Another exciting update (for me, at least) about my Path of Exile journey. Last week, on finishing the Acts, I started feeling a little lost. I didn't really know what to do in Maps as the game doesn't hand hold. But my character was severely broken after getting the mandatory -60 points in all the resists after completing the Acts. So in trying to fix her, I made her worse. Instead, I spent some time just messing around and being social in game. 
BEFORE: Here, I was comparing myself to this big guy in town. I looked small and peasant-like.
Here, I was wondering where goldie got their gear, but even the guy in red looked better than me.
Oh, the lady on the right is definitely hot. Look, even the guy behind her seems to be checking her out!
AFTER: With the recent gear reconfig, I did drop the tabula rasa, which is well known to be a great levelling chest. I decided it was time I grew up and I settled for a 5 linked blue socketed chest. I quite simply needed more defense now that I am at the later stages of the game. While looks was not a factor in the switch, I do think she's looking cooler. Maybe one day she can be as glamorous as the golden girl above. ;)
If only I got a quick pic of
Anyway, in playing with the kooky cat lady(soju), it made me realize how fun playing with friends could be. Then I had others who wanted to join up to show me stuff, or as always happens, give me stuff. As expressed previously, I remain uncomfortable with this, and the reason is that it starts not feeling like it's my game where I am applying what I have personally learnt and independently making decisions. A lot of PoE players don't mind this style of play, and the sharing seems to be the norm. Many argue that it is more 'efficient', but it is not what motivates me to play. I enjoy learning things and experiencing things for the first time through my own means. But Path of Exile is a social game if you interact with other players, and an aspect of that is trading. I finally decided that I need to treat my Softcore account as my fun account. It's where I learn about the game and be social. In taking a more chilled and sharing attitude to that first account, I moved onto my next goal in creating a second character which will be my first attempt in Hardcore mode. This next stage of my gaming education begins with my new witch account, DoNotDieLinny. I don't think I checked the box for Solo Self Found, which was me not paying attention, but this is how I am going to treat it. This was going to be my first training run for 
With my Softcore character now relegated to the fun account, I continue to experiment and play with things. So a stat check for CrankyOldWoman: she's now at Level 73 and currently at Tier 4 maps. Her current deaths is at 482. I've come to the point of not caring if she dies, so that makes me a little slack. I guess I don't see the point in stressing over it, as I know she's fragile from the way I have built her. If I'm focused, she lives. But often I'm experimenting with stuff, not paying attention or stubbornly trying to beat the One-Shot-killing Syndicate guys. I still can't beat them after countless deaths! So I shrug it off and keep playing. I really don't get how people can say 'My character never got past act X.' What's so hard about loading up the game and starting again in Softcore? But people tell me that players get frustrated or simply cannot fix their character. I still don't get it, but apparently not many players persist with their first character. I remain fond of and enjoy playing CrankOldWoman. I continue to ignore all advice to follow a build for the better enrichment of my game. Meh, I'm still having fun!!
My witch has done 6 of 40 challenges. With every 12, you get a game reward, but every challenge takes a fair bit of time, so I don't think I have the time to get more than 12, if even that. Playing PoE requires a massive amount of commitment which I just cannot devote to it unfortunately. To give you an idea, the developers released recent stats on the current Betrayal league, and you can see only less than a quarter of players even get to the first rewards milestone.
- 24.26% of players have completed 12 challenges and earned the Betrayal Helmet Attachment.
- 6.19% of players have completed 24 challenges and earned the Betrayal Aura Effect.
- 1.08% of players have completed 36 challenges and earned the Betrayal Cloak.
In trying to get to the 12 challenges mark, I am playing more delve. This is mining in PoE. It's quite fun, especially as you go deeper and the rewards are greater. I need to get to the depth 270 and also open 300 chests. I'm at around depth 60-ish and less than 50 opened chests, and it's beginning to get hard. Basically, you need to stay in the light because the dark mining tunnels will kill you. I got into some secret Vaal chambers as part of my delving, that was interesting. It looks something like this:
See all the dead bodies, I eventually joined them. Forgetting to use flares and panic meant the darkness got me.
