How to Have Fun in PoE And not spend hours picking your brain

Path of Exile is an enormous game with so many different facets it can make your head start to spin, its not just another diablo clone.

PoE is not like all the other ARPGs, yet many new players follow the same old gameplay formula only to discover it doesn't work in PoE. This game is counter-intuitive in fundamental ways, especially while leveling through Acts 1 - 10 on your way to the endgame. This guide will help total noobs adjust to PoE, and make leveling up a smoother, and hopefully more enjoyable, experience.

Intro

PoE is not merely a clone of other popular hack'n'slash titles, and for an ARPG it has distinct non-ARPG gameplay issues which take some getting used to. If you're new to PoE, this guide should help you level through Acts 1 - 10 in a more efficient manner, and will cover gameplay issues like loot management, basic crafting, and other fundamental points every new PoE player should know. This guide does not cover endgame content like mapping or delving, nor is this a walkthrough guide of each Act. Experienced PoE pros are unlikely to find anything here they don't already know. This is a gameplay guide for total noobs. Lets get to it!

LOOT MANAGEMENT and filter setup

So...Much...Loot

Like most hack'n'slash ARPGs, PoE is packed full of loot, perhaps too much loot if we're being totally honest. One of the most common complaints from PoE noobs is how to manage so much loot. With limited inventory capacity on your character and no auto-sort feature, you can easily spend most of your game time porting back and forth from loot drops to town vendors. Then manage your stash, which also lacks an auto sort feature, to add to your growing pile of currency and other stuff which you won't use for your current character, but you swear you're gonna use for your next character.

Here's the first secret you need to know about managing loot in PoE - most of that loot is trash and you are wasting hours of your time picking up trash.

Here's the second secret you need to know about managing loot in PoE - you don't need to waste Scrolls of Wisdom to identify all that loot before selling it. In fact, you're probably losing currency in the early game by doing so, and there are certain vendor recipes which require unidentified loot. I usually identify rare items if it's something my character can use, but almost never blue magic items unless it's a potential upgrade while leveling.

Unlike most ARPGs which reward you for hoovering up all that loot, in PoE it is a huge waste of your time. Most players use a loot filter to limit which loot shows up on screen. Personally, I kind of like seeing all the loot even if I dont pick up most of it, so I dont use a filter. But in certain situations, like delving, a loot filter is definitely helpful or even mandatory.

A general tip for managing loot is knowing which vendor recipes you want to pursue. In PoE, selling certain combinations of loot results in better quality rewards from vendors. For example, any item with at least 3 linked sockets including a red, green, and blue socket sells for a Chromatic Orb, regardless of the item's rarity. Any 6-socket item sells for 7 Jeweller's Orbs, regardless of the item's rarity. Familiarity with vendor recipes makes loot management a worthwhile endeavor and saves you a ton of time.

You can find a complete list of vendor recipes on the PoE Wiki. I strongly suggest taking a look if vendor recipes are a mystery to you.

https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Vendor_recipe_system

To make loot filtering easier use websites like filterblade.

https://www.filterblade.xyz/

Lets get started

Actually, You're Fighting Too Much

Most areas of PoE are filled with mobs. Lots, and lots of mobs. They're freaking everywhere! But unlike most ARPGs, you are wasting your time fighting and killing all those mobs while leveling in Acts 1- 10. Yes, really. After completing Acts 1 - 10, the grind begins and you'll want to kill every mob in sight. But until then, keep moving and pick your battles wisely.

Here's the first secret you need to know about fighting mobs in Acts 1 through 10 - totally ignore the white mobs and keep moving. They aren't worth your time. White mobs aren't worth much xp, they don't add much to your flask charges, and they generally drop low quality loot. Sometimes white mobs are blocking your route and need to die. They often pal around with blue and yellow mobs, and they need to die for acting like wanna-be posers. But otherwise, ignore them!

Here's the second secret you need to know about fighting mobs in Acts 1 - 10 - you don't need to repetitively grind areas to gain xp. Yes, really. You'll gain more xp at a faster rate by focusing on completing quests, fighting blue/magic mobs, rare/yellow mobs, and unique bosses.

Some mobs will refuse to die a quick death. Mobs with elemental resists, extra life/armor, life regen, etc. are a potential huge waste of your time. If you aren't melting white mobs with a single attack, blue mobs with 2 or 3 attacks, and non-quest related rare mobs with 4 or 5 attacks, then you either need to seriously upgrade your dps, or those mobs just aren't worth your time. Just because certain mobs are more difficult for you to kill doesnt mean you're going to get more xp for killing them.

There are certain mobs I generally avoid fighting, regardless of their rarity - rock golems, most elementals, necromancers, most constructs, and most devourers. They don't die as easily as other mobs because of their jacked up life and defense. Just keep moving when you encounter these mobs.

For fun builds use websites like:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum

Go to the builds area then select which of the classes you want to play and browse and look for a fun build to play. What helped me get started in PoE was using starter builds that i saw on youtube.

GEAR

You Don't Need The Best of the Best

In the early game, gear is really not critical to leveling up your character in Acts 1 - 10. Yes, really. Of course your gear matters, but it matters much more in the end game. While hacking and blasting your way through the Acts, you don't need to agonize about upgrading gear every time you level up or a yellow/rare drops from that mob you just melted. Depending on your build, you might use the same weapon, rings, or armor for 20 or 30 levels. Yes, really. You don't have to use uniques while leveling either, although unique weapons with high dps can make leveling faster and easier.

