POE1: Endgame builds?

Hi!

I'm a newbie and I'm struggling with the endgame. My original build (spontaneous picks by myself) is fun but feels too weak for the endgame. I'm lacking damage and keep dying at maps with less than 10 levels below my character's level. I can finish these maps, but I'm unable to level up.

I figured my build would be bad. So, I copied an Ice Nova of Frostbolt setup. This gave me a huge damage boost so that I could play Red Maps. But my skill tree is still the same, and so I keep dying, which is not the end of the world. I could work on that.

"

(tldr;)
HOWEVER, my biggest issue is that this Ice Nova of Frostbolts playstyle isn't fun for me. It was fun for like 20 minutes or so, but it's basically just spamming one button and slowly moving through the map. There is no more skill involved. Also, I keep dying without knowing what happened because I only see bubbles everywhere... :D

Do I need such a "meme build" (for the lack of better words) for the endgame? Is everyone eventually playing with such a build? (Because that's what YouTube influencers make me think.)

Some details about my character:
- Occultist
- Level 89
- Life: 2700
- Energy Shield: 2200
- Mana: 2200
- Resistances at 75%
- I could certainly improve the skill, but I'm broke right now. So, I have to stick with it for the time being, which is okay. It doesn't feel too bad, anyway.
- Items are from the campaign for the most part.
- DPS of my Ice Nova of Frostbolts: 29,000

Please bear with me if my question seems odd. I'm a newbie and these meme builds are quite famous, while normal builds seem to be the exceptions on famous resources. I find it hard to identify "good builds" when they are not very popular, as it feels like those builds are probably just as good as my own build... Maybe I just need to focus more on better items and work on my skill tree? Others claim that levelling up to T16 maps would be easy and very quick. Can't see that with a "normal" build...

Hey there,

lvl 89 is pretty good for a filthy noob :p
So dont worry too much about it.


Unfortunately its borderline impossible to give you any sort of advice without having access to your build, such as tree, gear and so on.

Pls click this URL
https://www.pathofexile.com/my-account

Then edit privacy settings bottom right and make sure to unhide your characters, so we can take a look.


You could also download Path of Building for PoE1:
https://pathofbuilding.community

Then go to "import", insert you account-name as shown, so LeaInExile#2731
Then import your gear, skilltree, skills and all the rest.
Go to "export", click "generate" and share as "pob.in".
Then post the link here.


The community is using this tool to take a good long look at builds, change the passive tree and gear and all the things, then repost the new link here and go from there.

It would also be helpful, if you could describe what sort of gameplay you prefer as well as how far you´d like to push.
Keep in mind: The further you want to go, the more restrictive its going to be and fewer and fewer builds/playstyles will be able to pull it off - especially if you dont know the mechanics involved by heart.

Its rough out there :)

Thanks for your kind words and tips! I made my characters visible and feel naked now. :D

I just changed my character's skills back to my original playstyle/skills. I'm still missing a few skills, and others are even redundant because I'm levelling them. So, don't take my current Gem setup too seriously. They might also be a bit messy as I try different things...

I've seen this tool you mentioned but haven't dared to mess with it yet. The game is already quite complex, with over 10 years' worth of content.

My preferred playstyle is ... well, open-minded. I would prefer to stick with cold damage, but fire would be ok, too. I usually enjoy agile playstyles. I'm currently running around spamming Ice Nova and Vortex, throwing Ice Bombs, and teleporting into the NPCs for another Ice Nova, because I feel immortal with my awesome skills, and then I'm dead. %)

I like the mix of said skills. There is always one skill that helps with every situation - unless it requires a lot of damage. Yellow monsters are quite often unkillable for me, and bosses from red maps are nearly impossible to beat. There is just not enough damage. I'm using Freezing Pulse for single targets, but that's still not enough.

What I did not like about this Ice Nova of Frostbolts is that it is very unreliable. If the Ice Bubbles aren't triggered, I'm usually dead and I don't enjoy dying like this. And that it's basically a one-button-build, which doesn't feel very engaging.

Hmmm ok I can tell you are having issues with tougher content and also why.


While your gear isnt terrible its also very far from good, your tree is kinda all over the place, you neither have a guardskill nor any auras and you dont utilize your sockets well. Meaning you are still using a 3link setup and you really should be having at least a 5l if not a 6l by now.

Its impressive you got this far - altho in bad way but still impressive :)


All of that can be fixed quite easily, especially in Settlers league.
I have so much gear collecting dust in my stash over there, there has to be something good. That league is dead to me anyways, so might as well give the stuff away and help someone out.


Im gonna catch some sleep now but Ill be online again in about 10hrs from now.
Hit me up ingame and whisper me when you are good to go, we´ll sort it out and get your build going.

Thank you for your offer! ♥ I'll be working at that time, unfortunately. However, I'll ping you when I can talk. Seems I really need some tips. :)