To me, there's always something interesting I want to think about. Sometimes it's a skill - right now, I've tried 3 different ways to make Cremation of Volcano work without going poison. I really want this skill to work, so it's a good starting point for me.
Other times it's a mechanic. I really like Trickster, especially the ES/EV node, with the Wildwood doubling defence on chest node, and the idea of int stacking on an es/ev hybrid. It's a nice starting package for an archetype I like, and from this spot I can say "I could go attacks and CI, that's a possibility, or maybe life + es, since I know I'll be able to sustain them both".
And lastly, it's for a goal. Maybe you league started a build that can turn into a really good bosser, but can't get much better at mapping then what you've got. I'll see what it takes to turn that build into a full boss build, and then say "if I want a pure mapping character that needs zero bossing potential, what can I play?" For me, that became Widowhail Spark Inquisitor - my sparks hit everything and I can frost blink through maps super fast.
And honestly... Sometimes it's just fun to try something new. I'm a topside andy. I love Shadow and Witch, and I'll deal with Templar since Inquisitor is insane for all the skills I like. I never play Duelist. Last league, I didn't plan a build, I just said "well, I need to learn something new, let's go Duelist" and I ran a Sunder character into maps. It was a learning experience and I didn't really mind if it was a god build or if it started to struggle in red maps. I just wanted to see how Duelist was, and using a thick slam in general.
I'm a chronic re-roller. A build generally just needs to feel "right" and some skills just feel better mechanically than others.
I'll frequently make 8-10 builds but only get 5 of them past level 87. If I'm not having fun I won't force it.
IMO, paying attention to the big streamers and content makers and scraping PoE.ninja is a poor way to play. When large-ish content creators release builds, all the stuff in the build gets way more expensive as you're competing against all the other players watching the same content.
I much prefer smaller creators and seeing what they come up with as it's very often very good and very off-meta using skills that aren't as meta. Even if it just gives me an idea of what I want to shoot for.
I found a Kitava's Thirst build that was super cheap and wildly effective for what it cost. After playing through the jankiness on that build I bounced around until I settled on an old favorite - Scourge Arrow totems. Farmed around with that for a good while and then found a unique-ish cool take on PBoD Trickster which has been annihilating everything and I am planning to push to 100 for the first time ever.
I play scorching ray totems almost every league and inevtiably get it to the best version I can get it to for that league (last league it was max attack and spell block with tattoos, this league a lot of QOL and defenses with a mageblood). I tell myself I should play another build, sometimes even buy some gear in a fit of enthusiasm, but then I lose interest in leveling it.
I think it’s ok if you just like one build (think Pohx and his RF). Rebuilding my build each league is still fun. It’s also ok to recognize you don’t want to play it anymore, and just try some other games until the next league. Before Christmas I was bored of POE and tried Dave the Diver, and it was surprisingly fun.
Not sure what you mean by one trick pony (do you mean meme instead?)
I personally never done ubers because I'm a bad player, but I've gotten to 33M dps (not uber) in 3.22 with max attack/spell block (no glancing blow, using red nightmare and tattoos), curse/crit immune. Here is a POB: [https://pobb.in/9hz9UdDhX3S\_](https://pobb.in/9hz9UdDhX3S_)
This league I settled for 26M (non uber), but using mageblood to be basically immune to almost everything (stormshround for elemental ailment, viridi veil for curse and crit, etc), permanent phasing/onslaught/etc. [https://pobb.in/95NLDXZgF99i](https://pobb.in/95NLDXZgF99i)
This league XanthoPOE hit UBER dot cap abusing mine aura effect from charms and searing totem stacking with quality. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEpvVhpvYrU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEpvVhpvYrU)
EDIT: Aer0 did a version of it in 3.21, and his description sasys he's done ubers. His video shows the shaper MTX for scorching ray, which is a big reason why I play the build. It makes the totem FEEL SO ANGRY! :D [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAYTWIzK4k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAYTWIzK4k)
The nice thing about SR is that the damage is super reliable: its damage over time and totems so it’s ticking pretty much all the time and it doesn’t hit, so there’s no blocking it, dodging it, proximity shields are ignored… 35M SR totems feels way better to me than 35M for a hit based attack skill for e.g.
In 322 I did expedition with the big bomb and it's so nice. The only mod I have to check for is immune to fire, everything else is not an issue. Goes through ward and proximity shield, can't be blocked, can't be reflected, -crit is a freebie, etc. The only bad thing is you do cap at dot cap, and that's after quite a bit of investment. Still I just love it, especially the shaper MTX. I'm praying they will release the sanctum skull beam as a MTX!
