PoE 2: Item System Guide for Beginners

Time: 2025-01-31 by mmojugg Game: Path of Exile 2 Guide Tags: PoE 2 Item System Guide

Path of Exile 2 (PoE2) introduces an item system that rewards strategic play and understanding of its mechanics. Here's a comprehensive guide to help newcomers understand how items work in the game:

Item Rarity and Modifiers

Item types by rarity:

Normal (grey): Basic items with no additional modifiers.

Magic (blue): Can have one or two modifiers (prefixes or suffixes).

Rare (Yellow): Can have up to six modifiers, three prefixes and three suffixes. This allows for significant customisation and power.

Unique / Legendary: Items with fixed effects but variable stats within a range. These are special due to their unique abilities or bonuses.

Implicit vs. Explicit Modifiers:

Implicit: These are inherent modifiers based on item type that provide unique benefits without affecting the number of explicit modifiers.

Explicits: These include prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes increase attributes such as damage or speed, while suffixes can increase resistances or health. Items can have up to three of each.

Currency items and crafting mechanics

Crafting with currency

Orb of Transmutation: Transforms a normal item into a magical one, adding a random modifier.

Orb of Augmentation: Adds a second modifier to a magical item, making it more powerful.

Regal Orb: Makes a magical item rare, adding another modifier for a maximum of three.

Exalted Orb: Applies an additional random modifier to a rare item, up to a total of six modifiers, making it potentially very powerful.

Disenchanting for Currency

Disenchanting unwanted equipment from the vendor will provide currency shards. Magic items will yield Orb of Transmutation shards, while rare items will yield Regal Orbs, which can be used to upgrade gear.

Sockets and runes

Sockets: A new system where items can have sockets to insert runes

Runes enhance items by adding new modifiers. For example, placing a rune can add cold resistance or damage, increasing the utility of an item without changing its base stats.

Salvaging for Sockets:

Items with sockets can be salvaged at the Salvage Bank to obtain Artificer's Orbs, which are used to add sockets to weapons or armour, increasing customisation.

Quality and Item Improvement

Quality enhancement

Blacksmith's Whetstone improves the quality of weapons, increasing stats such as damage and critical strike chance.

Armour Scraps increase the quality of armour and improve defence.

Glassblower's Bauble for flasks, increasing their effectiveness.

Gemcutter's Prism increases the quality of gems, affecting their performance in sockets.

Gold and trade mechanics

Gold usage

Gold is now the primary currency used to purchase items from vendors, whose inventory updates with your level, ensuring that you always have access to equipment appropriate for your progression.

Gambling System

Players can gamble gold with vendors for the chance to receive randomly rolled items of varying rarity, sometimes yielding powerful gear.

Currency Exchange

An in-game system allows direct currency exchange at fixed ratios, without the need for player-to-player trading for each transaction.

Trading:

With the exception of gold, all items are tradable, fostering a dynamic player-driven economy. This open trading system is a hallmark of the Path of Exile series.

Unique/Legendary Items

Unique items

These offer special gameplay mechanics or bonuses. Examples include

Corpse Wade boots create smoke clouds from corpses for area damage.

Sands made of silk replaces your dodge with a blink, giving you unique mobility.

Quill Rain increases attack speed, ideal for fast-paced, attack-focused builds.

The power of these items lies in their unique modifiers, which remain constant, but their effectiveness can vary depending on how you roll your stats.

Thank you for reading

Path of Exile 2's item system is designed to encourage exploration, strategic crafting and trading. Understanding how items work, from their rarity to the nuances of crafting and socketing, will greatly enhance your gameplay experience and allow you to customise your build and optimise your character throughout your journey. Remember, mastering this system takes time, so experiment, learn and adapt as you progress through the game.