Builds Take too long to "Come Online"

Anyone else feel like you're build is starving up until like the 90s. I've tried a lot of build ideas and concepts that I think would be cool but it just feels like by the time I finish the campaign my build still has no identity and I don't really know where I'm taking it yet, as opposed to PoE 1 where I usually feel like "my build" by the 40-50s and from then on it's just up to me to choose how I scale it. The fun gameplay comes first, then power comes later. PoE 2 feels like the opposite, I always feel like I'm powerful enough, but cool build stuff just doesn't really happen until way late in the end game.
PoE 1 makes you grind for power, PoE 2 makes you grind to make your build less clunky.

As a disclaimer, I'm not talking about meta builds and skills, I'm primally someone who likes to experiment and try underutilized skills and Ascendancies. I never rate a build by how fast it clears a map, or the DPS number in PoB. I just like taking a build concept and solving it like a puzzle until I can make it work the best I can, but in PoE 2 I feel like I don't get to start solving the puzzle until way late in the end game, making everything up to that point feel like a total slog.

Depends on build. I made "Fartmaster" build in 0.2 that relied on 2 lvl 1 uniques so you could basicaly "feel it" since beginning. This league i made pure Charged Oil Barrage tgat kick in at lvl 33 when you can equip redflare conduit. But then you want to check Flicker Strike, but its obtainable at lvl 52 and its weird to "start" build towards the end of act 4.

You often need some combination of uniques+skill+ascendency. And the gems being locked behind lvl does alot, especialy for spirit gems. GGG shoud try to halve it so top tier would require lvl 30 max.

This is one of the unique aspects of poe2 that I actually kind of enjoy compared to poe1.

If you design a level 90+ endgame build with 5 supports in the skills and gear with all the right affixes in PoB and then just play the game in a way where you're just slowly pushing in the nodes and supports for the endgame version of the build, it's going to feel offline until you're in the endgame and have found the jeweler orbs, the t5 supports, have the passive points, the jewels, the gear, uniques, ascendancy points, and whatever else. It might not even work at all, and you'll just be playing a janky nerfed version of whatever you're building towards during the interim.

The solution?

You plan interim versions of your build. I know a lot of people are going to groan at that, but it's the truth.

Tree points are easily respeccable. You've gotta figure out the best way to use your skills or maybe other skills will work better in the interim, or maybe since you've only access to 2-3 support gems, and lower tier supports, you've gotta changeup your playstyle for now. There's even tons of twink uniques and interactions between leveling uniques that are very strong and can supplement many interim build gaps.

I usually plan out what I want my build to look like at certain breakpoints - 15 - 33 - 45 - 60 - endgame, and I can be flexible depending on my weapon/gear drops along the way but I usually have something in mind that I'm building towards. It's most important for fresh starts - if I don't have any gear, gold, uncuts, etc. already in the stash. Might have to survive on 3 socket skills or might get a gg shield or 2h mace when I planned on using 1h's, stuff like that.

The whole idea is to make sure I'm not just using a gimped version of an endgame build before the pieces for it are able to come together so I can maintain smooth progression the entire way - because it's definitely like you said, certain playstyles and skill interactions really only come online once you get the right supports/passive points in place and that can mean waiting a while if you don't have the means to expedite the journey.

Just gotta figure out ways to make it work in the interim. I find it keeps the leveling process fresh for me.

It's not always necessary to do something "outside the box" either - there's a few strong strategies that can work in a generic sort of way if you've got the right uniques.

I also feel this way. I wish they would rely more on stat requirements than level requirements for gems and gear. This puts spell casters at a disadvantage cause you really need those gem levels on your spells from level 65 -> 84 to gain a very significant amount of damage - whereas martial weapon classes don't fall victim to this as much.

Eg my build got a lot better when I could equip Sione's Temper at level 65 but that is kind of a ridiculously long time to wait, idk maybe that's just my opinion.

In general the balance of the game feels like they just make level 95 characters with good gear and test a bunch of skill combos to balance them, then give almost no thought to how you're going to get there.

Personally I dislike doing "leveling builds" where you just play, say, ED/C then at level 70 just buy gear on trade and do a full respec to what you wanted to play. I prefer to experience "growing into" a build but for some builds it makes you want to smash your head into the keyboard lol.

you are not alone. I feel power early, and late tweaks clvl 90 later on expend all gold and 1-try-only to retweak power (= fun) .. late late into game.

AP pts 7 and 8 are easily obtainable by minion builds (tested in both 0.3 and 0.4) by clvl65-70, and harder on all other builds (melee/ranged/caster) ranging from clvl 83-90.

this is actually a lot more noticeable on attack builds as weapon scaling is wierd. As a caster that lowlevel wand/staff only really impacts a few t1-t2 nodes and the inherited skill. But as an attacker your weapon dps is an important fact and bases are very impactful. You can easily get a wand with +5 skills + 150 combined dmg for level 60 but getting some comparable power as an attacker? nope.

but the feeling also also a little bit of an alt character thing. Never forget that the atlas tree is fully specced so your bosses and map mod are a lot more powerful as they would normally be.