Path of Exile

Pyros

<Silver Donator>
11,060
2,262
30 in a couple hours, really? I must be missing some critical technique here. I'm lucky if I'm significantly out of act 1 by that time, and I'm not even especially close to 20. Care to fill in the apparently uninformed/noob/stupid on how that's done?
Check any video about racing or a stream of someone racing. There's quite a few tips you can get from these, and it's also a lot faster when doing it in non-race conditions with items and stuff.


Tuco on the builds and gameplay and stuff, it does tend to be basic. A lot of people don't make use of all their slots though which I find very wasteful, there's plenty of fun situational abilities, but eventually at some point you put so much into making your main skill good(5-6link it, lots of passives, quality gems on it) that it becomes better to spam it in almost every cases over everything else, regardless of the build. Most of the rest becomes debuffs to increase your main skills and situational abilities.

Personally every build I make relies on at least 4 abilities. A main skill that is used to clear trash and potentially bosses(depends on the skills), a movement skill if possible(caster/archer builds tend to not have them but anything with a melee weapon I'll use whirling blade or leap slam), a totem generally to distract mobs but sometimes to add damage and a curse to round up the build. I'll generally add a secondary skill for boss killing if I have the room, a 2nd curse for defensive or offensive purposes depending on the first one and then traps, mostly fire trap but conversion trap is nice too, bear trap which also fills the single target skill niche, sometimes other stuff like raise zombie or spectre too. I solo though so I tend to need a complete set of tools to deal with all situations.

A lot of builds rely on basically 2 skills though, one nuke that does everything and one curse to increase damage.
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
45,441
73,513
Can you use directional keys (ex: wasd) to move or is it all point and click? I had to mod that shit in diablo3.
 

Selix

Lord Nagafen Raider
2,149
4
A lot of builds rely on basically 2 skills though, one nuke that does everything and one curse to increase damage.
This is true but like you I find adding in some additional skills can make my life easier. Molten shell can be pretty awesome for when you get surrounded. Skeletons + totem for meat shields or Spectres for adding damage if you have the extra skill points.

It is easier to rely on a few skills in the beginning until you get a feel for the tree and where stuff is such that you can customize builds to your taste.
 

Neki

Molten Core Raider
2,726
397
Can you use directional keys (ex: wasd) to move or is it all point and click?
Point and Click all the way. As said before, POE is very much modeled on D2 but you get used to it very quickly

I find myself using more than 2 skills. I have 2 single target abilities (Bear trap and Frenzy), AOE (Lightning Arrow), Spell totem linked with Summon Skeletons. Builds can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. The videos that you linked make it seem very simplistic but if you tried looking at D2 videos, you wouldn't be too impressed too but when you actually play it, you find that is not the case and it is tons of fun finding gear/abilities and watching your character evolve.

This game has been in open beta for 2 months now and no one still has hit lvl100 yet in both Default and Hardcore. This game is certainly not faceroll later on in the game.

On top of that, there are races which run daily that you can participate in and we haven't even mentioned the Cut-throat league yet which is coming soon

I've played D3 on release and quit about 2 weeks after. POE I have been playing since Open Beta which was 2 months ago and I am still playing it (on Hardcore)
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
45,441
73,513
what the fuck
poe_skill_tree__by_jawsofhana-d4kgzrv.jpg


poe_skill_tree__by_jawsofhana-d4kgzrv.jpg


poe_skill_tree__by_jawsofhana-d4kgzrv.jpg
 

Vorph

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
11,007
4,752
However one plus compared to D3, at least unless it was changed, is you can physically avoid any attack or spells(besides a few exceptions like Arc) by just moving out of the way
I feel like this changed at some point. I haven't been able to dodge out of the way of projectiles or charging mobs in quite some time now. At first I thought it was just the server being shitty, but I'm pretty confident that's not the case. I tested it a bit with a couple golems the other night; basically if I am standing still when a golem targets me and charges, it will hit me every single time no matter how quickly I react and get out of the way on my screen.