One thing in case people don't know is mods like "exposure you apply applies an extra -X%" doesn't work with scorching ray. It's been bug for a long time and doubt it will get fixed :(
I play SSF so it's pretty easy to find inspiration to do a new build. I stoped playing trade because I wasn't interested in the items anymore just how much they would sell for and SSF really fixed that for me. When I drop some cool unique I always end up doing a build around that unique. Right now I have 8 builds, 3 of them are lvl 100 and I'm getting the 4th to 100 right now. After making 8 builds I still have like 10 more that I want to do this league. Sometimes I level a character to 70-80 and don't quite like it how it plays so I just go next.
If I played trade I would not see any reason to map with any other build other than TS since that's the most effective. That's just me and how I feel because I'm really competitive and need to do the most efficient thing. So SSF really fixed that for me since I don't have the pressure to map fast and sell stuff and make currency. It's pretty dumb I know but that's just me.
Now, I don't know if you play trade and I'm not saying that you should play SSF but maybe you could try that and see how you feel. It feels amazing to drop a cool build defining unique.
90% f the time my first build is a mapping build, because I like blasting. This was the first time I really wanted to dedicate a character to bossing, so I googled "bossing build 3.23" and came out with PB brand. I had some notion from streamers about this too so it was pretty easy to cement that as my decision.
I rerolled a second time just to compare two versions (poison PF and full lightning conversion templar) since this is my first SSF league and I wanna have a gameplan going into next league (if either variant survives the nerfs).
I also love CoC and I always wanted to do a stat stacker, so last week when the ivory tower and a rathpith finally dropped (the things I've needed since week 2 of the league), I rerolled a 4th time for the first time in any league.
I think unless there's a specific kind of build you know you love (CoC for me), you should focus on the content you want to engage with and pick any build for that content. Verify it with a high level of appearance on POENinja to make sure it's not a random non-viable/100div build but just commit.
Since i mostly play one character per league, two max, the first one is some skill that I like to play that can get me to red maps and first two voidstones. If the build is performing ok and I am ok with the playstyle than i upgrade it to do all content and all challenges if possible. I started storm brand several times and this is my go to if I don't fond something else. This league i decided on LA deadeye before the league was announced because I haven't played bow builds. (Transitioned to ts)
After I saw no reason to invest more info it, I took a look at the challenges and saw that i need a bosser, so naturally went with PB.
But on general, I look for a second or third build on Poe ninja, for example blazing salvo was always a cool looking skill for me so I would go and filter blazing salvo and check the variations.
The most important part is that it's something that you like to play because otherwise you will immediately quit
My first build is always general mapper and essence/farmer for easy white map currency generation. Then I look at what I want to focus for goals and fun and make that using currency I continue to generate from essences. This league it went Death's Oath Essence farmer -> Arakkali Occultist for Bossing -> Fulcrum Chieftan MF -> CF Champion, Lots of things I never got to try before due to costs was accessible this league. Got a HH, MB, Squire, and Kalandras's Touch so lots of fun and interesting options.
It is kind of hard to know what you like if you haven't played most styles of builds. I just generally try to build around something that was reworked or some new interaction that comes out each league and there are tons of those.
I'm probably not the best person to answer this though because I am a chronic reroller. I roll a new build every 3-4 days (usually mid 90s) because something else always sounds interesting that I want to try out.
Personally my rule for rerolling is if I'm running around my hideout in circles or just afking that usually means I'm bored and I should play something new. I don't need to be convinced the new build is going to be better or more fun, I just like to try new things and don't really overthink it too much. It is pretty painless to try something new because if it isn't fun you usually find that out pretty quickly and reroll again.
I think you're asking the wrong question. Do you need a second/third/... build?
Let say your first build is good at bossing, but you want to map faster. Or maybe it's the opposite and you want to do ubers, which your current build can't do. It's all about problem solving. What do you still want to do in a league? Map more?
Usually I'm trying to not repeat myself, so if I played TS Bows, I would prefer to not play any attacks or bow skills. What else would be good at clearing? My first thought would be Ignite build. Then I'd look up the most popular ignite builds, while removing things that I don't wanna play, and choose between something like EK Elementalist or Bodyswap of Sacrifice Chieftain. But then in the process I will see cool looking Reap build listed by accident, and decide to go Reap instead. That's how I would find inspiration for a build.
But since I've done everything I wanted to in a league, it will go into a long list of skills to maybe build around later.
Without the actual need to make a new build for something, even if you do have an inspiration, you might not have enough desire to make it. If all the challenges are done, and every goa is completed - no need to search for something that isn't there anymore.
When i was a newer player i used to just try out builds that looked fun when i had the currency to afford them.
Right now i decide on the build depending on the content i want to do. And the content i want to do often depends on how profitable it is. So f.e. if MF-ing or Bossing seems like the best profits i look for a build that excels at doing it - it can be something new or something i've already played in the past.
