In Path of Exile, for new players, from what I’ve learned a very important part of character building is taking enough life nodes (~100-150% increased maximum life total) in the passive tree and enough flat life on your gear.
Resistances are also important you’ll need to make sure you cap at least at 75% (which is the maximum although it can be improved) or even more because of some curses that decreases your resistances.
Usually you want to decide two things: – Will your character will be life based, energy shield based or an hybrid. Life based is simpler to handle is also very good. Pure energy shield is not recommended when you start. – Will you use armour or evasion/dodge (or any combination of the two).
This should help you decide which nodes to take on the tree. You also want to take damages nodes, but defense/life nodes are more important. The best you can do when starting is to go and look at a guide for a build you want. You can use poebuild to find a build you like, especially if you’ve seen a skill you like try looking up a build using it, You will learn a lot by reading guides!
Every 3-4 months a new major patch arrives and a new league with it. The league always has a new unique mechanic (pokemon this league) and a bunch of new items/gems. Once a league is finished the mechanic might be integrated into the standard league but usually toned down.
I personally really love playing temp league instead of standard, it is kind of a race to the top and you only have a few months to see how far you’ll go (in terms of end game content in the beginning then wealth afterwards). Also if the league mechanic interests you, you won’t be able to enjoy it in standard for another 4 months, and only if it gets merged in the standard league.
For your first build, if you don’t want to mess up your first build (which will probably still happen), follow some build guide from our website.
If you want to do it without a guide the most important things are that you don’t ignore your defenses and go only for damage. You should get life on the passive tree and always cap your resistances (fire, lightning, cold) at 75%.
There are certain leveling uniques which will help you to reroll much faster. Also you definitely do not need to fully clear zones while leveling. Good luck to you!