Build guides and switching passives and gems

I completed the campaign following this guide that was recommended in multiple beginner videos I watched:
https://pobb.in/20ygT23MsdQV (Hybrid MoM Ice Nova of Frostbolts Hierophant)

I followed the guide step by step through the first chunk of the campaign until I got to mid-40's level . (I was overleveled due to doing everything) Which bring me to the huge problem I kept running into: changing, well, EVERTHING...

Is it normal for build guides to be making numerous passive node changes as you level and progress? I had nowhere near enough orbs of regret to make all the changes...
Is it normal for build guides to completely change out your skill gems around level 31? Because I did this which put me into level 1 skill gems and I couldn't kill anything...lol

Is there a beginners guide for beginners? I went quite slow and was fairly meticulous about following the above guide and I just tried my first map and got pummeled and tried my second map and got clapped again. I have capped fire/cold/lightning, ~2k hp, ~900 shield, 292 int, 151 str, 64 dex at level 75.

Any general advice would be greatly appreciated. I can tell this game is going to keep me busy for years and really want to give it an honest try, but I have to be missing something very rudimentary.


Last bumped on Oct 3, 2024, 4:58:23 AM
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Is it normal for build guides to be making numerous passive node changes as you level and progress?


Yes, but only to a certain extent. Many builds will utilize changing skill points during levelling for optimal levelling speed. However, if the build is a league starting build, you can not rely on using regret orbs, rather using the respect points from quest, which is a maximum of 20, and usually less, because a lot of these quests are also skipped for efficiency. If your build guide is doing more than this, it's possible it is not intended for league start. One further point, there is a league mechanic this league league which utilizes gold for respec, so that may also be involved. The way this is done can some times be done more cost efficiently with certain pathing, so check your not wasting respecs that you don't need to with the way you have pathed. Build guides can have errors as well, it's just a guide, not a substitute for understanding the game.

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Is it normal for build guides to completely change out your skill gems around level 31? Because I did this which put me into level 1 skill gems and I couldn't kill anything...lol


Maybe. This is around the level of first ascendancy so maybe there is a reason for the changes. If this is the case, it could be that there is some preparation involved, like levelling the gems in secondary weapons, so they are ready to go at the time of switching. Typically this isn't a major problem at that level, as under levelled gems catch pretty quickly, but they may be doing the above for a smoother change over. It probably most important for the main skill gem. This might be more of a factor if something else on your build is not optimal and multiple things are compounding to slow you down.

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Is there a beginners guide for beginners?


It may that you are trying something a bit advanced without learning some of the basic knowledge. The game just has so much information. Guides are useful, but they are just an aid. The difference between someone who has played thousands of hours and someone who is highly skilled versus a new player is likely way beyond what you are expecting and may be use to from other games. A guide might be able to help you progress faster than you would otherwise, but it wont make you go as fast or have the knowledge of people who are basically professional players. If you went and got a sports lesson of a professional, you will likely improve, but you probably won't reach their ability. At least not in the short term. There may be some activities where it is possible to transfer the knowledge instantly. For example Tick, Tack Toe. You can show optimal strategy. The more complex something gets, the more difficult it is to transfer that knowledge. Poe is fairly complex.

To answer your question I don't know if there is a particularly good guide for beginners. Part of the reason for this is the game changes regularly, so any information that is created can loose relevance. I would say for beginners, some of the information ZiggyD has mage is pretty good, as it is specifically aimed at new players. Here is some examples.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4aZrsY9M5qAnolDbjLydS73doD2MtAcQ

Keep in mind this information is from 10 years ago and the game changes every 3 months. So it is long time out of date, but is pretty broad and may be helpful. He is still making guides if you are looking for something more relevant, like the current league. You may also find this is not advanced enough for what you are looking and need to get information from players who are showing something more advanced. There are lots of people who have made these guides, so look around for one that best suits what you are trying to achieve, or a range of people. No one is able to cover everything. There also a lot of good non-video information, and resources that you can use to help. Usually if it is anything from past leagues, someone has created something to help and you just need to find it. For example this league I used timeless jewel tools which people have created to help with finding them. Most aspects of the game have information created.

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got pummeled and tried my second map and got clapped again. I have capped fire/cold/lightning, ~2k hp, ~900 shield, 292 int, 151 str, 64 dex at level 75.

Any general advice would be greatly appreciated. I can tell this game is going to keep me busy for years and really want to give it an honest try, but I have to be missing something very rudimentary.


In terms of your current build. I'm not familiar, except that I think it is currently pretty popular, so should be capable of doing this content. Making your account public can help with this. People with be able to inspect and provide more specific advice.
Last edited by Belegur85 on Sep 30, 2024, 6:07:29 AM
Amazing and detailed answer. Thank you so much.
Thanks for the playlist recommend, I will watch it and hopefully learn some things. I am certain I am missing some foundational things because I went too fast in just learning the bare minimum to rip through the campaign. I need to study up some more. Clearly one week is not enough to pick up the necessities in this game, heh :)

Many thanks!
Yeah its pretty out of date, a bit hard to on the eyes with the game resolution. Though he has a good way of describing things basically. There still is some good information in there, even if some of it is no longer correct, due to game updates. Maybe someone has something a bit more current they can suggest.

This might also be useful.

https://www.poe-vault.com/guides/path-of-exile-beginner-guide-welcome-to-wraeclast-fresh-exiles-start-here

It could be that you are needing something a bit more advanced than any of this though, since you have made it to maps. Maybe an intermediate guide.

This Fixfaxer cheat sheet is also pretty useful. There's probably an updated version for this league.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fIs8sdvgZG7iVouPdtFkbRx5kv55_xVja8l19yubyRU/edit?gid=1983365983#gid=1983365983
Last edited by Belegur85 on Sep 30, 2024, 4:06:08 AM
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M1sterVintage wrote:
Clearly one week is not enough to pick up the necessities in this game, heh :)

Many thanks!


Give it a year and maybe u're ready :D Honestly tho, take it slow and try to pick up as much on the way as u can. Don't try to alter build guides. If they recommend changing ur skill tree or ur gems, do it. It always has a good reason.
Best u can do is trying to understand why they make those changes, but that might take more experience aswell.
Definitely the norm for build guides, but the good ones will give you a warning about it. Always a god idea to skim through and see what you are in for.

Things to watch out for with beginner/league startbuild guides in general:

-Excessive amount of unique's required for build to function
-Transfigured gems
-Ascendancy swaps (very annoying)
-Skill gems that have to be muled (only available at league start by playing a different class to acquire)
-Excessive respec


Worth noting, dont forget you can respec in kings march for gold. It is pretty cheap at low level, I just did it on a lvl 21 in gauntlet and it was like 39 gold/point
“Freedom is what we do with what is done to us.”
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Worth noting, dont forget you can respec in kings march for gold. It is pretty cheap at low level, I just did it on a lvl 21 in gauntlet and it was like 39 gold/point



Oh man, didn't know that! I will check it out. Cheers
I wanted to follow up with discoveries and findings as a result of this thread and the helpful folks here.
I watched some general beginner tips videos and learned a ton and realize I now know about 0.8% of the information I need to be excellent at this game :p
* I was crafting completely wrong - chasing numbers in character pane rather than getting what I needed for the build I was playing
- I had all quality ZERO items
- I was not using jewels
Huge one here: I learned how incredibly good the trading support is in this game...I HAD NO IDEA!
This allowed me to get some currency to re-roll for more sockets, link sockets and even pick up a really good wand.

A few more days of playing and I have spec'ed into my endgame build and am destroying the lower tier maps.

Again, thank you all that provided the help, keep being awesome :)
Nice one.

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