[Action RPG] Path of Exile

[Udgnim]

I suddenly hit a brick wall.

My Ranger can't advance in Act 3 of Cruel mode. They hit way too hard and I don't deal enough damage.

Rare items are just garbage. How can I advance?

what skills are you using?

the second half of A3 is easier than the first half of A3 imo

you could join a group and grab a waypoint to Battlefront or Docks and see how capable you are of handling those areas

 

[flexy]

There must be something wrong with my PC, because i DO NOT think PoE graphics is "worse than D3", in fact I was amazed at some of the graphics and think that PoE looks at times better than D3.

This is astonishing since graphics are VERY important to me.

* As for the AH. I *do* love the GAH in D3 (not the RMAH, mind you). It adds something to the game since I have fun looting, trading, getting better gear in the AH.

The fact that PoE lacks an AH is a big negative IMO, I cannot find a "community halfa$$ trading system" being better than an AH. Looking at it that way, the trading system in PoE is actually a big negative. Seriously, why should trading with people people via a community be "better" than having a good AH in place?

 

[smackababy]

There must be something wrong with my PC, because i DO NOT think PoE graphics is "worse than D3", in fact I was amazed at some of the graphics and think that PoE looks at times better than D3.

This is astonishing since graphics are VERY important to me.

* As for the AH. I *do* love the GAH in D3 (not the RMAH, mind you). It adds something to the game since I have fun looting, trading, getting better gear in the AH.

The fact that PoE lacks an AH is a big negative IMO, I cannot find a "community halfa$$ trading system" being better than an AH. Looking at it that way, the trading system in PoE is actually a big negative. Seriously, why should trading with people people via a community be "better" than having a good AH in place?

I think they are just preparing the market for when item duping becomes widespread. Similar to D2 when you just traded SoJs for items because gold became meaningless.

 

[flexy]

How does this mega gaming company Blizzard fail at following up with Diablo 3?

I completely disagree.

I am aware that "many people" seem to habitually bash D3, ever since release, and MOST of the given arguments why D3 is allegedly so bad are just stupid. Arguments were given ranging from "always online", to "how the AH sucks" and whatever other reasons.

While D3 is not perfect, the way how Blizzard did SOME things are, IMO, excellent! Some people might see the lack of complexity (such as in a MMORPG or maybe in PoE) a negative, but it can also be a positive.

D3 is a game where there is a "good" balance of flexibility while at the same time being able to quickly play, grind etc. without having to tiresome things like in other games. It's a loot and grind game, alright. It's NOT an ultra-complex MMORPG, its not a game which requires a master degree to figure this or that out. THIS IS WHY I LOVE D3.

I can spend hours grinding for gear, mindlessly even, have fun blasting away monsters without end and then (maybe) find good loot while doing so. It's not "role playing game". It does not HAVE to be a RPG since there are countless games like that out already.

I have noticed I (still) like D3 *because* of many things which other people consider negatives.

BUT: PoE might be better if it can be as "accessible" and quickly "playable" as D3 is, while providing even more flexibility and options...eg best of BOTH worlds. Then I'd say PoE is better. HOWEVER if PoE would more turn into the direction of a "nerd game" (which would be the exact opposite of what D3 is)...this does NOT automatically make it the better game!

 

[Udgnim]

There must be something wrong with my PC, because i DO NOT think PoE graphics is "worse than D3", in fact I was amazed at some of the graphics and think that PoE looks at times better than D3.

This is astonishing since graphics are VERY important to me.

* As for the AH. I *do* love the GAH in D3 (not the RMAH, mind you). It adds something to the game since I have fun looting, trading, getting better gear in the AH.

The fact that PoE lacks an AH is a big negative IMO, I cannot find a "community halfa$$ trading system" being better than an AH. Looking at it that way, the trading system in PoE is actually a big negative. Seriously, why should trading with people people via a community be "better" than having a good AH in place?

item values remain higher without an AH

players will use more self found gear or self made gear, thus feeling more connected with their character

it's a more rewarding experience for the players that choose to engage and learn the bartering system than the instant gratification that an AH provides

PoE's currency system makes implementating an AH difficult anyways, and I'd rather play with PoE's currency system than D3's gold

PoE was not created for the casual gamer

 

[Grooveriding]

There must be something wrong with my PC, because i DO NOT think PoE graphics is "worse than D3", in fact I was amazed at some of the graphics and think that PoE looks at times better than D3.

