PoE Beginner Guide
A first-week plan for Path of Exile: how the loop works, what to do in session one, and the mistakes that waste the most time.
What PoE actually is
Path of Exile is a dark ARPG with a gigantic passive tree and league-long economies. You win by finishing the campaign with a planned skill, then mapping without ignoring elemental resists. The loop you will repeat: Level a league starter, hit maps, fix resistances and defenses, then farm a strategy that funds the next upgrade — not 12 unfinished uniques.
Your first session
Follow a current-league written guide for your first character. Inventing a tree on day one is a hobby, not a starter plan. Kill Kitava with a 4-link that actually matches your skill gem. The campaign is a filter. Cap elemental resistances in maps. This is the classic wipe condition. Use a loot filter. The ground will lie to you otherwise.
Mistakes that end runs
Spreading currency across three characters before you have a mapper. Ignoring flasks. They are a sixth of your build. Vendor-ing league-specific currency because the icon was new. Skipping the atlas and trying to skip to endgame bosses on a campaign character.
What 'good' looks like after a week
You should be able to explain Path of Exile's core loop in one sentence, recover from a bad session without rage-reinstalling, and know which mode or map is for learning versus for ego. If you are still lost, re-read the first-session steps instead of hopping to a random viral build.