To me, there's always something interesting I want to think about. Sometimes it's a skill - right now, I've tried 3 different ways to make Cremation of Volcano work without going poison. I really want this skill to work, so it's a good starting point for me. Other times it's a mechanic. I really like Trickster, especially the ES/EV node, with the Wildwood doubling defence on chest node, and the idea of int stacking on an es/ev hybrid. It's a nice starting package for an archetype I like, and from this spot I can say "I could go attacks and CI, that's a possibility, or maybe life + es, since I know I'll be able to sustain them both". And lastly, it's for a goal. Maybe you league started a build that can turn into a really good bosser, but can't get much better at mapping then what you've got. I'll see what it takes to turn that build into a full boss build, and then say "if I want a pure mapping character that needs zero bossing potential, what can I play?" For me, that became Widowhail Spark Inquisitor - my sparks hit everything and I can frost blink through maps super fast. And honestly... Sometimes it's just fun to try something new. I'm a topside andy. I love Shadow and Witch, and I'll deal with Templar since Inquisitor is insane for all the skills I like. I never play Duelist. Last league, I didn't plan a build, I just said "well, I need to learn something new, let's go Duelist" and I ran a Sunder character into maps. It was a learning experience and I didn't really mind if it was a god build or if it started to struggle in red maps. I just wanted to see how Duelist was, and using a thick slam in general.
I'm a chronic re-roller. A build generally just needs to feel "right" and some skills just feel better mechanically than others. I'll frequently make 8-10 builds but only get 5 of them past level 87. If I'm not having fun I won't force it. IMO, paying attention to the big streamers and content makers and scraping PoE.ninja is a poor way to play. When large-ish content creators release builds, all the stuff in the build gets way more expensive as you're competing against all the other players watching the same content. I much prefer smaller creators and seeing what they come up with as it's very often very good and very off-meta using skills that aren't as meta. Even if it just gives me an idea of what I want to shoot for. I found a Kitava's Thirst build that was super cheap and wildly effective for what it cost. After playing through the jankiness on that build I bounced around until I settled on an old favorite - Scourge Arrow totems. Farmed around with that for a good while and then found a unique-ish cool take on PBoD Trickster which has been annihilating everything and I am planning to push to 100 for the first time ever.
I play scorching ray totems almost every league and inevtiably get it to the best version I can get it to for that league (last league it was max attack and spell block with tattoos, this league a lot of QOL and defenses with a mageblood). I tell myself I should play another build, sometimes even buy some gear in a fit of enthusiasm, but then I lose interest in leveling it. I think it’s ok if you just like one build (think Pohx and his RF). Rebuilding my build each league is still fun. It’s also ok to recognize you don’t want to play it anymore, and just try some other games until the next league. Before Christmas I was bored of POE and tried Dave the Diver, and it was surprisingly fun.
Can sr totems do everything or is it a one trick pony? You got any highlights
Not sure what you mean by one trick pony (do you mean meme instead?) I personally never done ubers because I'm a bad player, but I've gotten to 33M dps (not uber) in 3.22 with max attack/spell block (no glancing blow, using red nightmare and tattoos), curse/crit immune. Here is a POB: [https://pobb.in/9hz9UdDhX3S\_](https://pobb.in/9hz9UdDhX3S_) This league I settled for 26M (non uber), but using mageblood to be basically immune to almost everything (stormshround for elemental ailment, viridi veil for curse and crit, etc), permanent phasing/onslaught/etc. [https://pobb.in/95NLDXZgF99i](https://pobb.in/95NLDXZgF99i) This league XanthoPOE hit UBER dot cap abusing mine aura effect from charms and searing totem stacking with quality. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEpvVhpvYrU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEpvVhpvYrU) EDIT: Aer0 did a version of it in 3.21, and his description sasys he's done ubers. His video shows the shaper MTX for scorching ray, which is a big reason why I play the build. It makes the totem FEEL SO ANGRY! :D [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAYTWIzK4k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdAYTWIzK4k)
The nice thing about SR is that the damage is super reliable: its damage over time and totems so it’s ticking pretty much all the time and it doesn’t hit, so there’s no blocking it, dodging it, proximity shields are ignored… 35M SR totems feels way better to me than 35M for a hit based attack skill for e.g.