This is astonishing since graphics are VERY important to me.

* As for the AH. I *do* love the GAH in D3 (not the RMAH, mind you). It adds something to the game since I have fun looting, trading, getting better gear in the AH.

The fact that PoE lacks an AH is a big negative IMO, I cannot find a "community halfa$$ trading system" being better than an AH. Looking at it that way, the trading system in PoE is actually a big negative. Seriously, why should trading with people people via a community be "better" than having a good AH in place?

I don't get it either. Blizzard games are very, very low tech graphically. Like, exceeding low tech. What they have is a great art department that makes their games look really nice. The only decent tech I have seen from Blizzard are the SC2 cut scenes which are rendered real time.

The only positives in the entirety of Diablo 3 were the art design, sound and the game engine itself. The art assets in D3 are well done, if you compare character models or animations they are much better in D3 than PoE. That is something you can't overcome unless you are a developer like Blizzard that can throw endless money at hiring the best artists available.

All that does nothing to help the fact that Diablo 3 is an inherently bad game though. Proving that gameplay>graphics.

 

[darkewaffle]

I think this is a good thing, you don't?

It's a skills-based game with classes included which have a minor impact. I love it.

Though, in addition to your starting position on the passive tree, class also determines some of the skill gem quest rewards.

I think it's a step backwards myself, if you're going to divide players into classes I'd like to see some sort of class specific or class innate traits/abilities something that really distinguishes them from each other. I'm very underwhelmed by a "X build witch" being identical to a "X build marauder" being identical to an "X build ranger" except for one having 20 more Y stat and 20 less Z stat, etc.

As it is, I can't really see the reason for even bothering to make the distinction between classes. Sure there's the aesthetics but that could be easily incorporated into a simple character creation implementation. Maybe I just have expectations for what a "class" should be, but to me having these classes that are essentially little more than glorified "sub races" is a let down.

All that does nothing to help the fact that Diablo 3 is an inherently bad game though. Proving that gameplay>graphics.

IMO, gameplay is one of D3's strengths relative to both PoE and D2. I make no claims of being far into PoE, but all that I've played so far it feels like it falls very much in step with D2 in that I don't feel compelled to use more than 1-2 buttons at almost any point. Difficulty probably changes that to some extent.

 

[Chiropteran]

D3 vs PoE (IMO)

D3 Advantages (yes, it has some)

-AH & RMAH. People *will* buy and sell PoE items for real money, even without a RMAH, it's just going to occur on 3rd party sites and the developer will see 0 return.

-Polish/Graphics/Voiceacting. Mostly opinion, but I do think D3 looks better and the UI feels more modern and responsive. No question that D3 has more and better voice acting. That sound, I don't hold such things in high value, I'd happily give up millions of dollars worth of voice acting if it means the devs focus on better gameplay.

-Uses gold. Barely an advantage, the D3 economy is so messed up as it is, but I do like having a basic currency as opposed to PoE's barter system. It's an interesting experiment but overall I don't like it.

PoE Advantages

-Character builds are meaningful, because unlike D3 there is some permanence to them and you can't simply press a button and instantly fully respec. The skill gem system is ingenious in that some builds require rare gems which creates additional secondary market.

-One fewer difficulty level. Optimally such a game would only have one difficulty, or if it must it could have "tutorial mode" and "real mode", but I am really not a fan of this "play the same game 4 times thing." Playing the same game 3 times through is better, but not best.

-Actually has PvP. I enjoyed hardcore cutthroat last time the league was up.

-More sandbox-like. While still a very linear game, PoE doesn't give me that feeling that I'm just an actor in a story somebody else wrote. I actually feel like I can make a few decisions of my own, and if I just want to go out and kill crap that is a viable way to play for the most part. D3 "questing" was stupid and annoying.

-Better difficulty scale. Ugh, I just hated so much how stupidly easy D3 was up until Inferno. There were a few specific tough fights, but 99% of the game prior to inferno is a joke. There are tons of people leveling alts now on monster power 10 the entire way up to 60 and not really having any significant problems with anything, that is how bad it is! PoE isn't super hard, but if you get reckless or do something stupid you can certainly die, even in normal difficulty.

