u/woltimur

I have played songs of conquest on and off since release, and would consider myself that I know how to play the game, although not optimally.

Regarding AI and its difficulties, I can consistently win against worthy but very rarely against challenging. Considering there are 2 more difficulties above challenging, I can't help but think that I am either terrible, or I am doing something wrong.

I usually play 1v1v1v1 and on random maps and the general gameplay on a loss goes like this:

- Clear surrounding area
- Get to level 12-13
- There is nothing left to clear, wait a few turns to max my stacks
- Venture to the middle of the map, immediately get crushed by an AI after a few turns
- No money left to guard my cities, AI follows up through my base and claims all
- gg

Any suggestions on how I can improve?

I have been playing poe2 since release and have made quite different builds all by myself, mostly revolving around specific skills. One time I tried to make a minion build, I got extremely bored and quit after campaign.

With the upcoming companion changes and the new spirit walker ascendancy I was thinking I would give it another shot, but seeing the teaser video on it regarding the companion/minion build I am pretty confident I will get extremely bored once again and quit the build.

So I was thinking if a middle ground is possible where both me and my minions work simultaneously but have no clue where to start. I thought maybe I could do something with the tactician's banners and 25% weapon damage aura, where I would go around putting banners and pinning stuff for my companions to do work. But again I don't think I am experienced enough to make this build work, so wanted to ask of a few opinions on what is possible for a build like this.

On a completely another note, are totem builds fun? Seeing that I want to play minions with more agency I was also thinking maybe I should give up minions completely and try totems, but I am also afraid that totems build might be too streamlined. I like my builds to be a little "niche" if that makes sense and I really like probem solving when it comes to builds.