Crafting is a central part of Path of Exile 2. Although crafting in Path of Exile 2 has been majorly streamlined and is quite different from the first game. With PoE2 being as fresh as it is, there are no longer twelve different league mechanics you need to learn and apply to your crafting, nor do you need to trade as much as in the first game.
That’s not to say that Path of Exile 2’s crafting is simple or lacks depth, but it is far from it. This guide will aim to teach you how crafting works in PoE2, how it’s changed from PoE1, and explain how every crafting currency works.
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Changes from Path of Exile 1
In Path of Exile 2, crafting has switched towards using more currency orbs, Essences, and a new type of item called Runes. Oils from the Blight league also make a comeback however at least for now, Harvest crafting, Fossils, Catalysts, and Recombinators have ceased to exist.
Currency orbs themselves are rarer, with a focus on making items more valuable than in Path of Exile 1. For example, while in PoE1 you may have discarded random white, magic, and even rare items, in PoE2, these items may hold a higher value. You’ll want to disenchant magic or rare items at vendors to procure currency for crafting. Trying to rely on just dropping currency orbs wouldn’t work as the drop rates have been heavily modified.
Another change from PoE1 is some of the Essences now upgrade an item from magic -> rare with a guaranteed affix type. Combine this with a normal-to-magic Essence to get two desired affixes.
Different types of Currencies
Here is a compilation of all the crafting currencies we currently know about in Path of Exile 2. As the game gets more and more updated and out of Early Access, this list will continue to grow further as more currencies get revealed and found.
|
Currency Type |
Rarity |
Effect |
|
Transmutation |
Common |
Turns a normal item into a magic item. Adds one prefix or suffix. |
|
Augmentation |
Common |
Adds an affix to a magic item. Magic Items can have up to 2 affixes. 1 Suffix and 1 Prefix |
|
Alchemy |
Uncommon |
Turns a normal item into a rare item. Adds 4-6 affixes at random. |
|
Regal |
Uncommon |
Turns a magic item into a rare item. Adds one random prefix or suffix. |
|
Exalted |
Uncommon |
Adds an affix to a rare item Rare items can have up to 6 affixes. 3 Suffixes and 3 Prefixes. |
|
Jeweler |
Uncommon
|
Adds a socket to a skill gem One socket per Jeweler’s Orb, up to 6 sockets. |
|
Chaos |
Rare |
Rerolls a random affix on a rare item. One random suffix is rerolled. Item implicit(s) cannot be targeted. |
|
Vaal |
Rare |
Corrupts the item and changes it unpredictably. The item can no longer be modified. This can completely change the item, add a new implicit, or do nothing. |
|
Annulment |
Rare |
Removes a random affix on the item Pick a prefix or suffix at random. Keep the item’s rarity. |
|
Divine |
Very Rare |
Rerolls the stat values on an item. Very rare currency. |
|
Mirror of Kalandra |
Extremely Rare |
Makes a copy of a non-unique item Insanely rare, comparable to the odds of being struck by lightning. |
How crafting works in PoE2
Any piece of gear you find whilst playing Path of Exile 2, you can modify with a variety of crafting materials. The most common of these are currency orbs, which are consumable items that you can use on any piece of gear that adds ‘stats’ to it. These stats are commonly known as affixes. Currency can also be used to trade with other players in PoE2’s trade economy. So, if you find some currency that seems useless or foreign to you, it may be useful to somebody else.
Just about every non-unique item in Path of Exile 2 can be crafted. The rarity of your item determines how many affixes it may have. A white item will have 0 affixes, a magic item can have 0-2, and a rare item can have anywhere from 0-6 affixes in total. Affixes are split into two groups called suffixes and prefixes.
Tips: If you hold ‘Alt’ on your PC when inspecting an item, it will bring up more details about its affixes.
Upgrading Items
When a white item drops in PoE2 it by default doesn’t have any affixes or stats on it apart from its implicit value. Some items may drop with implicit, which are intrinsic stats such as elemental resistances on rings and spells on caster weapons like staffs. Crafting suffixes and prefixes does not modify the implicit of an item unless otherwise stated.
If you want to add affixes to a white item, you will need to upgrade the rarity of that item. Use a Transmutation Orb to make an item magic or an Alchemy Orb to make it rare. This will add affixes to the item at random. If you landed on something that is not useful to you, then you can use more currency to reroll the item.
During the campaign, you’d be looking for a good base type, upgrading the rarity, and hoping to hit good affixes. For end-game crafting, you’ll need some slightly more advanced crafting techniques.
In every town, there is an NPC you can talk to who will disenchant your magic and rare items. Doing so will give you currency shards, ten shards making an entire orb.
Endgame Crafting
Once you get past the early act stages and get later and later into PoE2, you’ll start to get rarer types of currencies that open more opportunities for you. Now you must be careful, as using currency to craft is random for the most part, and the orbs that you use don’t have any specific drop sources, which makes upgrading your gear the later you go in the game riskier. Although currency like Essencesmakese it a little better, as mentioned previously, with the right strategies you can use two of them on one piece of gear, which lets you target specific affixes on one item, making it a powerful strategy to employ.
Runes are completely new to PoE2. You can socket them into your gear to gain stat buffs. These can go from being damage boons to elemental resistances to any other number of shortcomings that you’d want to fix in your build. They’ll start to drop somewhere around the second act.
Last but not least, we have Oils from PoE1’s BlighLeagueue. They have the same function as in the first game. You use them to anoint passive tree notables onto amulets. You can only place one anointment on your amulet.
Conclusion
So, what did we learn today? Crafting in this game can range from being simple to very complex yet very rewarding. I encourage you to dive in and really learn the intricacies of crafting as it will help you massively on your journey through Wraeclast. You can create powerful and unique items that will enhance your gameplay experience! If for some reason you don’t want to wait and want to feel powerful now, check out LootBar.gg, where you can buy PoE 2 Currency and get all the best gear you could ever want! LootBar offers a safe and quick service for all your in-game currency needs!