-Vastly superior "item crafting" and better item affixes. Also more variety in useful items because spell damage is not linked to weapon damage. Some builds want spell damage gear, some want a high weapon damage, some want both. A step forward from D3's system where everybody wanted the absolute highest DPS weapon in nearly every case. In other gear, primary stat isn't so super important that there is a variety of items you could consider using, unlike D3 where if a piece was lacking your primary stat it was garbage. And finally, the way you can upgrade and modify gear is a lot of fun, I spend a fair bit of time just looking for whites with perfect socket combinations so I can upgrade them and use them.

 

[Dumac]

Am I the only one who likes the barter economy? It persuades you to communicate with other players, which is a whole different feeling from the cold mechanical AH. It reminds me of trade games in D2...

Also, I love the lack of an AH. I hated the AH in Diablo 3. Really that is was took 90% of the enjoyment out of the game for me.

 

[Zeze]

Diablo 3 was plain no fun, and I noticed this BEFORE I even knew there was a hate bandwagon. I bought it on launch date and played it to finish without reading anything on internet. This is what I gathered on my own:

1. Items are plain boring as hell. I kept thinking, "why is there no excitement when items drop?" What do you know, EVERYONE felt that way. Diablo is foremost a loot game. It was no fun, and I felt no need to even pursue other classes once I finished the game once.

2. Crap storyline. This comes from a die-hard Blizz lore fan. I LOVE SC1, D1 & 2, and Warcraft 2-3 lore! Sadly this is where it all ended. Writing got plain terrible, lazy, and predictable from WoW (which I never played, but read). SC2 was a terrible disappointment story-wise. You have SO MANY ways to make D3's story amazing. I can just think of a few right off the bat. But what did they do? Oh, Diablo has come back again, for the third time. WTF is this? The only highlight 'wow' moment was when Tyrael decided to become a mortal. The rest of the story was stupid as hell.

This parody captures it PERFECTLY. I couldn't stop laughing at the Act 3 boss saying "You foiled me again!" "..again" "and... again". So so true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcJ_XT3oWtY

3. I actually applaud D3 for trying a new mechanic. It was an earnest, sincerely attempt. The rune system was interesting enough. But because everything is totally respec'able, players had no invested attachment to their characters.

 

[darkewaffle]

"cold and mechanical" beats "warm and stupid" every time. I really have no interest in actually trying to deal directly with other players. The simple truth is most of them aren't going to have a reasonable idea of their item's worth, don't want to be gifted a chore (eg: even if you 'overpay' they still have to be able to 'flip' that item to something they actually want), and even if there's an intelligent, reasonable person out there who has the thing you want you still have to somehow find them. Not to mention language barriers and timezone barriers that restrict how many people you can conceivably trade with.

Trade games suck (audience is too small, many people will never even enter one, targeted by bot spammers), large scale chat channels are impossible to keep track of (and again, lots of people turn it off/never look), and (while effective) third party forums are still a hassle and highly fragmented.

An integrated auction house alleviates all of that. It helps establish faith in currency. It gives you a far higher chance of both finding the item you want efficiently and selling the items you have quickly. It gives you more variety to choose from, it gives you better deals, it prevents scamming, it helps keep inflation in check.

And for me, it's a tremendous amount of fun. Finding trends, flipping items, guessing what might go up or down next week, seeing relationships and exploring niches. Without an AH a game is so much shallower for me.

 

[Dumac]

"cold and mechanical" beats "warm and stupid" every time. I really have no interest in actually trying to deal directly with other players. The simple truth is most of them aren't going to have a reasonable idea of their item's worth, don't want to be gifted a chore (eg: even if you 'overpay' they still have to be able to 'flip' that item to something they actually want), and even if there's an intelligent, reasonable person out there who has the thing you want you still have to somehow find them. Not to mention language barriers and timezone barriers that restrict how many people you can conceivably trade with.

Trade games suck (audience is too small, many people will never even enter one, targeted by bot spammers), large scale chat channels are impossible to keep track of (and again, lots of people turn it off/never look), and (while effective) third party forums are still a hassle and highly fragmented.

An integrated auction house alleviates all of that. It helps establish faith in currency. It gives you a far higher chance of both finding the item you want efficiently and selling the items you have quickly. It gives you more variety to choose from, it gives you better deals, it prevents scamming, it helps keep inflation in check.

