What is an Exalted Orb? :)

I found my first ever exalt last night. I used that orb right away on something that wasn't worth it, because I'm a masochist.

Also, you don't need to trade to be able to get the gear you need as long as you are somewhat lucky or greatly overpay the item's worth to make it.

This game is definitely trade to win. The way GGG has balanced the game, you must play with an optimum build and have good gear to progress without dying.(dying equals hours of lost time on softcore, and hours and hours of time on hardcore) Finding gear decent enough to be usable for others is hard, and finding gear for yourself is nigh impossible.

I don't mean to discourage you, but I have been playing this game since closed beta, and with the changes they've made recently, this game is already in the same boat as D3. There is very little reward for your efforts, and solo play is out of the question. The only difference is that with this game you get the illusion that there is actually customization, and there is no auction house, so you have to barter like the indians used to do with the pilgrims.

it's a miserable little pile of secrets

I also forgot how it looks. Since open beta, I played FP witch up to level 82 - found 7exalted orbs with that character. Then I started to play LA ranger, I'm 84lvl now - found 2exlted orbs, last at 72lvl. No wonder that exalts raised in value so drastically. Most of players are in end-game, so most needs them a lot to craft some end-game gear, or trade for some good gear. It's just ridiculously stupid that currency drop rates are the same in all game from lvl 1 through maps to lvl 100. It leads to fucked up situation that is right now.

I was going to start the same thread, and you beat me to it OP :)

playing since the start of Open Beta. have one character at end-game maps after beating Merciless, and another starting Merciless - and no Exalt in sight.

I had one GCP and 2 Divines - all from trade. the best Orb I ever dropped was a Chaos Orb. two of those.

I'm now in a state where I must trade, because nothing good ever drops in hours upon hours of farming level 66-68 maps and Merciless Docks - but I simply don't have the currency for it. and no one in a party seems to want item for item trade. they are all too busy solo-farming chests and pirating loot from each other anyway.

so started lurking the Trade Chat again, and even learned how to sort through all the spam and junk.

oh, here's a shiny giant hammer. crap stats compared to mine, but more sockets and more links too.
PM: "price?" -"5 GCP". damn.

superb gloves with the all-mighty, elusive Chaos resistance mod and some +HP to boot? "2 Exalt"
-"you're a Duelist right?" -"yes"
so I offer him the awesome resist-all-elements, +HP, 5-link Majestic Plate I used until level 64, and in return he links me his equipped Kaom's Heart with an evil smiley face.

so much for trade.

I'm just tired at this point. will probably play occasionally until release. maybe level up my Hardcore Shadow a bit, if he doesn't get killed by a desync and/or damage spike first.

Nope, I have made 4 characters, two made it to Cruel Act 2, two made it to Merciless Act 3 and guess what: After more than 180 hours of playtime not a single Exalted was given to me! :)

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culblade a écrit :

Played for hours and hours. Never seen one.
Anyone else in the same boat?
I would like to add that I enjoy playing the game solo. When I first started in CB, I was impressed with the loot and enjoyed the game a lot.
Having come from D3 Auction House, I thought PoE was great. Now I feel that PoE is going the same way as D3. It looks like the only way I can get decent gear now is to trade. Doesn't 'trade to win' = 'pay to win'?
As I said, I prefer solo with no trading. However, if I played the 'trade to win' and the current 'gold' is the Exalted Orb, then where on earth do you get them?

As someone who has played the game since 2011, I have not noticed any increase in difficulty of self found at all in Open Beta compared to previous. Frankly it's much easier than some previous CB incarnations.

Obviously, compared to the top gear available, self found gear is going to be relatively worse now because there are more people playing and thus more top tier gear entering the game. But the absolute quality of self found gear has either not changed or improved in my eyes.

I really get the impression that some people are like "man, I can't just self find the same level of gear as the awesome stuff I see in trade chat, loot is shit game sucks". If people want the awesome shit in trade chat, they need to trade. That simple. And if people cant complete the game self found, they need to get better at the game. Playing for a month, only playing a few chars, or whatever, and thinking you should be good enough at the game to breeze through self found is folly.

"

aimlessgun a écrit :

I really get the impression that some people are like "man, I can't just self find the same level of gear as the awesome stuff I see in trade chat, loot is shit game sucks". If people want the awesome shit in trade chat, they need to trade. That simple. And if people cant complete the game self found, they need to get better at the game. Playing for a month, only playing a few chars, or whatever, and thinking you should be good enough at the game to breeze through self found is folly.

trade with what, exactly? it's a vicious cycle that cannot be broken, when your crap loot drops both prevent you from progressing AND prevent you from buying stuff via trade.

"I can't self find the gear I see in trade chat" - well why the hell not? I mean someone found it, right? he's selling it right now. for an Exalt I never had, or several Gem-cutter Prisms I only saw one of, in roughly 200 hours of play. maybe more.

how can I "get better in the game"? it's a line that annoys me every damn time I see someone use it.
try to farm a level 75+ map with insane mods? even if I ever manage to get my hands on one - which is very unlikely - I'll get slaughtered in it, because my gear is garbage.
and you know what? even if I display supreme world-class playing skills which I don't have, and somehow beat such a map - does that guarantee me at least one upgrade to my equipment? hell no!

wait, did I say "supreme world-class playing skills"? I saw some streams by the best players in this game. people constantly at the top of each respective ladder.
they just spam the same damn skill again and again. mostly a ranged one. occasionally jump back to town when potions are empty, and repeat.
I plan ahead before engaging every group of mobs I see. dodge and kite tough enemies. use all kinds of different skills and approaches. use cover when available. provide cover to others when playing in a party...

you don't need "supreme world-class playing skills" to be a top player in this game. only supreme world-class gear, sockets, links and overpowered skill gems with the right overpowered support gems.
now tell me dear Alpha member - how the fuck am I supposed to get all of the above?

EDIT: I sincerely apologise for all the rage and swearing, but I'm at a breaking point right now. the exact same moment just before I rage-quit Diablo 3, never to return again.
the moment I realized, I have to either pull out my credit card and pay real money for pixel-items, or stop playing.
I have no intention to leave Path Of Exile, because I have really high hopes for this game - but lately GGG seem to be making all possible efforts to make the 3rd-party spammer sites prosper, even if they don't support Pay To Win officially.

Lets see, played
- Fireball + Molten Shell Templar, level 67 (no Exalted)
- Lightning Arrow Duelist, level 73 (no Exalted)
- Cyclone Marauder, level 70 (Exalted in normal Act 3 sewers)
- Dual Spork Totem Templar, level 74 (no Exalted)
- EB + EK Witch, level 84 (first Exalted and Divine both found yesterday)

Guess Exalteds are not meant to be used, too rare. :\
Of course this also kinda kills Regals for me, Regal + 3 Exalteds to finish that item...yeah, sure.

On the bright side: I don't think that trading is as necessary as many people keep saying. WIth some of the more cookie cutter builds you can get along pretty well without it.