Don’t jump straight into Hardcore
Tips and tricks for beginners for Path of Exile: The Fall of Oriath
The first thing that you will have to decide after opening Path of Exile is which league to join. Leagues are the world instance that your character belongs to, with a challenge league being a temporary instance that is usually introduced with a new update. There is often a challenge league available, with the current one being Harbinger, while you can also choose to play a Hardcore variant of either the challenge league or Standard.
Don’t choose to start a hardcore character if this is your first time playing. While you won’t lose your character like you would in other games that use permadeath, you would have to start a new character if you want to carry on in that league. Take your time to learn the game in either the Standard league or the current Challenge league.