And for me, it's a tremendous amount of fun. Finding trends, flipping items, guessing what might go up or down next week, seeing relationships and exploring niches. Without an AH a game is so much shallower for me.

I guess different strokes for different folks?

It is good that there are games with both models out there, though. PoE is almost a polar opposite of D3, so people of the ARPG genre should be able to find something they like in one of them.

(Although it obviously leads into "I wish I could take x from D3 and y from PoE").

 

[Wardawg1001]

Diablo 3 was plain no fun, and I noticed this BEFORE I even knew there was a hate bandwagon. I bought it on launch date and played it to finish without reading anything on internet. This is what I gathered on my own:

1. Items are plain boring as hell. I kept thinking, "why is there no excitement when items drop?" What do you know, EVERYONE felt that way. Diablo is foremost a loot game. It was no fun, and I felt no need to even pursue other classes once I finished the game once.

2. Crap storyline. This comes from a die-hard Blizz lore fan. I LOVE SC1, D1 & 2, and Warcraft 2-3 lore! Sadly this is where it all ended. Writing got plain terrible, lazy, and predictable from WoW (which I never played, but read). SC2 was a terrible disappointment story-wise. You have SO MANY ways to make D3's story amazing. I can just think of a few right off the bat. But what did they do? Oh, Diablo has come back again, for the third time. WTF is this? The only highlight 'wow' moment was when Tyrael decided to become a mortal. The rest of the story was stupid as hell.

This parody captures it PERFECTLY. I couldn't stop laughing at the Act 3 boss saying "You foiled me again!" "..again" "and... again". So so true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcJ_XT3oWtY

3. I actually applaud D3 for trying a new mechanic. It was an earnest, sincerely attempt. The rune system was interesting enough. But because everything is totally respec'able, players had no invested attachment to their characters.

That video is great. The awful story and character interaction is what bothered me the most about D3, particularly Azmodan in A3, just soooooooo awful.

 

[Chiropteran]

That video is great. The awful story and character interaction is what bothered me the most about D3, particularly Azmodan in A3, just soooooooo awful.

How did I never see that video until now? It's perfect. The dialogue is so ridiculous through the whole game.

 

[Kalmah]

So, what has been your most successful character so far? I have a bad habit of starting over and over and over to try different builds that I'm starting to irritate myself.

I think my shadow trap specialist has been my best. I'm having a hard time deciding between evade and energy shield though. I keep finding really good evade equipment but the concept of evading sounds bad. (evade or die, as somebody else put it earlier in this thread). I just recently started finding good equipment with both evade and energy shield so I'll see how that goes.

I'm starting to think that the only passives worth taking are the defensive ones. (increased life and regen, increase shield, increase evade, elemental resists etc...) I mean, if you're staying alive then you're staying alive...

 

[Zeze]

Here's an amazing mechanic thread that covers most of the game:

https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/11707/page/1

Damage Calculation:

Incoming attack -> Try to evade -> Blocking applied -> Reduced by Armor/Elemental Resistance -> damage taken from Energy Shield & Life.

I take back about Evasion being useless and Armor being best (and always recommending Iron Reflexes which converts all Evasion to Armor).

Armor is NOT a flat reduction. It's a bell curve and is less effective versus big bosses and critical strikes. Therefore, armor is good for fighting mobs of regular enemies. Armor is only applied to physical damage.

Evasion IS a flat chance. Evasion is applied to both physical damage AND elemental damage in attacks, but NOT spells. Evasion is good versus big bosses!

Elemental Resistance is applied to spells.

Block typically comes from your shield. It is applied to physical damage and elemental damage, but not spells- similar to Evasion.

We can conclude few things:

1. Life & Energy Shield are the foremost important stat. It doesn't discriminate and isn't partial to all types of damage. If you want survivability, investing in life & ES is the foremost priority & most efficient. If you're aiming to finish to game all the way at its highest difficulty, this is a must anyway. Same goes for Hardcore.

2. Secondarily, Evasion is SLIGHTLY better than Armor (IMO), as long as life is taken care of first. Evasion is works on both attacks that include both physical & elemental, armor is only physical. But I must stress, any armor or evasion build you go for, you MUST have plenty of LIFE foremost.

3. Higher difficulties, there have craptons of spells. Resistances are very important. Keep those up 50%+ if you can. Fire is the least important. Lightning hurts like a mofo (and you usually can't avoid them), and Freeze is important too, as you'll be frozen most of the time.