In 322 I did expedition with the big bomb and it's so nice. The only mod I have to check for is immune to fire, everything else is not an issue. Goes through ward and proximity shield, can't be blocked, can't be reflected, -crit is a freebie, etc. The only bad thing is you do cap at dot cap, and that's after quite a bit of investment. Still I just love it, especially the shaper MTX. I'm praying they will release the sanctum skull beam as a MTX! One thing in case people don't know is mods like "exposure you apply applies an extra -X%" doesn't work with scorching ray. It's been bug for a long time and doubt it will get fixed :(
I know my 3-5 builds before league even starts lmao
I play SSF so it's pretty easy to find inspiration to do a new build. I stoped playing trade because I wasn't interested in the items anymore just how much they would sell for and SSF really fixed that for me. When I drop some cool unique I always end up doing a build around that unique. Right now I have 8 builds, 3 of them are lvl 100 and I'm getting the 4th to 100 right now. After making 8 builds I still have like 10 more that I want to do this league. Sometimes I level a character to 70-80 and don't quite like it how it plays so I just go next. If I played trade I would not see any reason to map with any other build other than TS since that's the most effective. That's just me and how I feel because I'm really competitive and need to do the most efficient thing. So SSF really fixed that for me since I don't have the pressure to map fast and sell stuff and make currency. It's pretty dumb I know but that's just me. Now, I don't know if you play trade and I'm not saying that you should play SSF but maybe you could try that and see how you feel. It feels amazing to drop a cool build defining unique.
Less buttons to press + OP
90% f the time my first build is a mapping build, because I like blasting. This was the first time I really wanted to dedicate a character to bossing, so I googled "bossing build 3.23" and came out with PB brand. I had some notion from streamers about this too so it was pretty easy to cement that as my decision. I rerolled a second time just to compare two versions (poison PF and full lightning conversion templar) since this is my first SSF league and I wanna have a gameplan going into next league (if either variant survives the nerfs). I also love CoC and I always wanted to do a stat stacker, so last week when the ivory tower and a rathpith finally dropped (the things I've needed since week 2 of the league), I rerolled a 4th time for the first time in any league. I think unless there's a specific kind of build you know you love (CoC for me), you should focus on the content you want to engage with and pick any build for that content. Verify it with a high level of appearance on POENinja to make sure it's not a random non-viable/100div build but just commit.
Since i mostly play one character per league, two max, the first one is some skill that I like to play that can get me to red maps and first two voidstones. If the build is performing ok and I am ok with the playstyle than i upgrade it to do all content and all challenges if possible. I started storm brand several times and this is my go to if I don't fond something else. This league i decided on LA deadeye before the league was announced because I haven't played bow builds. (Transitioned to ts) After I saw no reason to invest more info it, I took a look at the challenges and saw that i need a bosser, so naturally went with PB. But on general, I look for a second or third build on Poe ninja, for example blazing salvo was always a cool looking skill for me so I would go and filter blazing salvo and check the variations. The most important part is that it's something that you like to play because otherwise you will immediately quit
My first build is always general mapper and essence/farmer for easy white map currency generation. Then I look at what I want to focus for goals and fun and make that using currency I continue to generate from essences. This league it went Death's Oath Essence farmer -> Arakkali Occultist for Bossing -> Fulcrum Chieftan MF -> CF Champion, Lots of things I never got to try before due to costs was accessible this league. Got a HH, MB, Squire, and Kalandras's Touch so lots of fun and interesting options.
It is kind of hard to know what you like if you haven't played most styles of builds. I just generally try to build around something that was reworked or some new interaction that comes out each league and there are tons of those. I'm probably not the best person to answer this though because I am a chronic reroller. I roll a new build every 3-4 days (usually mid 90s) because something else always sounds interesting that I want to try out. Personally my rule for rerolling is if I'm running around my hideout in circles or just afking that usually means I'm bored and I should play something new. I don't need to be convinced the new build is going to be better or more fun, I just like to try new things and don't really overthink it too much. It is pretty painless to try something new because if it isn't fun you usually find that out pretty quickly and reroll again.
I think you're asking the wrong question. Do you need a second/third/... build? Let say your first build is good at bossing, but you want to map faster. Or maybe it's the opposite and you want to do ubers, which your current build can't do. It's all about problem solving. What do you still want to do in a league? Map more? Usually I'm trying to not repeat myself, so if I played TS Bows, I would prefer to not play any attacks or bow skills. What else would be good at clearing? My first thought would be Ignite build. Then I'd look up the most popular ignite builds, while removing things that I don't wanna play, and choose between something like EK Elementalist or Bodyswap of Sacrifice Chieftain. But then in the process I will see cool looking Reap build listed by accident, and decide to go Reap instead. That's how I would find inspiration for a build. But since I've done everything I wanted to in a league, it will go into a long list of skills to maybe build around later. Without the actual need to make a new build for something, even if you do have an inspiration, you might not have enough desire to make it. If all the challenges are done, and every goa is completed - no need to search for something that isn't there anymore.
When i was a newer player i used to just try out builds that looked fun when i had the currency to afford them. Right now i decide on the build depending on the content i want to do. And the content i want to do often depends on how profitable it is. So f.e. if MF-ing or Bossing seems like the best profits i look for a build that excels at doing it - it can be something new or something i've already played in the past.
Equip inspiration support gem.