Insta death in hardcore

So I'm starting out in hardcore. Right in the first main area after tutorial.

There's fire guys that teleport, have ranged fire and stunlock me. I can't engage them in battle they almost instant kill me. Less than 3 seconds I'm dead they shred through my health immediately. I can't even attack them I just die.

How is this even close to fair? I've played many hardcore hack-n-slash games. I've never played a game with stunlocking teleporting instant kill enemies in the first area I can't even get close to them before I die. How am I even supposed to kill these things without getting stunlocked?

It seems impossible, can't run away to get some room they're faster than me. There's literally zero room for error.

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Butyraceous#2758 wrote:

So I'm starting out in hardcore. Right in the first main area after tutorial.

There's fire guys that teleport, have ranged fire and stunlock me. I can't engage them in battle they almost instant kill me. Less than 3 seconds I'm dead they shred through my health immediately. I can't even attack them I just die.

How is this even close to fair? I've played many hardcore hack-n-slash games. I've never played a game with stunlocking teleporting instant kill enemies in the first area I can't even get close to them before I die. How am I even supposed to kill these things without getting stunlocked?

It seems impossible, can't run away to get some room they're faster than me. There's literally zero room for error.

You just run in the first area. This game is not fair and not new player friendly. Can´t recommend to play it in HC.

That sounds like you encountered the area boss, Fire Fury, on The Coast. Her firestorm is awful and will stunlock players (yes, it is way overtuned for Act 1).

Try to avoid her if possible.

Path of Exile is a game where the primary (potentially even only) form of difficulty comes in the form of knowledge tests about the game. If you watched a good YouTube video guide to every individual zone, enemy type, boss, and game mechanic prior to encountering it for the first time, a first-time playthrough would likely be very smooth indeed. That's not my idea of fun, though.

I cannot overemphasize just how much I think Path of Exile is a terrible choice of game for someone who is committed to exclusively playing in Hardcore right from the start.

While in some cases the game flirts with the idea - such as Labyrinth Trials introducing you to mechanics subsequently found in the Labyrinth proper - for most of the game, you'll just be abruptly confronted with something and expected to know how to deal with it; soon dying if you don't.

I really don't want to come across as being rude, dismissive, or discouraging. But if you're dying in the first "real" zone of the game, then I don't love your chances of reaching the endgame - much less doing well in it - anytime this year. It's probably worth stopping and reconsidering your approach.

If you're open to giving Path of Exile a go on a non-Hardcore character; playing through the campaign, trying out endgame content such as the Atlas, Delve, and Heists, and then subsequently rolling another Hardcore character when you're better prepared for it, then Path of Exile is a game with a truly incredible amount of content, inarguably contains some of the best boss fights in the genre, and is easily capable of maintaining the attention of fans of ARPGs for a four-digit number of hours. But insisting on a Hardcore-only approach could prevent you from ever enjoying it.

I'm glad you're here. I hope you choose to stick around.

hoho SSF(solo self found) might be more your cup of tea. Other than that patience is key.

Always start on softcore.

Starting on hc is fine. People used to do it all the time. THe modern scrubcore mindset wasn't always there, game used to be hc first and foremost.

After act 1 it gets significantly easier. Just don't have any high expectations like beating endgame bosses.

It's not your duty to kill every mob in an area btw, you have to skip rare mobs quiet frequently, that is just the way it is. If it feels like a wall and is not mandatory to progress, don't run against it ;)

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Butyraceous#2758 wrote:

So I'm starting out in hardcore. Right in the first main area after tutorial.

There's fire guys that teleport, have ranged fire and stunlock me. I can't engage them in battle they almost instant kill me. Less than 3 seconds I'm dead they shred through my health immediately. I can't even attack them I just die.

How is this even close to fair? I've played many hardcore hack-n-slash games. I've never played a game with stunlocking teleporting instant kill enemies in the first area I can't even get close to them before I die. How am I even supposed to kill these things without getting stunlocked?

It seems impossible, can't run away to get some room they're faster than me. There's literally zero room for error.

GIT GUD