Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Playing Path of Exile

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Like every other game Path of Exile has its intricacies, perhaps even more than other games in fact. Even after months of playing the game and leveling several characters and classes there’s still a ton of stuff I need to learn. I still remember how some “basics” were extremely confusing for me when I started playing PoE so I decided to make a list of things I think new players might find useful to know. It’s by no means a comprehensive list but I still hope you find it helpful.

1. Follow a skill tree build

Ok so the first thing you should do when you make your first character (or preferably just before) is to find a good skill tree build and follow it. I know we all want more damage but in Path of Exile building a glass-cannon character simply doesn’t work in endgame. A majority of your points usually need to be in defensive talents, because simply put a dead character isn’t dealing any damage.

If you’re confused with picking a class you can take this as a basis:

  • If you want to play a ranged caster mage pick a Witch
  • If you want a ranged archer pick a Marauder or Duelist
  • If you want a tank pick a Marauder or Templar
  • If you want melee DPS pick a Marauder, Templar or Duelist
  • If you want a melee caster pick a Shadow
  • If you want a dual-wielding melee beast pick a Duelist

2. Don’t throw away skill gems with +Quality

They are valuable and can be traded to other players, or even vendors in bulk for very valuable currency items called Gemcutter’s Prism. Any gems with less than +12% quality are best to simply sell to vendors. The recipe works the same way as other +quality items: sell gems with a combined quality of 40% and you’ll get a Prism. Anything over 12% quality should be either used by you or traded to other players.

3. Don’t spend currency on low-level items

And by low-level I mean anything below 60. I know it’s tempting to turn those “useless” white items into rare (yellow) ones when you’re level 30 or 40 but you will out-level them very quickly. Orbs of Alchemy and Chaos Orbs are much better used for high-end items so save them, you will need every single one.

Blacksmith’s Whetstone and Armorer’s Scraps on the other hand are fairly easy to come by and if you find a decent piece of gear you will use for awhile feel free to improve its stats.

4. If you don’t know the value of an item, don’t trade it

I still don’t know the value of a lot of items and sometimes it’s hard to determine it, but if you think something is really good don’t just sell it for an Alchemy Orb. A good example is the aforementioned +Quality gems: high-level characters often prey on lowbies in Normal difficulty and try to buy out their gems for Alchemy Orbs. If a gem is 6% quality or less you can trade it away for an Alchemy Orb, but anything above that is more valuable (look above at tip #2).

5. Pick up all orbs

I must admit I haven’t made this mistake myself (I still pick up most Wisdom scrolls even though they are pretty much useless), but don’t skip picking up any orbs that drop for you. All of them can be traded for higher valued currency items and once you figure out what their value is you’ll start probably need as many as you can get your hands on.

Even common currency items such as Orbs of Alteration and Chromatic Orbs are worth picking up. Once you get your hands on a 6-linked item you might end up spending hundreds of Chromatic Orbs to get the socket colors you want.

6. Pick up items with linked 3-color sockets

If you see an item drop that has 3 LINKED gem sockets of different colors pick it up and sell it to a vendor for a Chromatic Orb. Even though Chromatics are fairly easy to come by chances are you will need a lot of them, and of course you can trade them for something more useful if you have extra. If you don’t pick them up, you won’t have any extra.

Once you approach level 50 or so and start grinding Merciless be sure to re-read this loot guide and remember all items you need to pick up. Never forget to pick up items with 6 sockets (even white ones), and you better click like a madman when you see one with 5 or 6 linked sockets. They are extremely valuable.

7. Grind experience in groups

You get more items, more experience and you’ll kill monsters quicker. Path of Exile was built for playing in groups so take advantage of it. If you need advice on where to grind experience read my leveling guide. If you’re having trouble picking up your own loot in groups and hate ninjas, well, then you better get used to it. Until GGG implements a decent loot system you can’t blame anyone for taking your items. Even if you don’t end up picking all of your items chances are you’ll pick up someone else’s more than often which equals things out.

8. Be prepared to spend money

Although it’s admittedly not a very helpful tip, I’d just like to point out that you will need to spend a few bucks on this game after awhile. You can’t buy items or anything like that, but you will need stash tabs. If you intend on leveling multiple characters you will run out of inventory space in your stash fairly quickly so be prepared to spend about $20. I know a couple of people who loathe spending money on online games and this is a deal breaker for them, which I honestly think is sad, but to each its own.