When you notice your attacks or spells require repeated hits to kill white mobs, or blue/magic mobs start to give you problems, then it's time to upgrade your weapon(s) and/or gear. Until then, just keep hacking and blasting your way through the Acts!

Here's another important tip about gear - use Quicksilver flasks as often as possible! While cruising through the Acts, I typically equip two, or sometimes even three, Quicksilver flasks. This is one of the most important tips in this entire guide. Running through the Acts is literally the most time consuming part of PoE. So, why trudge through it when you can haul ass?

Here's the first secret you need to know about gear in PoE - you can easily craft your own blue/magic gear & yellow/rares, and utilize the occasional useful yellow/rare drop through all of Acts 1 - 10. Save your Alchemy and Chaos currency for purchasing your end game gear unless you're playing SSF.

Everything you need to know about crafting is in this link.
https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Crafting

Here's the second secret you need to know about gear in PoE - rarity does not equal quality! Just because you find a rare/yellow piece of gear that's higher level than your current gear doesn't mean you should equip it. Why? Because most rares are garbage! Yes, really. I guesstimate about 95% of rares you'll find while leveling, even gear you can actually use, will be totally worthless for your character. Increased light radius, paltry life, damage, accuracy, or stun/block recovery increases, spellcasting weapons with attack skill modifiers, paltry elemental damage % bonuses of an elemental type you aren't using, etc. are typical for most rares.

What you need to keep on the lookout for is gear with substantial life, or energy shield if going that route, at least one type of resist, and a good armor or evasion % increase depending on the needs of your build. To increase your dps you want items with substantial damage bonuses of the type which best complements your build. Gear with solid stats is worth keeping for a long time until you have a major upgrade available.

An ideal rare looks something like this...
+X life and/or energy shield
+X armor and/or evasion
+X resist
+X spell/attack damage type
+X movement speed for boots

An item with only three high quality stats is often worth using. Don't vendor that rare with high bonus life, resist, and damage just because it also has a stupid light radius or stun/block recovery bonus.

Make sure the damage bonuses on your gear actually benefits your attack or spell skill. Be careful about wands or other spellcasting gear with attack damage bonuses. Attack bonuses only apply to skills with the 'attack' tag, which is either melee or ranged attacks. Only spell damage bonuses increase your trap or spell dps. Too many times I've been really excited about huge damage bonuses for a wand, only to notice it's an attack bonus. Sad.

Finally, lets discuss buying gear from town vendors. Good luck with that. It's oddly suspicious how virtually all the gear available from vendors does not benefit your character build. Looking for a helmet upgrade with Energy Shield? Sorry, the town vendor only has evasion and armor helmets. Looking for a two handed sword upgrade? Sorry, the town vendor only has staves, maces, and bows. It's uncanny.

When the town vendor actually has the type of item you're looking for, it usually won't have linked sockets with the colors you want, meaning you'll need to consume a substantial amount of Jeweller's Orbs, Orbs of Fusing, and Chromatic Orbs to craft that hunk of junk into something useful. It's usually not worth it. While leveling my characters through the Acts, I might purchase literally a few pieces of gear from vendors, but only if it already has the number of linked sockets with the colors I want.

QUESTING

Let's Go On an Adventure!

The only way to gain xp in PoE is by killing mobs. Completing quests will reward you with skill gems, jewels, items, passive tree points, and passive tree respec points. The main function of quests in PoE is to keep you moving through the many areas of Acts 1 - 10. Some areas in PoE have nothing to do with quests and you can ignore them if you want. I suggest following a complete quest guide to better understand where you need to go, how to get there, and what you need to do to complete the quest.

Here's a link with useful information about each act.
https://www.poe-vault.com/guides/quick-reference-leveling-guide-act-10

Perhaps the most important thing about quests in PoE is to focus on completing the quest and not get sidetracked trying to clear an entire area of mobs in an attempt to gain xp. That's a big waste of your time. More info about fighting mobs is in the 'Let's Fight!' section of this guide.

Another helpful tip while questing is to navigate by following the roads, paths, carpets, and stairs/ramps in many areas to find the quest objective. Some areas are trackless, meaning there are not any obvious features to help you navigate to where you need to go. However, areas in PoE typically only have a few different layouts - they're not totally random or unique each time you enter an area. There are helpful video guides which show the different layouts of each area, and after playing enough new characters in PoE you'll develop an instinctual sense of which direction you need to go to complete your quest.

One of the most helpful features of questing is the overlay map. I keep it open nearly all the time in the Acts unless I'm fighting a boss. The overlay map displays a larger visible area than the condensed map in the top right corner of your screen. This makes it much easier to find the entrance to the next area, area waypoints, quest related objectives/characters, and special objectives like Beast hunting, mining materials, essences, abyssal triggers, and the oft hated betrayal/syndicate nonsense.

CONCLUSION

PoE is really about the end game content, not the story Acts. Consider the Acts as a warm up or trial run for your new builds. Sure, it's kinda disappointing that leveling up your builds gets monotonous, but that's life as a PoE player. The best advice I have is to get through the Acts as quickly as possible and not waste your time with traditional habits ingrained from other ARPGs.

Good luck Exile!