Path of Exile: Tips & Tricks for Beginners in 2022

by Mike Alexander / Articles, Misc. Guides / 21 Mar 2022

If you’re a fan of Diablo or even just dungeon crawling games in general, then you have probably heard of Path of Exile. The free-to-play hack and slash action RPG has been providing its players with hours upon hours of fun content since its release in 2013, and those who have stuck with the game since then are now incredibly powerful players. The game has received consistent content expansions with new features and lore, and the latest expansion was just released at the beginning of this year.

The “Siege of the Atlas” expansion launched in February 2022 and brought in a whole new group of players to the game. Those players have now been invested in the game for a few months at this point, so they are well acquainted with the game and its systems. However, it is always a good time to get into Path of Exile to enjoy the entire backlog of content, so new players should not be afraid to dive in at any point. If you’re a new player looking to experience Path of Exile, you’ll find some helpful guidance in this Path of Exile Beginner’s Guide.

Character Selection

To get started in Path of Exile, you’ll need to choose a character. You can do this by first selecting the league you’ll be playing in. Obviously, if you’re a brand-new player, you’re going to want to participate in the “easy” league rather than the hardcore league. You’ll then be presented with the 6 starter classes for the game, all of which are locked in terms of gender and cosmetics, so you won’t be doing much customization. The character you choose should fit your playstyle based on your previous experience with similar games in the genre.

The Skill Gem System

Path of Exile has a unique mechanic that determines the strength and power of your equipment, and that is the skill gem system. Each weapon or piece of equipment you pick up will have a set number of slots in which you can place skill gems that you will find fairly often in your travels. Skill gems can be found and looted from the environment, or enemies can drop them for you to pick up. Slotting in skill gems is the primary way you’ll increase the effectiveness of your equipment, so you should frequently check the new gems you pick up so you can replace weaker ones.

Focus on Health

As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to invest points in the skill tree system to unlock nodes. These nodes alter many different aspects of your character, but you’ll have to carefully plan out where you want to invest your points since you won’t be able to max out the skill tree in any playthrough. Many players follow complicated build guides, and that is a valid route to go, but my suggestion is a little more laid back. Invest points into your health since that is the most important thing early on, and then pick up whatever sounds fun for your play style. If you get really invested in the game, you’ll probably complete a few playthroughs anyways, so make your first one fun and go deep on the next one.

Uniques

During your quest, you will pick up a number of different items across many categories. One of those items will be a category called Uniques. Uniques can be any kind of item, but it will always provide a unique gameplay twist or new aspect to your character. Uniques are overall less powerful than high level items, but their list of modifiers make them more desirable in many cases. Some players have created entire builds around Unique items.

Currency

Like many things in Path of Exile, the currency system seems convoluted and confusing, but it miraculously works without issue. As you play the game, you will collect many different kinds of orbs. Each orb has a specific purpose, so you’ll need to make space in your inventory for the ones you need when you go to do things like modify equipment or purchase items from vendors. There are also orbs you will need in order to craft items or equipment. You can even redo your skill tree by using the Orb of Regret to regain all of your skill points and try again. As a beginner, if you try to take it all in right away, it’ll seem overwhelming. Just try to use the systems as they become relevant to you and you will be a pro Path of Exile player in no time!

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Mike Alexander

Mike has been playing video games since he was able to hold a controller, having been fascinated by Sonic 2 on his mom’s Sega Genesis. That fascination and passion for the art form has grown exponentially nearly 30 years later, and he doesn’t see that fading away anytime soon.
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