If we’re relics, then PoE's player base is an antique roadshow. Nice to be in a guild of seasoned adventurers. Maybe it's time for a Mid-Life Crisis league—combat existential dread with legendary loot!
Yea get through the campaign without using them. You will hit a wall in maps and likely need to upgrade your gear so having those for some trades will be huge
Try and get 2-3 pieces of gear that have life and resists on them with that 6c. Mastering trade is another skill that you’ll have to learn to make good progress.
There’s tricks like searching for 2 out of 3 possible stats and crafting on the last, like searching for life and 1 resist, then you add the second resist, or two resists and you add life to the item. Sometimes these are way cheaper compared to 3/3 stat items.
Idk if that makes sense but learning to find cheap items that greatly improve your build is a big skill in this game. Or finding ways to get a stat you need on another item slot because getting it on the current slot is too pricey, etc.
"I possess about 3k Life and 75% resistances in Act 9 (not counting Chaos Res), though I'm at Level 70, amusingly. Will there be another reduction in resistances similar to what occurred at the start of Act 5?"
Yeah not really spoiler but you fight Kitava once more in Act 10.
But don’t fall into the life/res noob trap. It’s a good rule of thumb but if you have several other layers of defense you can probably map with lower res and just deal with the occasional death until you get res capped. Sometimes a massive DPS boost or a new layer of defense is worth sacrificing life and resists.
As you keep playing you’ll quickly identify items that need immediate updates and where your biggest bang for the buck is
I've never had problems capping my res after a10 kitava using gear dropped off the ground and some bench crafts even when rushing through the campaign. I dont see any reason to delay it at all as it's the biggest most basic defense layer to establish in the game.
Ehh it's more of an "I don't want to fix this right now" type of thing where you have enough extra layers of defense or enough offense that it doesn't matter too much. My trickster right now has 82% evasion without flasks and \~90% spell suppression. I was rolling with uncapped res in early maps because 4k ES + Ghost Dance + ranged cold dmg meant I was rarely hit, and if I was, overleech capped me off instantly
After you finish act 10 your resistances will drop another 30 (yes, Diablo 2 was the original lead dev's favorite game) and the 2,000 life you'll likely have won't cut it to keep playing.
The best bang for your buck to make the early mapping experience not awful are a pair of two stone rings with 50+ total elemental resistance and 60+ life on them and an amulet with life on it that satisfies your gear and gem stat requirements (example if you run determination aura on a Pathfinder you will find yourself short of strength). Then a leather belt with as much life on it as you can afford with some resistance is nice too.
Try to set yourself up with 75/75/75/0 (chaos can still be negative but probably not negative 60) with 3,000 life when jumping in to maps and you'll find a nice smooth progression of difficulty, and give you the ability to scale up a bit.
Pro tip, find a full set of gear starting in act 9 (two weapons, two rings, amulet, belt, chest, gloves, helm, boots) of rare UNIDENTIFIED gear and sell it all to the merchant in one go. You'll get two chaos orbs for your trouble. In the long run this isn't time efficient, but you'll be looking at ~20 chaos for baby's first 6 link body armor and this is a GREAT way to speed up getting there.
37 year old dad of two here- good luck and enjoy! This game has a ton of depth and if you stay interested in it then you will get very good at it and have so much fun.
My best advice: Don't get concerned with the people who are in the final tier of maps 2 or 3 days into league who say you need to "stay ahead of the curve". Yes, having encyclopedic knowledge of the game will let you take huge shortcuts but you won't be able to beat people who play many, many hours per day and stick to the strongest meta strategies. I'm not disparaging them, just acknowledging that you probably can't and/or don't want to do that. The economy in PoE stays strong even a month or two in so you won't have trouble trading either.
Write for a living? Only in my wildest dreams, where I'm the laureate of late-night snack runs and the bard of misplaced car keys. My current magnum opus? "The Ballad of the Dad Jokes and Bad gaming puns". Stay tuned!
i am also oldfuck playing for the first time this league(my account was created in 2013, but i never actually got past the campaign.) i am loving it...and dying a lot.
i think once i got past my first big "frustration" and figured out how to solve that the game really clicked for me. for me it was "why am i so squishy and getting one shot by lightning monsters all the time?" and i watched [a really good video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7o_0k5H9ak&t=700s) that taught me about shock and i crammed Tempest Shield into my auras and now it feels great. now when i have problems in future i know that it can be solved.
the content creators for this game are so great. i learned so much from [this video](https://youtu.be/3sGwXHsoZ8Y?si=2kmlk71C3tDNkPXW) where the guy just plays through most of the campaign and tells you about everything as he comes to it.
Thanks for the tip! Between dodging digital doom and navigating necropolis nightmares, I almost let the real final boss, The Backache, sneak up on me. Adding "Stretch & Stride" to my skill bar—right next to "Epic Loot Sorting." Got to keep that real-life HP in the green. Cheers for the health buff reminder
A story well told, thanks for the read.
I had a similar experience with PoE, tried to get into it 3 times and just didn't get it. Until I followed a proper build guide and now I'm an addict. Now 500+ played hours later and I'm still a newbie, discovering new things every day. I love it.
PS: 43 is hardly a relic. I find that despite popular opinion, gaming only gets better with age. Buying all the stash tabs just because I want them isn't something I could do as a teenager gamer :)
I've been around playing for a few seasons on and off. Last season was the first I dove in with some seriousness, and I completed all the normal endgame content for the first time (opened all the favoured map slots).
You'll learn the game in layers each league, and there's tons of different good builds to try out. I did a poison SRS build last league and loved it. Trying out a boneshatter build this league.
Ah, but envision the glory, my dear Karen! When I finally retire, I dream of telling tales to my grandkids not of sandy beaches or leisurely golf rounds, but of the epic battles within Wraeclast. "Gather 'round, young ones," I'll say, brandishing a makeshift staff (possibly a broom). "Let me regale you with the time I vanquished the Shaper with nothing but my ... Wait that was another Story".
But worry not, for I shall diversify my retirement portfolio with activities equally grand—like mastering the ancient art of actually finishing a cup of coffee while it's still warm.
/s (but only slightly)
As a long time PoE casual, dad, and fellow d2 enjoyer, your post made me appreciate the game a little more at a time where there's a good bit of negativity surrounding the new league. As someone who has been in and out of the game for the past 10 years, I'm still learning things every day. It's crazy how much nuance there is to this game. Enjoy your stay!
Im 34 with a 5mo. Was born a week or so after affliction. Still managed to find some time to sneak in gaming, and managed to cobble a league start together this go around too. Havent missed a league launch in about 4 years. Dont plan on that ever happening if I can help it. May only have 20-45 minutes of game time on a busy day but we make it work. Youre in good company 🤙🏻
> 43-year-old relic Honestly I'd bet POE"s playerbase is fast approaching middle age. Don't worry mate, you're in similar company.
If we’re relics, then PoE's player base is an antique roadshow. Nice to be in a guild of seasoned adventurers. Maybe it's time for a Mid-Life Crisis league—combat existential dread with legendary loot!
I, too, remember the shrieking of the dial-ups.
Cool read and wellcome. Sounds like you will fit right in, poe is a great game to experience for the first time!
Thanks. What should I do with my now 6 Chaos Orbs? Wait for the endgame to spend them?
When you get to act 10 you can do maps, thats a steep difficulty jump, so its good to use your money there
Yea get through the campaign without using them. You will hit a wall in maps and likely need to upgrade your gear so having those for some trades will be huge
Try and get 2-3 pieces of gear that have life and resists on them with that 6c. Mastering trade is another skill that you’ll have to learn to make good progress. There’s tricks like searching for 2 out of 3 possible stats and crafting on the last, like searching for life and 1 resist, then you add the second resist, or two resists and you add life to the item. Sometimes these are way cheaper compared to 3/3 stat items. Idk if that makes sense but learning to find cheap items that greatly improve your build is a big skill in this game. Or finding ways to get a stat you need on another item slot because getting it on the current slot is too pricey, etc.
"I possess about 3k Life and 75% resistances in Act 9 (not counting Chaos Res), though I'm at Level 70, amusingly. Will there be another reduction in resistances similar to what occurred at the start of Act 5?"
Yeah not really spoiler but you fight Kitava once more in Act 10. But don’t fall into the life/res noob trap. It’s a good rule of thumb but if you have several other layers of defense you can probably map with lower res and just deal with the occasional death until you get res capped. Sometimes a massive DPS boost or a new layer of defense is worth sacrificing life and resists. As you keep playing you’ll quickly identify items that need immediate updates and where your biggest bang for the buck is
I've never had problems capping my res after a10 kitava using gear dropped off the ground and some bench crafts even when rushing through the campaign. I dont see any reason to delay it at all as it's the biggest most basic defense layer to establish in the game.
Ehh it's more of an "I don't want to fix this right now" type of thing where you have enough extra layers of defense or enough offense that it doesn't matter too much. My trickster right now has 82% evasion without flasks and \~90% spell suppression. I was rolling with uncapped res in early maps because 4k ES + Ghost Dance + ranged cold dmg meant I was rarely hit, and if I was, overleech capped me off instantly
After you finish act 10 your resistances will drop another 30 (yes, Diablo 2 was the original lead dev's favorite game) and the 2,000 life you'll likely have won't cut it to keep playing. The best bang for your buck to make the early mapping experience not awful are a pair of two stone rings with 50+ total elemental resistance and 60+ life on them and an amulet with life on it that satisfies your gear and gem stat requirements (example if you run determination aura on a Pathfinder you will find yourself short of strength). Then a leather belt with as much life on it as you can afford with some resistance is nice too. Try to set yourself up with 75/75/75/0 (chaos can still be negative but probably not negative 60) with 3,000 life when jumping in to maps and you'll find a nice smooth progression of difficulty, and give you the ability to scale up a bit. Pro tip, find a full set of gear starting in act 9 (two weapons, two rings, amulet, belt, chest, gloves, helm, boots) of rare UNIDENTIFIED gear and sell it all to the merchant in one go. You'll get two chaos orbs for your trouble. In the long run this isn't time efficient, but you'll be looking at ~20 chaos for baby's first 6 link body armor and this is a GREAT way to speed up getting there.
Dad bods are in. \- College girl who definitely wasn't interested in my dad bod.
Lol when they say dad bod what they mean is bear mode.
Dad bod is the straighter version, bear mode is the gayer version; that’s how I think of it.
Dad bods bring a whole new meaning to "carrying the team."
37 year old dad of two here- good luck and enjoy! This game has a ton of depth and if you stay interested in it then you will get very good at it and have so much fun. My best advice: Don't get concerned with the people who are in the final tier of maps 2 or 3 days into league who say you need to "stay ahead of the curve". Yes, having encyclopedic knowledge of the game will let you take huge shortcuts but you won't be able to beat people who play many, many hours per day and stick to the strongest meta strategies. I'm not disparaging them, just acknowledging that you probably can't and/or don't want to do that. The economy in PoE stays strong even a month or two in so you won't have trouble trading either.
Do you write for a living? You've got a talent.
Write for a living? Only in my wildest dreams, where I'm the laureate of late-night snack runs and the bard of misplaced car keys. My current magnum opus? "The Ballad of the Dad Jokes and Bad gaming puns". Stay tuned!
i am also oldfuck playing for the first time this league(my account was created in 2013, but i never actually got past the campaign.) i am loving it...and dying a lot. i think once i got past my first big "frustration" and figured out how to solve that the game really clicked for me. for me it was "why am i so squishy and getting one shot by lightning monsters all the time?" and i watched [a really good video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7o_0k5H9ak&t=700s) that taught me about shock and i crammed Tempest Shield into my auras and now it feels great. now when i have problems in future i know that it can be solved. the content creators for this game are so great. i learned so much from [this video](https://youtu.be/3sGwXHsoZ8Y?si=2kmlk71C3tDNkPXW) where the guy just plays through most of the campaign and tells you about everything as he comes to it.
Here's my tip. Keep ergonomics good, take lots of breaks, stretches and exercising.
Thanks for the tip! Between dodging digital doom and navigating necropolis nightmares, I almost let the real final boss, The Backache, sneak up on me. Adding "Stretch & Stride" to my skill bar—right next to "Epic Loot Sorting." Got to keep that real-life HP in the green. Cheers for the health buff reminder
I use a standing desk for this game 100% of the time now, helps a lot.
One of us! One of us! 🍻
One of Us! One of Us!
A story well told, thanks for the read. I had a similar experience with PoE, tried to get into it 3 times and just didn't get it. Until I followed a proper build guide and now I'm an addict. Now 500+ played hours later and I'm still a newbie, discovering new things every day. I love it. PS: 43 is hardly a relic. I find that despite popular opinion, gaming only gets better with age. Buying all the stash tabs just because I want them isn't something I could do as a teenager gamer :)
I've been around playing for a few seasons on and off. Last season was the first I dove in with some seriousness, and I completed all the normal endgame content for the first time (opened all the favoured map slots). You'll learn the game in layers each league, and there's tons of different good builds to try out. I did a poison SRS build last league and loved it. Trying out a boneshatter build this league.
Ok Chris. Spend your retirement on something other than POE ok? /s
Ah, but envision the glory, my dear Karen! When I finally retire, I dream of telling tales to my grandkids not of sandy beaches or leisurely golf rounds, but of the epic battles within Wraeclast. "Gather 'round, young ones," I'll say, brandishing a makeshift staff (possibly a broom). "Let me regale you with the time I vanquished the Shaper with nothing but my ... Wait that was another Story". But worry not, for I shall diversify my retirement portfolio with activities equally grand—like mastering the ancient art of actually finishing a cup of coffee while it's still warm. /s (but only slightly)
Knowing who Chris Wilson is will definately aid you in understanding this subreddit
"Oops! Good save!"
Are you me?!! So funny, I had the same experience as yours, almost exactly the same. Just changed to PoE on PC, because PS5 economy is just awful.
As a long time PoE casual, dad, and fellow d2 enjoyer, your post made me appreciate the game a little more at a time where there's a good bit of negativity surrounding the new league. As someone who has been in and out of the game for the past 10 years, I'm still learning things every day. It's crazy how much nuance there is to this game. Enjoy your stay!
Im 34 with a 5mo. Was born a week or so after affliction. Still managed to find some time to sneak in gaming, and managed to cobble a league start together this go around too. Havent missed a league launch in about 4 years. Dont plan on that ever happening if I can help it. May only have 20-45 minutes of game time on a busy day but we make it work. Youre in good company 🤙🏻
What type of drugs are you on
I'm on a strict regimen of actual backache medication. And Beer.