Follow a guide at the official forum or YouTube. You can try and have fun with your own char but initially following a build is recommended.

Are you connecting to POE Singapore Gateway?

If it's the issue of cyber cafe internet traffic congestion, or traffic probably not managed well enough, then there's nothing much we can do to be honest. Anything above 150ms ping likely isn't good for this game.

Press F1 in game to see ping.

There's Chaos "Recipe".
Vendor these for 2 chaos : ilvl 60+ -> helmet, armor, boot, glove, belt, 2x rings, amulet, 1x2hand-weapon / 2x1hand-weapons
Basically full set unidentified. If one of them is identified you only get 1 chaos.
If ALL are over ilvl75 you get Regal Orb instead of Chaos.

No, you don't buy a 6 slot weapon just like that, it kinda a waste if you can't afford to 6 link it anyway.

Just buy a cheapo 1 chaos Ngamahu's Flame, 4-link it and you're ready to go.
6-link is really either for those who feel really lucky, or wealthy enough to afford one.
5-link is good enough for most and not too hard to afford.

To get 5 link is pretty easy, just 25 chaos - buy a Jeweller's Touch prophecy, or if you lucky to get one yourself.
Of course, there's 6-link prophecy as well, if you feel REALLY lucky...

Obviously, your attack skill not necessarily must put on the weapon. If you happens to find a 5 or 6 links armor, that would be nice also.
Armor like Tabula Rasa is pretty cheap, below 10 chaos 6 link (all white sockets). But it lacks of any actual armor...
It's a very useful levelling armor, but be very mindful of your survivality.

There's also corrupted items (can't modify anymore except change socket colors but very costly to do so).
6-link corrupted aren't very expensive, you just gonna look for the right socket color with the trade filter.

How these 6-link corrupt items exist?
If you see a strongbox that says "contain mirrored items", use a Vaal Orb on it.
Might have a change to drop.

I played a whole week, like 12 hours a day. No exalt drop, nada, not a single one. While I made already half a K of chaos through recipe. Abyss drop also 99.99999% shit. RNGeesus hates me always.

//---
The guide uses Marauder Ascendency to get leech primarily, for survivality.

Woah your tree travel... isn't it a little too much? 
The tree has be changed again in this new league. You don't need to travel to the east to get Vaal Pact anymore.
Vaal Pact also have changes.

How about this? 4K more DPS, 400+ more life, more damage obviously means larger leech as well:
https://pastebin.com/Xz1Wn9zN

      mah bad

Should be something like this
https://pastebin.com/ux4XqXpG