All in all, I think a healthy mix of both evasion and armor is the best way to approach the game. Don't concentrate on either. Concentrate on life.

 

[Zeze]

So, what has been your most successful character so far? I have a bad habit of starting over and over and over to try different builds that I'm starting to irritate myself.

I think my shadow trap specialist has been my best. I'm having a hard time deciding between evade and energy shield though. I keep finding really good evade equipment but the concept of evading sounds bad. (evade or die, as somebody else put it earlier in this thread). I just recently started finding good equipment with both evade and energy shield so I'll see how that goes.

I'm starting to think that the only passives worth taking are the defensive ones. (increased life and regen, increase shield, increase evade, elemental resists etc...) I mean, if you're staying alive then you're staying alive...

I found out I'm wrong, read above. Life trumps all.

 

[Hacp]

While D3 is not perfect, the way how Blizzard did SOME things are, IMO, excellent! Some people might see the lack of complexity (such as in a MMORPG or maybe in PoE) a negative, but it can also be a positive.

What Blizzard did was not excellent. They may seem excellent to you because you were their target audience, however, the audience that D2 targeted did not enjoy D3 because of the changes you mentioned.

D3 is a game where there is a "good" balance of flexibility while at the same time being able to quickly play, grind etc. without having to tiresome things like in other games. It's a loot and grind game, alright. It's NOT an ultra-complex MMORPG, its not a game which requires a master degree to figure this or that out. THIS IS WHY I LOVE D3.

That's exactly the reason why many people who criticize D3 dislike D3. It changed from being a character development game into a loot grind game. Loot grind games are not fun.

I can spend hours grinding for gear, mindlessly even, have fun blasting away monsters without end and then (maybe) find good loot while doing so. It's not "role playing game". It does not HAVE to be a RPG since there are countless games like that out already.

What you're describing is an action game. The diablo franchise is rooted in its RPG elements, originally, the game was developed as a turn based rpg. There are plenty of action games out there with simple progression mechanisms if that is your cup of tea.

I have noticed I (still) like D3 *because* of many things which other people consider negatives.

BUT: PoE might be better if it can be as "accessible" and quickly "playable" as D3 is, while providing even more flexibility and options...eg best of BOTH worlds. Then I'd say PoE is better. HOWEVER if PoE would more turn into the direction of a "nerd game" (which would be the exact opposite of what D3 is)...this does NOT automatically make it the better game!

Again, it is totally understandable why you enjoyed D3 and why you won't be enjoying PoE. PoE caters to people who enjoy RPG elements. That doesn't make PoE inferior or bad, it just means that PoE is targeting the audience that enjoys the old fashioned RPG where you play with an excel spreadsheet running alongside the game.

 

[Hacp]

I think it's a step backwards myself, if you're going to divide players into classes I'd like to see some sort of class specific or class innate traits/abilities something that really distinguishes them from each other. I'm very underwhelmed by a "X build witch" being identical to a "X build marauder" being identical to an "X build ranger" except for one having 20 more Y stat and 20 less Z stat, etc.

It isn't a step back, its a step sideways. It stays true to the original diablo model of having all classes capable of learning any spell, but limiting their raw power if they decided to build unconventionally.

IMO, gameplay is one of D3's strengths relative to both PoE and D2. I make no claims of being far into PoE, but all that I've played so far it feels like it falls very much in step with D2 in that I don't feel compelled to use more than 1-2 buttons at almost any point. Difficulty probably changes that to some extent.

Its totally intentional. Combat feels clunky to you because it is meant to feel clunky at the start. As you get better gear, your character will feel more responsive because you gain more move speed and attack or cast faster.

 

[Hacp]

And for me, it's a tremendous amount of fun. Finding trends, flipping items, guessing what might go up or down next week, seeing relationships and exploring niches. Without an AH a game is so much shallower for me.

You can do everything you described without an AH. The trade game is more engaging because in addition to finding trends, flipping items, and predicting future prices, you need to be good at bartering as well. Diablo 2 did very well with the Perfect Skull economy(at first), then the Soj economy, and then the rune economy. In fact, I remember getting my first perfect skull from Hell Hellforge, flipping that for rare boots, which I flipped for more Pskulls. Then I flipped those Pskulls for an SOJ, flipped the SOJ for more Pskulls, and continued the cycle until I was able to gear my character fully. It was a blast.