9. Not all areas have waypoints

Before you search the same area three times looking for a waypoint, you might want to take a look at my list of zones which have waypoints, it might just save you some unnecessary searching. In most cases you don’t even need to bother finding waypoints (in Normal and Cruel difficulties) as you’ll simply progress further quite fast and won’t really have a use or need for them later on. Just remember to always try and get to a waypoint before you finish playing as it’s the only way to save progress.

10. Trade low-value currencies with a vendor

Vendors are more than just bots where you dump your trash. They can actually exchange (some) currencies for you so you don’t have to bother spamming the trade channel if you’re missing a few Fusings. You can take a look at the table below for some of the trading ratios:

Sell: You get: Note
Jeweller’s Orb x3 Chromatic x1 Not worth it unless you desperately need one or two Chromatics.
Augmentation Orb x4 Alteration x1 Worth it when you end up with tons of Augmentations after awhile.
Alteration Orb x2 Jeweller’s Orb x1 Same value.
Orb of Fusing x1 Orb of Chance x1 Not worth it as 1 Fusing is worth 4 Chance Orbs.
Jeweller’s Orb x4 Orb of Fusing x1 Market value.
Orb of Regret x1 Orb of Alchemy x1 Same value (obviously).
Orb of Chance x4 Orb of Scouring x1 Market value.
Orb of Scouring x2 Orb of Regret x1 Market value.

This is actually one of the basic ways how low and mid value orb prices are determined on the market. If a vendor exchanges 1 Regret for 1 Alchemy obviously player’s won’t exchange them for a different ratio, unless someone is trying to take advantage of your lack of knowledge about the pricing system.

As you may notice some trades are definitely not worth doing at vendors since you can trade with players with a better ratio, but if (or rather when) you find yourself with hundreds of Alterations rather than bothering with finding a player to trade with for something more valuable you can exchange them at vendors for Orb of Fusing or Regret: they are also more sought after and thus easier to find players to trade with, not to mention you might need them yourself as well.

You can take a look at Exilestats for the currency values to get a better understanding of them, but do note that the in-game prices among players vary more often and can be either higher or lower, so it’s more of a guideline than a rule.

11. Check vendors for items

Vendors sometimes sell items that can be sold back for Chromatic Orbs (see tip #6) for a measly Orb of Augmentation which has a much lower value. Even though a Chromatic isn’t a very valuable orb, it’s still a good trade. Also pay attention to items with 6 sockets and as previously mentioned more importantly 5 and 6 linked sockets, as you can trade them to other players for a whole lot more than they cost. Do note that vendors sell these rarely, but if you check it every once in awhile you’ll come across one I’m sure.

Other resources:

  • http://www.reddit.com/r/pathofexile/wiki/faq – really helpful and organized general information about the game
  • Item mods spreadsheet – probably better for more experienced players, you don’t need to pay attention to this until endgame
  • Accuracy and Evasion table – how much hit percentage you have with a certain amount of Accuracy (quick tip: consider Resolute Technique passive node and you’ll never miss)
  • Currency values – current trade ratios for various forms of currency in Path of Exile
  • Official forums – you might want to take a look at it from time to time, there’s often useful information you can find or even ask other players
  • PoExplorer – if you ever want to buy an item this is the place. Also useful for determining prices in case you want to sell something.

If you have any of your own tips or resources, by all means you’re welcome to share them in the comments below.

Witch Passive Skill Tree Builds

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Path of Exile Witch Skill Tree Builds GuideWitch isn’t exactly the most popular class in Path of Exile, therefore the lack of variety in skill tree builds for them. Most players don’t roll a witch to play a tank or melee DPS, but if you truly wanted you can build something out of the ordinary. Most Witch builds are ranged casters , but I’ve included a couple of other builds as well in case you’re a special snowflake.

Below are a majority of most popular builds that players use on Witches, so if you need a head start on what skill gems and skill points to use this should point you in the right direction.

Dual Spark Low-Life Righteous Fire Build

This build isn’t for everyone, as it does require you to actually pay attention. Once you get the hang of it though and get the required items, you’ll easily be able to farm literally anything by yourself which is the biggest upside to this build. I recommend you check out the forum topic linked below and read more about this build and how to best make it work.