------

As for the game itself, the more I play at high level the more my love/hate opinion of it slips to the dark side. The RNG is, simply put, fucking retarded and the infuriating part to me is that it's another case like D3 where the drop/crafting rates are balanced around the game being multiplayer. I wanted to play it like a single player game, finding and making all my own items, but the amount of grinding required to play it that way would make Lineage 2 look tame by comparison. The current estimates on making a 5L out of a 6S are around 0.5% chance per Orb of Unfusing, and 0.1% for getting a 6L. Trying to create the item yourself is about the dumbest thing you can do when someone would just sell you a 5L for 1EX or less. That's just one example too; the RNG for Orb of Chance is very similar when it comes to making uniques. I'm not saying it should be easy to make a perfect 6L item, just that it's another game where the disparity between trash and godly is much too large. I don't need a 6L vaal/occultist robe with triple ES prefixes and fire/cold/lightning resist suffixes, but I can't even get a damn 5L white no matter what the ilvl unless I buy it in trade chat.

Also it's very discouraging that there's a huge thread about the fps issues caused by certain (read: the most popular) spell effects combined with MP with no response from GGG, and the only time they have addressed the issue was to say that it is not currently a priority. I have no idea how people play HC now unless they only solo. I can run around by myself and have totems+spectres launching 40 projectiles at a time and my fps averages around 75-80. Then I start doing maps with my friend who plays a LA archer and my fps is constantly bouncing between 10 and 120. Not sure if it's his LA or my ice spears that cause the problem, but something happens when you combine it with co-op. The newly added spells are even worst for optimization too; Arctic Breath literally turns the game into a slideshow when linked with GMP and faster casting.

It's a shame, because I really do enjoy playing the game, and the mechanics are mostly solid (as long as you aren't melee).
 

Pyros

<Silver Donator>
11,060
2,262
I meant changed in D3, it certainly hasn't changed in PoE. However golem charges are buggy as fuck and desync basically on every cast so you're insanely lucky if you can dodge one reactively. If you're already moving you'll generally avoid them, but otherwise you get hit even when you see yourself avoiding them, that's their shitty netcode in action with specific skills.

On the 5L and 6L, the thing is those item aren't meant to be easy to get. 5L isn't that hard though, I crafted one during closed beta, sure it took me 100fusings but with all the jewellers I had and the fusing I looted plus converting all my alterations into fusings via the vendor, I had all of them from my own play(granted I had nothing left after). 100-120fusing is the average for a 5L. Crafting a 6L is like grinding in solo RPG until you have everything maxed, it is absolutely stupid in terms of time investment vs reward but is also absolutely unnecessary. You don't even need a 5L either, 4Ls are good enough for most skills really. They did balance that stuff around the fact it is an online only multiplayer game though, so yeah. I don't know I don't find it much of an issue, I found 2 5Ls while leveling chars and I've never bothered using them really because I stop playing at 70-75 and reroll as I don't see the point of grinding further. To me that's still a good single player experience. The game difficulty isn't balanced around the usage of a 6L.

The FPS issue is annoying though, they've been working on making efforts but it's apparently not an easy fix. Not sure what's the problem exactly but I know they often respond to these threads actually to say they're working on it. It's the same with the desyncs. They often answer(even though there's many more threads than answers) that they're working on it but basically it's core coding issues so it's not easy or quick to fix and while I'm sure it's fairly high priority, it might not be the highest priority(vs fixing crashes for example).
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
45,441
73,513
All right boys, Path of Exile is installing. Going to play softcore cause I'm drinking and a pussy. How do I hook up with you guys? Is there a server I select or anything?
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,328
42,444
Nope, just friend someone's character, you'll then see them whenever they are on any character. You'll see their account name in your friends list.
 

Tenks

Bronze Knight of the Realm
14,163
606
Downloaded and played for an hour or so.

Initial impressions is it certainly feels like a F2P game at the moment. If we're big on Diablo vs POE comparisons here there is no enjoyment to the combat. I whack at things until they fall down. I'll sometimes cleave them. I have yet to feel like a bad ass in this game. It lacks that polish you'd expect from a retail game but for a F2P it is incredibly well done.

The UI is just a mess. I have no idea how to move my potions. I have no idea how to move my skills. I'm sure it is very simple but it is not intuitive at least. I have no idea where an XP bar is. I have no idea where to see my character's overall strength.

The passive tree is interesting and I like it. It makes it so each level feels like I'm gaining a little something. I didn't feel that in Diablo. Unless I was given a skill or rune I needed a level was just a stepping stone until something bigger and better.

