To begin with, I am so in love with the game, I bought a new laptop for it. How nerdy is my wall paper?
Anyway, I haven't posted in a long while. I have been playing Path of Exile in my free time. It is destroying all other activities at the moment. sigh
So why am I still playing?
Well, I like to tell people it's because I'm researching for my novel and that I need to join 
And though I could go on about my PoE experience so far, the public chat below pretty much sums it up. I will say that the PoE discord forums are very helpful in the first-timers and beginners channels. The community in general is useful. But I was venting again...
I start by trying to figure out how I am tracking as an inexperienced player of games, this is the first Action Role Playing Game (ARPG) I've played since I was in University. I played Diablo ever so briefly. Many things are new to me where something as simple as operating the keyboard is not simple at all. I die often just not being able to strike the key fast enough. Despite MANY suggestions by well-meaning players for me to follow a build for my character, I have been resistant. I figured, why should I? Surely this game should be enjoyed for what it is as I encounter things. But since Act 6 I have been feeling how fragile my Necromancer witch is. I'm nothing without my minions. And even with my minions I am unable to hurt the Syndicate guys. I was once chased through a whole map by one of them....I had to retreat, at that stage I cared about dying...now I don't...
Above I am complaining how my game is really just running around in circles while my minions do the work. It had me wondering if I was doing something wrong. Surely I shouldn't just be running around like a headless chook?! But many people have told me that it's 'normal', that it's the life of a summoner. I'm backup support and not very good backup at that. :(
So yeah, I'm not trading either. It seems like players have to trade for gear upgrades to do better in this game. But I'm kinda lazy to bother figuring it out and I'm a little annoyed by the idea I have to trade to do well. Surely the game will drop me a half decent wand?!
NO.
I've been waiting for weeks....
NO decent wand.
That's why I started playing with the bow. I thought it would be fun. But I was then advised that the bow isn't suited to my build and it was again suggested that I look up some builds. I ignored them. This is my game and I will run it with all my stubborn ignorance! With that said, for all the effort I spent to get my dexterity up to be able to equip the bow, and my elemental resistance suffered as a result as well as my wealth in crafting around it, the result was less than impressive. In the end, my crappy wand was still better. :(
But trial and error it continues to be...
Here, I continue complaining. The labs are the Labyrinths we all must complete at different stages of the game. It gives our character sub-class bonuses, its part of our ascendancy. In my case, I am ascending to be a Necromancer, so I get minion bonuses. But you first need to do trials to unlock each Labyrinth. These are areas in the map that is full of traps, imagine spikes in the ground, dart traps, saws and burning floors. I am most scared of the burning floors. Once you have unlocked a labyrinth, you can attempt them. They need to be done without dying or you need to start again. So that's the bit I hate. To me it's like doing a horrible exam, only it doesn't matter how much you study, you will die. I just race to the battles and hope to live, running around until my minions do the heavy lifting. Labs are worse than dealing with the Syndicate guys....
I tagged the wrong guy; I am going to assume it is a guy. I've noticed anyone who is has a female name or a cute girly avatar is inevitably a male - except me of course! I tried a male name, but it was bothering some people on voice. They couldn't seem to equate a mannish name with a female voice. So I'll have to continue being the CrankyOldWoman, but seriously, where are the ladies? I only encountered one female on voice. I didn't interact with her because she was cursing her head off, screaming and complaining about the size of her butt. I didn't know what to say since she seemed so ansty, so I remained quiet. lol
And that's another thing about PoE, with each league, it incorporates parts of it to the core game. The Delve league, as I understand it, is the Azurite mines with its own game mechanics. The game does not hand-hold, so you learn by dying as far as I can see. Unless you ask for help and there's a type who do nothing but ask for help on every step. That is not me, I really don't see the point of outsourcing all my game decisions.
When I first went into a mine, I died immediately. I didn't know I was meant to keep up with buggy and that the darkness will kill me. Here, I mentioned how I wasted flares on the wrong nodes and dynamite on regular walls! The advice some people gave me were wrong. Basically once you see a node without a path to it, you need to check all the surrounding nodes on the map. They should have 1, 3 or 4 paths leading from them. The one with only 2 path is wrong, so therefore that is the one that has a secret 3rd path, and it is that node you need to travel to. From there, you would use your flares to light up the space to find a path to a fractured wall. I learnt this from a youtube vid. A lot of this game requires research. I only do that when I am really struggling.
Who would have thought, the person I mistagged was so useful and comforting! Nice to know that it is normal to suck at this game... lol
As always, the forum is always good for little tips like this, even if it is just to be aware of them. But I already know what my issues are. Solving them is a little harder. My life is too low and I've spread myself too thin as far as my spell specialities. :(
I could go on, but there is too much to talk about. To date, I have continued to refuse requests to play in groups, and with the exception of my favorite PoE pal, a lovely Moroccan mathematician, I don't accept any gifts. I would think a mathematician would enjoy all the number crunching in this game! With that said, my Moroccan pal has given me two pieces of gear that are key to my fun. So I still have gotten help despite not asking for handouts. It's just hard to ignore a trade request from a friend, but mostly he has respected my wishes of not having stuff given to me. He still tries to offer. lol But I really like meeting other players who tell me to just play the game and not tell me to follow builds. He and some others I chat to are like that. It's a friendly community and there are people who want to carry others or be carried through the game, I try my best to decline nicely. I think at this stage a lot of players are burnt out on the Betrayal league and it's novelty for them to play with and help others.
I might be more open to sharing my fun with others once I get to maps (this is after the acts), but it'll be slow since I play around 6-8 hours a week max. A lot of that time is spent socializing since the gaming culture is what I am also researching.
Thanks for reading and viewing if you got this far. I dedicate this post to my favorite steemian and the only gamer girl I personally know, 