Dual Spark Chaos Inoculation Build

Another variety of the dual-totem build, this one based around Chaos Inoculation passive skill node (you have 1 health, but are immune to Chaos damage). As all dual totem builds it has great AoE damage, and since you’ll be using Spark there’s a chance to shock monsters for increased damage as well.

This build is a bit slow when leveling through Normal difficulty and even a bit in Cruel, but once you get the right passive skills you’ll be able to farm whatever your heart desires.

Dual Totem Ice Spear Build

Unlike dual totem builds with Spark, Ice Spear’s goal is to freeze everything on your screen and dish out insane amounts of AoE damage. For single target damage you can use Bear and Fire Traps, and for particularly difficult monsters Conversion Trap can save your day.

This is a pretty low-risk and versatile build capable of dealing with any map in endgame. The author included three different variations of this build, but I recommend the Spectre one.

Dominating Blow Melee Witch Build

This is one of the few Witch melee builds that isn’t too gimmicky and might actually be fun to try. I wouldn’t recommend this for your first character as it does depend on a few gear pieces to be highly effective but if you’re looking for something unusual this is probably it.

It’s based around using Dominating Blow skill gem as the main attack which creates minions from slain enemies.

Cold Crit Chaos Inoculation Build

Cold Crit Witch basically locks down multiple enemies permanently with Freezing Pulse. The author does a really good job of going through every detail about this build so if you’re interested be sure to take a look at the forum topic linked below.

The list above doesn’t of course cover every Witch build but only the most popular ones. You can take a look at the list below (taken from this thread) for a more comprehensive list of Witch builds.

Cold Witch Builds

Fire Witch Builds

Lightning Witch Builds

General Elementalist Witch Builds

Summoner Witch Builds

Totem Builds

Wand Builds

Misc Builds

I do hope these builds help you discover how powerful your Witch can be. Don’t forget to experiment with builds yourself and adapt and choose them according to your own play style as well: find a build you will like playing, don’t just copy a build because it may be more powerful than some other. And remember to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

Ranger Skill Tree Builds

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Path of Exile Ranger Passive Skill Tree Builds GuideUnlike most other classes Rangers players don’t have a vast diversity in skill tree builds. Most players roll Rangers to play as ranged archers and as such a majority of builds you can find are based around bows. It’s even been established that other classes (namely Marauders and Duelists) make even better archers due to the proximity of better defensive passive skill tree nodes, as well as Resolute Technique and Blood Magic.

Nevertheless, if you want to play a ranged bow class leveling a Ranger isn’t necessarily a bad choice. You can still have a very effective character especially if you follow proven builds that most players use. I selected a few most popular Ranger skill tree builds below to help point you in the right direction, so make sure you take a close look at what makes them so efficient and see if it works for you as well.

Lightning Arrow Build

Lightning Arrow build is without a doubt the most popular one on bow Rangers. It has likely the highest DPS and it’s very good at clearing both single-target and multiple mobs at once. Lightning Arrow is usually linked with Lesser Multiple Projectiles, Weapon Elemental Damage and Life on Hit and Chain support gems, assuming you go for Blood Magic passive skill, and if you have a 6-linked item you can remove the Blood Magic node and add a support gem. For single targets most players use Frenzy or Elemental Hit, generally linked with the same support gems.

The build is basically fully defensive with barely any points in damage, which is usually how ranger builds work. If you have to keep running from every single monster or keep dying constantly then you’re not doing damage anyway. The upside to this build is that it simply does work well and doesn’t require any specific expensive unique items.

Rain of Arrows Build

Another hugely popular Ranger build is based around Rain of Arrows. It isn’t much different from the Lightning Arrow build in terms of equipment or points in your skill tree, so you can even switch back and forth and test both builds if you wish with a few Orbs of Regret. Even the forum topic for this build is the same as above, so go ahead and check it out as well.

Dual Wield Physical Sword Build

A simple and effective build based on dual wielding swords. Abilities used are Dual Strike, Flicker Strike, Cleave and Whirling Blades, so basically a mixture of single-target and AoE damage. My dual wield Duelist build is similar to this one and I must say that it works really well in both solo and groups, and the damage is pretty high.

Dual Wield Elemental Cleave Build

This is pretty much a cookie-cutter elemental damage Cleave build a lot of players run with. Again like most builds this would likely work better for Marauders or even Duelists. A very good upside to this build is that it can be used effectively for a Lightning Arrow Ranger as well, giving you a choice if you want to switch your play style later on.