I'm still on the fence about the no-gold thing. I'll see how it plays out.

Combat and targeting seems a bit wonky. Not sure if I just need to get used to it or what.

I'm not deep enough to comment about the itemization. From reading the affix/suffix guide it seems similar to just chasing +gooderer but I know uniques are supposed to change how you build a character. So I am too young to comment on that.

I really like the sounds of the end game. It seems similar to TL2 where you dove into maps. We'll see how that plays out. It is hard to get worse endgame than Diablo, though.

---

So now for some basic questions. How the fuck do I move skills? I have cleave assigned to mouse3 and I hate it. I want it on mouse2. Where can I see an XP bar telling me until my next ding? Where can I see my character's stats so I know what +10 STR means to my toon?

I rolled Marauder because I was on the fence between him and Duelist and the Duelist came out like a raging faggot when I clicked him so he went back to the shadows. I read earlier in POE's lifecycle you want all defensive so right now I'm just taking all the +life% and life regen passives. Is that about right or should I worry about the offensive passives in the early years of my toon's life?
 

Tuco

I got Tuco'd!
<Gold Donor>
45,441
73,513
the Duelist came out like a raging faggot when I clicked him so he went back to the shadows.
I had the same exact reaction. the duelist is the only person I didn't listen to their monologue because of how he leapt out, lol.
 

Raes

Vyemm Raider
3,263
2,718
I had the opposite experience when I started. Other than a few rare crashing issues, and the disconnects/desyncs this game is better put together than most AAA titles. And, as for the UI, wtf? It's completely intuitive, I never had any problem figuring out how to do shit and where to look at my stats, etc.
 

Pasteton

Blackwing Lair Raider
2,607
1,718
So I nearly shit my pants earlier today when I managed to orb of chance an occultists into shavronnes wrappings. What's a good spec to take advantage of with this item? Currently I'm CI which I guess I may drop once I get my chaos resists up.

Vorph is being overly negative. I'm glad the drop rates suck because otherwise it would be like most other games where everyone's a winner and everyone gets bored in a few weeks. Plus you will eventually strike it rich on random luck which feels all the better when the game makes it difficult to attain things.

The game is great - I haven't found a game with as in depth mechanics as this one in a long time. Just theory crafting possibilities in the game is fun. In fact it's what keeps the game enjoyable - the actual playing of games, grinding maps etc, is pretty basic and repetitive.

I do hope they eventually fix the optimization problems though, or this game will never take off. The fact I can run d3 smoothly while this game is a jerk fest with a few people on the screen means something is off.
 

Pyros

<Silver Donator>
11,060
2,262
So now for some basic questions. How the fuck do I move skills? I have cleave assigned to mouse3 and I hate it. I want it on mouse2. Where can I see an XP bar telling me until my next ding? Where can I see my character's stats so I know what +10 STR means to my toon?

I rolled Marauder because I was on the fence between him and Duelist and the Duelist came out like a raging faggot when I clicked him so he went back to the shadows. I read earlier in POE's lifecycle you want all defensive so right now I'm just taking all the +life% and life regen passives. Is that about right or should I worry about the offensive passives in the early years of my toon's life?
God I have no idea how you can find the UI unintuitive or not find basic stuff. The xp bar is where every xp bar is ever, at the bottom of the screen. Your stats are where every stats are in every game, in the character screen, which is fairly detailed. Moving potions involves the same thing as every inventory based movement, you open your inventory and click on them. Changing a skill is also very simple, you click on the skill and a menu pops up where you choose which skill to assign to that key. It's not the usual drag and drop from another menu, but if clicking the skill isn't one of the first thing you do to try to move them around, I don't know what to say.

For passives generally you'll want to stack life but it depends on your goals, and your build, there's some offensive stuff that's worth taking early. If you're attack based, like most marauders I'd say, Resolute Technique is a great keystone for example since it removes your misses entirely, at the cost of not being able to crit.
 

fucker_sl

shitlord
677
9
. If you're attack based, like most marauders I'd say, Resolute Technique is a great keystone for example since it removes your misses entirely, at the cost of not being able to crit.
which mean shit cause half my attack miss due to lag. but i do have a shitty connection :p