Back to Hardcore and on the experimentation side, one of the spells I have been playing with is Freezing Pulse. I love it. There is something satisfying seeing the mobs and bosses freeze and then for them to shatter on next hit. I'm slowly getting the game mechanics, and as a result, paying more attention to how the gems interact. Decisions are quicker now that I can apply what I have learnt from my Softcore CrankyOldWoman to Hardcore DoNotDieLinny. When I was offered a reward to pick a spell Gem, where I previously selected Raise Zombies, I eagerly chose Freezing Pulse. The decision has set the tone for the rest of the play. I will say, going from Level 73 back to 1 took getting used to. You don't realize how slowed down the game is at the start, and I had to get used to wacking the mobs with my pathetic stick of a wand again. On the positive, I felt I used a lot of what I learnt from my first character, with the most important skill of all, that being: RUN AWAY!. I did that a lot, because I had nothing and was so weak. I needed to keep recharging back on life and mana. For this build, I'm aiming to play Occultist Witch which has more focus on fighting with spells than just relying on minions. I plan to still use zombies and spectres, but they are secondary to cold spells (Freezing Pulse) which I want to get up to a decent dps (damage per second), as well as having more focus on the fast recharging energy shield, an extra pool of hit points that get used up before the life pool.
It was actually quite funny when I decided to race to the end of Act 1 to hit the Act's boss, Merveil. She's the siren with a tragic love story. I ran into her cavern to kill her without even checking my zombies were with me. I got into the arena, only to discover I was alone and that they had died unnoticed by me. As a player who is so used to her minions, I had a moment of panic and feeling very naked. But due to the strategy I had taken from get go, my Freezing Pulse was good enough to beat the first version of her. I froze her a few times, which allowed me to sneak in some good hits. She then turns into her twisted version and her little babies come out. On killing her babies, I got some corpses onscreen, which allowed me to raise my zombies. These guys didn't live by the end of the battle, but they did their job by making it even easier for me to kill Merveil. I was honestly shocked at how much easier it was than I had remembered it when I played it the first time in softcore! It was tense though, I had to really focus and run around a lot, while not panicking and drinking from my life flasks unnecessarily. The only time I almost died in Hardcore for this first session was when I was running towards Act two's safe zone, the Forest Encampment. I got stuck in a pack of mobs with a big guy blocking me. Normally, as Level 73 CrankyOldWoman, I'd just phase run through him, but as Level 14 DoNotDieLinny, that was not an option! My life pool got critically low before I disentangled myself from that jam and raced to the town entry. Phew!
Here is DoNotDieLinny having reached the Forest Encampment at the start of Act 2. A good place to stop playing for now.
My goal for this first Hardcore run is just to finish the first Ascendency Labyrinth and be officially badged an 'Occultist'. Considering I died many times as CrankyOldWoman in the first Labyrinth, that is a big goal for me. I really hate the Ascendancy Trials and their confusing traps and puzzles. I especially hate the boss I need to fight three times! That is Path of Exile, repetition to see if you learnt the previous times. I can see myself being stuck in some corner in the labyrinth, confused as to why I am not moving and then being fried by the burning floors....
Finally, before I embarked on my Hardcore journey, I did consult with others on their opinions on Hardcore. I was a little weary of everyone preferring Softcore and seeming to be allergic of Hardcore. I got a number of responses highlight network instability and lag being a primary factor in preventing people wanting to invest in Hardcore. A lot of people didn't enjoy the stress of it. This was the best reply I got, which also covers why I should consider a build guide for Hardcore.
Here is the commenter's twitch account:
I will have a skim over a couple of builds when I feel more motivated, but I'd likely just do my own thing. I'll keep playing my own way until I hit the point where I get frustrated. So far that hasn't happened yet. On that note, I'll end this post. Thanks for reading!