I know this isn’t a vast selection of builds, but Rangers might be one class that I actually may have included a majority of viable builds. As mentioned at the start of the article most builds (even bow-based) are better on other classes, as building a glass-cannon simply isn’t viable in Path of Exile. I do encourage you to modify the linked builds and any other you may find to your own play style, but don’t forget to include a ton of defensive nodes in them.

If you have your own builds to suggest, or have any other questions or thoughts I’d appreciate if you left them in the comments below. Thanks!

Duelist Skill Tree Builds

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Path of Exile Duelist Skill Tree Builds GuideDuelist skill tree builds range anywhere from a tanky two-handed beast to an elemental bow ranger. They are in fact one of the least played classes in Path of Exile but there’s no real reason for it: since PoE has such a modular passive skill tree you can easily build your character to fit your play style.

Most duelists however choose either bow builds, or melee builds with dual wield or one-handed weapon and shield. Of course as with all other classes there isn’t a best choice and it’s entirely up to you how to build your character. Fun fact is that Duelists make better archers than the Ranger class due to easier access to some defensive skill points, so it’s no surprise many players choose this class over Rangers. Below you can take a look at some of the most popular Duelist passive skill tree builds which should help guide you in the right direction.

Lightning Arrow Archer

This is a fairly standard ranged build based around Lightning Arrow, a must-have skill gem that most rangers use. Besides providing plenty of DPS it also has just enough defensive skill points to help you survive almost anything. The build can also be easily modified depending on your current equipment or wishes, so you can choose to take a few more defensive points and increase your Evasion if necessary.

For ranged duelists focused on bows you can take a look at our build choices for other classes and simply adapt them for Duelists with a few points.

Lightning Strike Build (With 7 Auras!)

Very fun build focused on taking down monsters with Lightning Strike as your main damage tool. Since it has such a long range it’s often much safer to use than Sweep or Cleave, in addition to maintaining 3 shock stacks on all enemies continuously. It’s fairly easy to play and flexible on equipment, but the end-game gear can be costly: you will need a 6-linked item to make the most out of this build.

Considering you’ll be using seven different auras (Anger, Wrath, Grace, Hatred, Haste, Determination, Purity) this is probably the ultimate group supporting build.

2-Handed Lightning Strike Build

This is a very tanky build with significant damage output (10k+) based around Lightning Strike and a two-handed weapon. With proper gear your resistances should be maxed and your health pool over 5000 (obviously the numbers depending on your equipment). Kaom’s Heart (1000 HP chest) is almost a must-have with this build, as is a 6-linked weapon, so take into account that it may cost you a significant amount of Exalted Orbs to build this properly.

This build also used 4 different auras (Determination, Hatred, Anger and Clarity), and uses Dual Strike as a single-target main attack. It’s also possible to adapt it to work with dual-wielding if you prefer.

1H+Shield Lightning Cyclone Build Guide

This build uses a 1-handed weapon and shield along with Cyclone as its main AoE skill and Double Strike for single target DPS. It has a good mix of damage and survivability with maxed resistances and over 50% block, enabling you to spin your way through packs of monsters, apply shock stacks and easily take them all down.

The build isn’t cheap and will take quite an effort to obtain, but it’s not nearly as expensive as some other builds out there.

Tanky High DPS Cleave Duelist

Another build that uses 7 auras to support your damage output and survivability, but this one is based on using Cleave as your main damaging ability. Since it boasts up to 20k DPS and armor you’ll easily be able to clear maps by yourself. You can also (choose to) get Unwavering Stance, Inner Force, Iron Reflexes and Resolute Technique passive nodes which are all extremely useful.

Like all melee builds it requires decent equipment but nothing extremely expensive. Considering how easy it is to farm with this you shouldn’t have any problems getting good gear.

Dual Wield Physical Cleave Build

Elemental damage my be superior, but that doesn’t mean physical can’t be good as well. This is a fairly simple build with a lower amount of damage nodes and mostly focused on survivability. You don’t need any specific gear to make this work well, and you just need to aim for defensive stats. The only great items you need are two high-DPS weapons; of course a 6-linked chest is always going to increase your DPS but it isn’t mandatory early on.

