Making my own build in 0.5
I’ve got around 4k hours in PoE1, but pretty much all of that time I’ve been following guides. I learned a ton that way, but for 0.5 I kinda wanna finally try making my own build from scratch instead of copying someone else’s setup.
What I’m really looking for is that dopamine hit where the build slowly evolves and starts coming together over time. Discovering synergies, solving problems, upgrading gear/passives and suddenly realizing “okay wait… this actually works.” I feel like guides skip a lot of that experience.
At the same time, I know build-making is probably way harder than it looks, even with thousands of hours played. So I’m curious how realistic it actually is.
For people who make their own builds:
Is it realistically viable for endgame?
How often do homemade builds completely fall apart?
What’s the best way to approach it without wasting hundreds of hours?
Is it smarter to pick one strong mechanic and build around it?
Would love to hear from people who made the jump from guide-following to creating their own builds. Was it worth it?