Duelist beginner

Hello everyone,

I'm new to POE (but played diablo 1, 2 and 3 before), so i might not be a really good gamer in poe but i'm not a total noob too.

I've been doing a tree simulation of my talent on poe website and i would like to have some advices, because we have a really huge skill tree in this game and i have to say i am quite lost xD

so here is the tree :
My Tree

I would like to be a good damage dealer, based on crits, with auras. But i want some survivability too.

Thanks by advance !

Edit : wrong tree

Let me put it bluntly: it's an utter suicide :)

Too many armor/ev nodes too little HP; you need at the VERY least another 14/15 nodes in HP but as a bare minimum; i would never play a melee with less than +150% hp from passives; i would only keep the leather and steel close to duelist start for the mov speed bonus.

You should really focus on more hp losing a lot of dmg nodes (keep only the very best one and not more than 6-10 overall).

Try to simulate a tree with 90-100 points and not 120 as your build needs to be completed around lvl 70-80 not 100.

For a first char i might also suggest resolute technique (no miss no crit) ditching crit as it's much easier to gear; heading toward RT will also allow you to grab +5% max ele resist which is huge.

Do not grab +15% single ele nodes, they'll be covered by your equip (keep diamond skin, 15% all)

A very rough draft just to show you some pointers:
I've already taken more dmg nodes than usual.

Ok thanks a lot man :)
I didn't realize that life pool was so important (i'm only lvl 23 atm).
I'll try another build then (considering your advices)!

So i've made my new Tree considering what you told me :

New Tree

It's a little bit more tanky, and i'll play with hatred aura (not sure yet if i'll use any other auras)

Much better have a look at
where i just optimized a few things; last point should go either to endurance charge duration or 2% lifeleech or 0.2% life regen / endurance charge or 30% cold dmg with weapons (which is less impressive than you might think due to how the mechanic is working; it ends up in the huge % of increased dmg that you'll have from mods on gear and strenght so it'll probably bump your dmg less than 5-10% overall).

It's not worth to spend 3 points in the marauder area to grab troll's blood + 2x 15% reduction crit dmg imho, i would spend them for 10str+24% hp close to blooddrinker.

I would not grab the frenzy charge as it'll not matter much in your build and it's quite an hassle to keep up as you'll want to use dual strike for single target and probably cleave for AoE.

For refrence i'll link you my lvl 82 duellist (dual wield + blood magic) which serves me well even w/o spectacular gear

High physical damage build thats ok for non HC beginers should be better after .11 patch



the extra physical damage nodes let you get away with weaker weapons which is good because good physical damage weapons are very exspensive and this will let you aura stack easily as well.

You will need max resists for whatever elemental damage you are fighting as melee takes a ton of damage while leveling I carried 2 saphire/ruby/topaz rings with me and switched when needed

Try and get a wurms molt belt and goldrim for 1 alc each it can last you till your 60s

Hmmm i might wait .11 patch to come to see the real changes. In the worst case i'll have to farm reset skill orbs :D (or reroll haha)

Ok i've just seen the .11 upcoming changes patchnote, and i prepared a new tree.
This one is way more balanced in Life/Res/Crit/Attack Speed/Accuracy(won't play with RT, too far in tree)/Mana regen and cost, because of the weakening mobs in the new patch (and the nerf of EA) i told myself that i don't need life/res as much as before. That's why i balanced everything else trying to stay the closest of the duellist start position as possible.

Here is my new Tree :

Balanced tree

Tell me if you think it's suicide, in the worst case i'll try it with the free reset and if it doesn't work i'll just reroll a ranged class ...

Shaved points off you dont need all this extra mana/ reduced mana adn the +30 stat passives are only if you need the stats to wear gear/gems otherwise if you dont need it dont get it.

Deft blade is pretty shitty atm no idea if its getting buffed but it is very bad compared to cruel blade and takes 5 passives to get it.

No idea how health will be treated for the new patch but pre patch this would still not have enough life.

Indeed your tree is what i would reach first, then manage to see where i should put last points (according to mana needs)
Concerning deft blade, i believed that monsters and boss were able to block attacks, that's why i thought it was quite a good skill. And even if it sucks it still is 15% increase damage right ? I'd like to see why it's so bad :)

Thanks by advance ! :)