How is ssf going for u guys/girls? ^^

So Poison SRS Ascendant gear progression is/was harder than expected.

So I "switched" to SC SSF Toxic Rain Ballista Hierophant. For some reason this seems to be an upopular combination despite the obvious power. Progression did go much more smooth. Build is still very much WIP.



Mercenary found a 82 Bladebitter with Grace & Malevolence but unfortunately AI seems to be too pacifist and DPS capacity doesnt look good either. So still using Toxicologist ~78 with only Grace.

Plan is to switch to Widowhail eventually but still havent found a single uni Bow of the right size so cant make one yet.

So I did score a Widowhail off Vorici (directly which is unlikely but it happened) etc:

Elder's Exalt on quiver failed unfortunately.

Merc I got a Grace + Haste Sniper which works. Unfortunately got 1x Brutality in the links. Still best Merc so far though.

And I dropped a DoD, not planning on using unless I cant keep Merc alive otherwise.

This is quite popular for Merc but DEX one cant use:


Edit: Skill Tree:

So I played in Merciless Gauntlet. The humble(?) goal was to level to 100 which I managed. Afterwards tried some Valdo map and RIPped near instantly to offscreen multi-ghosted Elder. Didnt do any bosses other than the Admiral.
Build was Poison BAMA Wildspeaker.
The special boss things in Campaign were much harder than expected - maybe didnt remember properly from last time or sth. Unfortunately I had no Passive plan for campaign so I had to yolo something as build doesnt come online before maps. That was Toxic Rain Ballista which I had planned to use in campaign anyway. However I didnt plan to invest much in passives for it. So later it took some time to respec to BAMA. Most of the rest (non-boss parts) of the campaign was easy due to Ruthless overleveling and such for the bosses.
Progression in maps did go ok. Crafting and such was likely on the lucky side.
Build is okish for xp/h but not as good as some other builds.
The Spell Suppression node on Wildspeaker was the first I took and used it all the way. Only place (other than the Valdo...) I noticed an issue with the missing Suppression power was Delve.



Mercenary was Sniper with Haste & Grace & dual curse (HexImmunes too) Temp Chains/Despair & Chill-on-Poison & Culling & Mask. Unfortunately only ~77 and just 2 supports on the damage skills. Never found a good replacement. I got a ~83 with Haste & Grace and lots supports but unfortunately in both damage links Brutality.

Tree:

SSF’s been fine for me. I log in, run a couple Delve nodes or a quick Heist, and bail before I get tilted. Traps and RF have been comfy with scuffed gear, so I don’t feel rushed. If you want something new but low commitment, Slay the Spire or Into the Breach work great in short bursts. Vampire Survivors is also solid when your brain’s fried.
I’m in finals too, so I study in between runs with a servsafe practice test 2025 on my phone. The quick, free quizzes are easy to fit in without a full study session.

Hi all in new league.

Yesterday i killed Brutus and got into Prisoners Gate and so far got this:





Also:




How is going for You?

Also

In terms of gear progression in SSF, IMO the current league mechanic is the best or one of the best league mechanic they have done to the point it might be OP.

My only issue with the Genesis Tree, it made the other league mechanic irrelevant unless you want exclusive drop from the other certain league mechanic.



Currently in T7, no 6-link yet but 5-link almost got full stash tab.
Got my 5-link at A10. Unlike in the previous leagues, I reached mid red maps in 4-link.

Other notable drops

2 from drops, 2 from tree

Just got that (ACT V) as normal rare, scoured it, alch it till acceptable and here it is



But i must say i never struggled this much with maxing reses.

Also playing in new Keepers league. Lvl 95 Pathfinder. First time playing Poisonous Concoction (of Bouncing). Vague plan was originally to switch to Viper Mamba but I will probably not do that soon or ever. Poisonous Concoction seems to be quite a good skill for early progression but its mechanically unfun IMO due to the need to aim precisely. The trans Bouncing is much better at that. Got it with Merciless lab farming.

Unfortunately its still a misfit for the "defend" versions of the league mechanic. In the Q&A they "promised" that that wouldnt be an issue. That "promise" didnt even last 2 weeks... And the Fortress "what we are working on" doesnt really address this. League mechanic shouldnt be so build discriminating, especially if they before say/imply that it isnt.

And bigger issue is that servers somehow got so bad that its not really playable anymore. (So Im posting in the forum instead.) Symptoms suggest that its server overload but cant really be sure at this point, could be something else.

The equipment part of the tree is too powerful at this point, overly easy to get good gear that I couldnt get otherwise. 6 links in particluar are almost free, I dont think this is quite right. Also think that the "crafting" is a bit too simple and thoughtless. Its kind of the other end of Necropolis crafting which was rather complex (good) and such but too time consuming and clicky (bad).
The currency part doesnt drop much currency, Shipping apparently gives alot more still, not sure about quality/rarity though.


Edit: Forgot hands, seems to be hard to get good ones: