Prepare A Character Plan Before You Begin Playing Path of Exile from arqkzaqkyge's blog

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Path of Exile has been around for quite some time, but with the release of another massive chunk of content and the introduction of a new league where you can create your own big baddies to battle for massive swaths of loot, now is a fantastic time to get involved in the action. Path of Exile is a fantastic game to play whether you want to play completely solo, with a friend network to share loot with, or in groups to earn bigger and better rewards. Having said that, getting started in Path of Exile can seem like an extremely intimidating prospect, especially given the game's massive passive skill tree, ascendancy choices, and map-centric endgame atlas to navigate. While the systems can be complex, they do not have to be complicated to learn how to use - so let's get started!

1) Download a loot filter and install it.
Path of Exile is a treasure trove of items, particularly as you progress through the game and begin to complete endgame map content. If you try to play without using buy POE Currency, you'll find yourself spending a lot of time looking through endless trash - and I do mean endless. Screen after screen of stuff that will bury anything of interest under a wave of garbage, and you won't even be able to find the good stuff amongst all of the noise. So the first thing you need to do is purchase a loot filter, which is fairly simple to do. The core version of Filterblades is my go-to option for simplicity and ease of use; simply drop it into your folder and select it from your UI options. You can get it right here, and then you can relax knowing that you won't have to sift through hundreds of drops on a single screen.

2) Prepare a character plan before you begin.
I understand how frustrating it is to have to commit to a build before even starting to play. While respeccing in Path of Exile is possible, it is time-consuming and expensive in terms of resources, so you'll want to save your orbs of regret for fine-tuning instead of a complete overhaul. But there's nothing worse than reaching the endgame and realizing that your build isn't quite up to par, and then having to spend a few days rerolling a new character. A guide isn't required, but it is recommended, and there are some excellent ones available on the official Path of Exile forums, Reddit, and other sites. In order to create your own path, picking a few skills or broad stroke archetypes, such as necromancers or elementalists, can be useful. Whatever you do, don't forget to keep an eye on your health/energy shield and sustainability points as you level. Path of Exile is a little deceptive in this regard, as you can plow through the base game and its Act structure fairly easily only to find yourself one-shot in the endgame atlas due to a low health pool, poor resists, or other defenses. So, despite the temptation to become a massive damage machine at the expense of all defensive stats, resist the urge. You'll end up paying the price later on!

3) Purchase a few specific (and necessary) stash tabs.
Path of Exile is a game about looting, and we're going to need a place to keep it all organized! Yes, Path of Exile is a free-to-play game. And it's probably one of the best models out there for it, relying primarily on cosmetic items and providing players with complete access to all content for free. However, at this point in the game, I believe that two of the optional purchase stash tabs are absolutely necessary if you want to have a good time. The currency tab is the first and most important to understand. This tab will store and organize basically everything relevant you come across on your journey, and in my opinion, the game isn't playable without it - you'll have far too much clutter to be able to function without it. I also believe that a map stash tab is essential for organizing your extensive map collection, but this one is a little more contentious.

4) Don't forget about ascendancy.
Ascendancy points are similar to passive points, but they are often much more powerful, and they are allocated to special trees that help you define your character. While you're tearing your way through the game's acts, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that the Labyrinth is present. At this point in PoE's life, the Labyrinth and ascendancy points are the equivalent of eating your vegetables before dessert. As you progress through the game, keep an eye out for trap-filled trials that will appear in various areas. As tempting as it may be to skip these, you must complete them in order to gain access to the various tiers of Labyrinth that grant you access to these extremely valuable ascendancy points. If you're having trouble in the Labyrinth, you can outlevel and outgear the first few tiers fairly easily, especially if you can find some % life regen.

5) Don't freak out and go have a good time!
Preparation for a game can be paralyzing, leaving you wondering if POE Item Simulator will be perfect and spending far too much time deciding where each and every point should be placed on the passive tree. Do not be concerned about it! Get in there, it's Metamorph league, go have a good time! In this league, you will collect brains, lungs, hearts, and other monster organs in order to build your own bosses and reap massive rewards - you will be flooded with maps, rare loot, and various currencies. You get a taste of this system while going through the acts, but once you start doing maps, you can collect boss-specific organs and create even bigger beasts with incredible payoffs. You might make a few mistakes here and there! It's fine! As you become more familiar with the game, you may be tempted to try some of the other modes, such as hardcore (where if you die, it's game over!) or solo-self found (where you won't be able to rely on other players for your gear - you'll only be able to use the stuff you find or craft yourself!). Path of Exile has a lot to offer, and each league introduces new twists and turns - so get out there and go create a monster!
 


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