equipment farming frustration

[LochnarITB]

But, let's get back to helping you out.

As far as farming.

It really comes down to RNG since some people swear by Merveil kills (like me), while others despise it. (Like Shoju)

(I finished his sentence for him)
This is the truth. And even I've succumbed to the farming of merveil. Mainly, because it's quick. From Portal to dead, I can hit 5 minutes, unless I get a crazy cavern that is really big, or an exile, or something like that. I only kill what's in my way, and I'm normally able to stay pretty nuetral on my portal scroll usage. I'm actually looking to put together an IIR set for my Scion, without killing too much of the clearing speed.

And, it's not like Merveil has been terribly "unprofitable". I've sold a couple of drops, and I've picked up several uniques now. Nothing "super rare", but unique nonetheless.

Personally though, I HIGHLY recommend the library/archives. zone in via WP, clear library, enter archives, clear archives, go back to door, ctrl click to open new libary, clear, hit the Wp, Empty bag, go back. I full clear these areas, since there is no dedicated loot pinata in there. The bosses loot is marginal, but your normal mobs will drop 67, magics 68, rares / bosses 69. To me? it's better than mapping, as I don't have to roll up a map to do so.

I'm with you on Merveil. I've run her a few times. I can't tell you why, but she just rubs me wrong too. I also run Catacombs. That can be fun and fairly quick. But, yeah, Library and Archives have become my go to. It's still OK XP and some drops. I'm not a fan of the book blizzard tornado guy, though. He slows me down some but I just keep him busy and hope he pinatas.

As far as possibly, maybe, improving your character, There are a couple of points I'd like to work with you on.

1.) You said that you are mainly Ice Spear. After having several chars use Ice Spear in multiple ways, I will tell you that I find Ice Spear to be inferior to Freezing Pulse, unless Im' able to land a fair share of my Ice Spears at the "stage 2" crit / explosion. Are you just trying to stick with spear because it's the closest frostbolt type spell?

Yes. To expand on that. It is targeted. It is a magic "gun". Fireball also fits that bill, but it feels too cliche. I like being different. In my head, I see the classic magician rolling the missile in their hands and sending it on its way. I also picture the mob standing there frozen, eyes darting around and thinking "Oh, $%&^, what do I do now?" Pulse feels too AOE. For me, AOE isn't offense, it is "Oh, $%&^, beam me up Scotty!". I screwed up and this is my last resort. If you know Wizardry, from way back when, you may remember one of my favorite spells ever, Tiltowait. It's description was that it was essentially a small nuclear explosion. If I walked into a room and found I bit off a bit more than I could chew, "Tiltowait" and hope that most of the room has gone down.

The question, "Why is that Lochnar guy such an odd duck?", has often been asked. Now you have a small glimpse behind the psychological curtain.

2.) Without seeing your spec, I have a couple of questions.

a.) What type of defensive passives have you invested in? Armor? Evasion? ES? Just Life?

Evasion and ES. (edit - Don't know why I typed that) Just life and ES. There are more in the plan as well.

b.) Have you invested in passive resists?

Chaos. Oh and one cold damage node adds some cold resist. I have immediate access to two 6% nodes and I may need to find the points to take them instead.

c.) Power Charges?

Yes, with one more earmarked for the next level up.

d.) Did you make the trek over to pick up the resists while wearing a shield passives?

No. The shield is only there for the resists. I would rather be dual wielding, if I can find the gear, so I wouldn't want to lock in a shield.

3.) Would you be interested in grouping up for some maps?

No. "It isn't you, it's me." Really, it is about me. I'm not trying to be anti-social. I find most people are good, tolerant folks. I'm just not good with grouping. In WOW, grouping for instances, and especially raiding, was a major undertaking for me. I very much enjoyed it, but real life poses huge restrictions. I never know when I will have to AFK, sometimes for extended periods. (One huge draw for POE is that I can AFK in a safe position for hours, even days, without getting booted.) There is also a small bit of me that doesn't want to set myself up to screw up and cause someone else grief.

there was no implication you suck, it's nice for self-found, but it is majorly lacking in defensive stats (HP & stacking mitigation). While you may hate Chaos damage, it is simply damage that ignores energy shield and the lack of hitpoints on your gear is a large reason why you hate it so.

I know you weren't really saying that. I just had to kid given what I had posted. As to chaos, it wouldn't matter if I had a million HP. It breaks what I consider "the rules" for my magic universe. Granted, it is my view of that universe, but just as in real life, if it doesn't fit my view it is an immediate turn off. I think I try hard to be open minded but I often find myself surprised that someone isn't thinking the same thing as me.