, and I still made it to 90 on hardcore for the achievement. I probably had 800 hours in softcore before going hardcore, and I can tell you hardcore makes you learn and understand the game in a much more detailed way. I literally didn't understand the game until I started my hardcore journey. It may not be the same with you, but I suspect it is if you're dying that much.

As for builds, I would suggest finding a meta build or at least a hardcore viable build because everything matters a lot more in hardcore. You will want a good combination of defenses and offense.

I don't have a good pob recommendation for you, but I've been practicing speed running on hardcore the last week, and will probably be going champion cyclone. With that said, my lvl 90 hardcore character was a Juggernaut. If I was going for lvl 90 or 100 again I would definitely stick with a strong meta build and trade league to make the experience easier.

I would recommend looking at some new player guides for bosses to get the mechanics down or tips for the fight before you go in. For instance knowing to have cold resistance for Mervail in ACT 1 is important. Understanding the Piety fight will be valuable as well. Also, I always try to have at least one flask to grant freeze immunity and one flask to grant corrupted blood immunity as early as possible. Then graduate to looking up as speed running guide to get you an understanding of what zones to farm and what levels to be at for specific content.

Also, I probably died at lvl 70+ at least 15 times on my journey to 90. Remember to take it slow if your only goal is to hit 90. Good luck!

EDIT:
Wanted to add that when I finally hit lvl 90 I had max resists, I had an immutable force jewel that made me stun immune, and had max spell suppression.

playing hardcore is a great way to quit early

It requires a completely different approach and playstyle.

If you want to succeed in HC, play SC until you aren't dying.

If HC is the right place for OP they should just do it regardless of dying earlier and having to reroll, move to SC if you get too frustrated.

There are a few good league starters, personally I wouldn't do Jugg slams because they require game knowledge you probably don't have even though its pretty tanky.

Retal/bleed Glad is probably my #1 for any new player, capped lucky block (even without the bug) is pretty close to god mode in regular content especially once you get recovery on block and bleed is nice and reliable + easy to understand/build for.

The HC community is pretty friendly as there aren't that many of us and trades a good experience so ask questions as you go or if your unsure. Game knowledge like "should i run 8 mod bramble valley for atlas completion" comes from experience or borrowing someone elses and there is alot of specific information later on thats good to learn.

Some maps are free, some maps are free with X stats/defences, some map bosses are absolute garbage with mods you'll have to learn the lot and the more deaths you can avoid on the way the better.