 

[Dumac]

Evasion is applied to both physical damage AND elemental damage in attacks, but NOT spells.

There is a keystone passive that gives you 20% chance to dodge spells, however! But to get it, you have to forsake all ES and Armor.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Damn I screwed my chest armor. It originally had 3 green linked gem sockets. I found some item that changes the amount of gem sockets on an item, and probably stupidly tried it on my armor. Bang, it was down to two linked sockets. I was pretty pissed so I bought another one from a vendor and BANG it's now down to 1 socket.

 

[Zeze]

Update:

As I've shared, my level 46 Ranger got shut down hard at Act 3 Cruel. 700 hp & 1200 armor is a weak ass glass cannon where I can't even let them touch me. 700 DPS is obviously not good enough either, takes forever to kill regular mobs.

So I got sick of it and started a total opposite tank Marauder build focusing on everything life & life leech. (after learning Life is the best investment above all)

He's level 37 now, Act 1 of Cruel and already have 1400 HP, and same armor as Ranger already. BUT Flaming Shield gives another 700 armor and Enduring Cry gives me flat +15% armor reduction on top as well as +15% to all resistances.

I distinctly remember having an awful time and Cruel's Fetid Pool with Ranger (get 2 shotted and die). Well this guy can took it like champ. He could even tank Act 2 boss's big FUCK-YOU melee attack, which 1 shots most heroes.

Thanks to Blood Magic (spends life instead of mana), I have absolutely ZERO mana problems. I also lucked out with various lifesteal gear and gem.

So I'm doing whopping 16% lifesteal AND 60hp/sec natural regen (about 3%/sec). This build is so much fun. I hardly touch my flask, and it's super fun to take massive amount of abuse in the middle of the big mob and beat them up. So satisfying compared to the scared Ranger. The best part of this build is that whenever I fight bosses, I can go toe-to-toe and bash their fucking skulls in.

Here's my Marauder Build Passive Tree (so far, I will continue to get those 9~ life nodes all around).


He's a lot of fun. Will provide further updates to see how he fares in Act 3 of Cruel... and even if he can finish the game at Merciless difficulty (build is correct, just need time to get elite gear).

 

[darkswordsman17]

WTF, I've gotten 3 bsod's from playing this.

Apparently its a sound card issue (seems X-Fi and maybe XRAM could be the cullprits) and you tell it to use software processing. Hopefully their fix will take care of it. Doubly annoying since I had the game muted so I could watch/listen to stuff while playing.

 

[Dumac]

Update:

As I've shared, my level 46 Ranger got shut down hard at Act 3 Cruel. 700 hp & 1200 armor is a weak ass glass cannon where I can't even let them touch me. 700 DPS is obviously not good enough either, takes forever to kill regular mobs.

So I got sick of it and started a total opposite tank Marauder build focusing on everything life & life leech. (after learning Life is the best investment above all)

He's level 37 now, Act 1 of Cruel and already have 1400 HP, and same armor as Ranger already. BUT Flaming Shield gives another 700 armor and Enduring Cry gives me flat +15% armor reduction on top as well as +15% to all resistances.

I distinctly remember having an awful time and Cruel's Fetid Pool with Ranger (get 2 shotted and die). Well this guy can took it like champ. He could even tank Act 2 boss's big FUCK-YOU melee attack, which 1 shots most heroes.

Thanks to Blood Magic (spends life instead of mana), I have absolutely ZERO mana problems. I also lucked out with various lifesteal gear and gem.

So I'm doing whopping 16% lifesteal AND 60hp/sec natural regen (about 3%/sec). This build is so much fun. I hardly touch my flask, and it's super fun to take massive amount of abuse in the middle of the big mob and beat them up. So satisfying compared to the scared Ranger. The best part of this build is that whenever I fight bosses, I can go toe-to-toe and bash their fucking skulls in.

Here's my Marauder Build Passive Tree (so far, I will continue to get those 9~ life nodes all around).


He's a lot of fun. Will provide further updates to see how he fares in Act 3 of Cruel... and even if he can finish the game at Merciless difficulty (build is correct, just need time to get elite gear).

I have a templar and I'm working my way to the marauder tree for that reason. Sweet, sweet passives.