Path of Exile is arguably the most complicated ARPG out there. It has tons of mechanics that you need to learn, a huge passive tree that's difficult to navigate, and a crafting system that's unforgiving to complete beginners. But despite the game's complexity, it is still quite enjoyable.
If you're new, read on! In this article, I will share some tips that you need to know to fully enjoy this amazing action RPG.
Get More Stash Tabs
Items are a huge part of the Path of Exile economy. During your map runs, you will find plenty of stuff that you can loot. Unfortunately, you only have a few stash tabs to work with if you don't spend money. That's why you must get additional stash tabs as soon as you can.
Now, there's a huge variety of stash tabs available in the store. Below are the ones that you need to buy in order of importance:
- Currency
- Stash Tab/Stash Tab Bundle
- Maps
- Fragments
- Essence
- Divination Cards
- Uniques
- Delirium
- Metamorph
- Blight
- Premium Stash
- Quad Stash
- Flask
- Gem
When looking at the list, you might wonder why I've put the premium stash at the bottom of the list. The reason is quite simple: you can upgrade the regular stash tab to premium later on for just 15 points.
The Quad stash is also good because it gives you four times the space of a regular stash tab. However, this one is just a "nice-to-have" and is not mandatory at all.
It's Not All About the Offense
Defense is another important aspect in Path of Exile that's sadly being overlooked by most people, especially beginners. You see, if you don't pay much attention to your character's defenses, you'll end up dying more often.
To ensure that your character is tanky enough to handle harder content, you must do the following:
- Make sure that your elemental and chaos resistances are at least 75%.
- Use defensive flasks like Granite/Basalt (armor), Jade/Stibnite (evasion), and Bismuth (elemental resistances).
- Incorporate defensive auras into your build, such as Grace (evasion), Determination (armor), and Purity of Elements (elemental resistances).
Be Careful When Mapping
Once you've finished the main campaign, you can now enter maps using the Map Device in your hideout. This is where you'll spend the vast majority of your time. You can farm a lot of different items in maps, including starter gear and rare divination cards.
While mapping is easy to get into, there's something that you must know that will help improve your survivability during runs. Unlike other ARPGs like Grim Dawn or Diablo IV, where enemies attacking you are quite noticeable, there are things in Path of Exile that can kill you when you least expect it. It can be projectiles fired off-screen or tiny foes that are difficult to see in a dimly lit environment.
That said, you should get rid of all enemies on the map first before you start picking drops. This is to ensure that nothing will kill you when doing so.
Do you have any tips that can help beginners? If so, do share them in the comments section below.
Path of Exile is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