Glacial Hammer Build

Glacial Hammer isn’t a widely used skill gem on a Duelist, but this build can work well if you want to invest the time and currency into it. It uses Melee Splash and Multistrike support gems for Glacial Hammer making your attacks extremely fast and able to hit multiple enemies, as well as shatter them once they hit a third of their life.

The builds listed above are just some of the most popular ones that players are using, therefore if you need a basic guideline on how to build your Duelist it should give you a good idea on which skill gems and passive skill tree nodes to use. As always I recommend you to adapt everything to your own preferences, so if you don’t need insane DPS don’t be afraid to take a few +life nodes or some other skill points. Also Duelists and most of these builds can work well with multiple abilities such as Cleave or Lightning Strike so you should be able to adapt the build to your play style.

Be sure to comment on the builds and tell us your experiences below.

Templar Skill Tree Builds Guide

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Templar Builds GuideStarting in between the Marauder and Witch in the passive skill tree, the Templar class is perfect if you want to build a tanky mage or a melee elemental damage machine. There’s plenty of different options for you to go with and as always building a Templar is all about your own play style and preference.

Below you can take a look at some of the more popular Templar skill tree builds in Path of Exile, so if you’re new to the game or class and need some advice on what works best this guide on popular builds should give you a good start.

Dual Wield Elemental Cleave Templar

This is a very simple but effective build based around Cleave gem and dual wielding weapons with elemental damage. You also get plenty of defenses by using Grace and Determination auras. For items this build doesn’t require any expensive unique items which is great if you’re low on currency or if this is your first character.

Additionally many things in this Dual Wield Elemental Cleave build are easily changed, such as gear or gems depending on your preferences. For example the author mentions you can easily replace Cleave with Rain of Arrows and still do amazing DPS, which is quite remarkable as you can switch from melee to ranged as necessary.

Righteous Fire/Low Life Freezing Pulse Build

First of all, this build isn’t for anyone. It has less survivability than most other builds and is very gear dependent, so if you decide to give it a shot be prepared to spend some orbs: you need two specific unique items to make this build work well. It also isn’t the easiest of builds to play so if it’s your first character I wouldn’t advise this.

The biggest upside to this build if of course the ridiculous damage output. I recommend you take a good look at the author’s forum topic (linked below) and decide if this build is something you want to go for. It looks incredibly fun, but as mentioned is has its drawbacks.

Explosive Arrow Templar Build

An unusual path for a templar class, but the author claims you can deal up to 350k DPS. Chances are this will get significantly nerfed, but until then you’re welcome to enjoy killing everything with ease.

I wouldn’t recommend trying this build in Hardcore though as it’s lacking a lot in the defensive department and you might die more often than you’d like.

Dual Totem/Curse Elemental Equilibrium Fire Trap Templar

Despite its long and perhaps a bit confusing title, this build actually does work well if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary. This build is focused on high AoE damage as well as significant single-target DPS, while having pretty high resistances and health pool for added survivability.

The build also uses summoned zombies with Minion Explode, along with Elemental Weakness and Critical Weakness curses. Not only do you have two totems to tank for you but also several zombies, making sure you can stay as far away from danger as possible. As main attack you’ll be using the Fire Trap, one of the highest damage skills in the game. Auras used are Clarity, Grace and Discipline.

Spellcaster/Summoner Templar

This is a great build if you prefer to solo the game. It’s based around having a bunch of zombies to tank for you while you dish out damage with Freezing Pulse. The build isn’t overly dependent on items, although as always it does help to have quality equipment. It can be played in Hardcore mode since it does have decent survivability as well.

Lightning Strike Physical Damage Templar Build

Lightning Strike is one of the most commonly used gems I see on Templars, and for good reason: it has a pretty long range and scales well with Physical Damage nodes. This build has extremely high survivability with high elemental resistances and significantly increased health pool, along with decent life on hit to top off your HP when you take damage.

These of course are just some of the most popular builds and by no means the only ones you can go for. They seem to work for a lot of players so instead of experimenting with everything yourself, you can build your character based around these passive skill tree builds and make sure you don’t waste any.

As usual I encourage you to pick a build that fits your play style, so for example if you prefer to get in monster’s faces and bash their heads one by one then I don’t recommend you go for the dual totem + zombies build. Some players find it extremely boring so make sure you read the comments on all builds before you spend hours leveling a character.

And of course if you have any other efficient builds you want to share simply post them in the comments below!