The Easiest of the Easy Beginner Build Guides [1.1 SotV UPDATED]

This build still works as of 1.1.0.
I'll post you my personalized version of the build.
I also have a progression past 80 points if you want to try out my version. Resolute technique is taken once you get issues with accuracy - at some point you miss too much to be effective and it takes special gear and/or nodes to make up for that. Since this build doesnt take crit nodes (since it's a beginners build) and focuses on survivability instead, the lack of crit doesnt hurt you as much as missing a lot. Once you drop below ~90% accuracy on your character sheet, feel free to take RT.

I'd recommend picking up white items with good sockets that you could use: Say, you have a blue 4L chest with ilvl 40. You find a white 5L chest with required lvl of 55 (that is either evasion, armor or hybrid). Take it, spend an alchemy orb or at least an orb of transmutation and a few alteration orbs until you get life + something useful. Use a chaos orb if your rare is complete crap and you have good chances of getting something more useful.
Other than that, pick up resistance rings (with as high of an implicit mod as possible) of high ilvls if you are soon taking on bosses and yet lack a resistance (e.g. start picking up saphire rings in a3 cruel or the start of merciless if your cold resist is low and you dont have good cold resist rings yet.) Then use orbs of transmutation and -alteration to get a double cold resist roll and/or life to cap your cold resist for merveil. also jewellery - if your gear in a certain slot is very bad and/or not at all level appropriate and you have a good chance to get sth better by alching/transmuting/chancing some white item of a higher item level and/or base item type, then go ahead and do so.
Long story short: Good linked base item types if they will probably be an improvement when you Upgrade their rarity and jewellry (belts, rings, amulets) if you need them.
That'll come with experience.

To my build:



I altered this build to fit my personal playstyle, so it's not exactly what Ziggy recommended, although it's close. You can read my reasoning a few pages back if you want to.
Keep in mind that I've been using blood magic support gems and Auras since I managed to find an Alpha's howl (which allows me to run 3 Auras (Grace, Determination, Hatred) along with a reduced Mana gem at lvl 18 and the passive skill tree I linked). That also means I have to use blood magic support gems on all my utility skills that i cast myself (all except for my Cast when damage Taken setup). Not considering the 4 passive points invested, this is about the same damage output as with the blood magic keystone and an additional support gem slot (added fire is substituted with hatred), while gaining a lot of armor and loosing a few potential utility sockets. If you don't have Alpha's howl (so you can only run 2 Auras) and you don't have enough free links for bm gems on everything, I'd recommend not taking the Aura nodes and taking Blood magic, which is only a minor adjustment.
I have also not taken the heavy draw cluster (thus not getting the 50% increased physical damage from it) and have instead headed into the marauder start area for extra armor, max resists, all resists and life. Thus, my build is a more tanky option.
Only change to Auras once you hit late game and got enough currency to reroll your gear so you can fit blood magic gems where needed.

3. The tree would look something like this without Auras:


If you want to drop some defenses for more damage and you don't want to use auras, you could do something like this (which is about what ziggy recommended initially):

4.


And then switching into the marauder Area once above ~lvl 85 (if you ever reach that)



I will, however change this tree again if I manage to save up enough currency for a Lioneye's Glare (bow that makes you not miss but still be able to crit). I Will then spec into Crit Strike chance and crit multiplier. If you are interested, I can post you a planned build for that too.
Also, in the very late game I might get a better rare bow than a Lioneye's and spec into crit + accurracy although that is far far in the future.

P.S.: A few pages back, someone else already posted a new version of this build.

It's not that easy to give a bench mark of how much you should have... From Act 3 on, I'd like to have about 30-40% displayed physical damage reduction in your character sheet, whatever amount of armor that might be at each level. By that point you should have blood magic (you wont need any mana potions), so I'd recommend picking up a granite flask (of reflexes/iron skin) and a jade flask (of reflexes/iron skin). Those two stack and grant you crazy amounts of armor together thanks to the Iron Reflexes keystone and will allow you to tank through any kind of physical burst damage for a few seconds - keep in mind that 2 "of reflexes" or "of iron skin" mods dont stack with each other - so try to have one of each. That should be enough to get through merciless. Keeping resists maxed is always top priority (especially when going to piety and dominus). If life > armor depends on how much you already have of both and is not easy to answer. with granite and jade, I'd say you have enough armor whenever you need it and can focus on life until you get gear with both.

The "Leather and Steel" node in the duelist start is very important (since it grants you movespeed and a lot of armor) - take it asap. I wouldn't bother taking The eva + armor wheel up to "chain and cloth" - a lot of points, not that efficient. You should have enough armor without it and this build doesnt leave many spare points for such an investment. Help yourself to a cast when damage taken along with enduring cry and get the extra endurance charge in the duelist section (only 1 skill point). That's 16% additional reduction if you can keep them up.

I will, however, take the reworked marauder start in the very late game, which provides me with some additional armor, though I ditch the heavy draw cluster for it, which means I'm loosing 50% increased physical damage.