PoE2 Crafting & Itemization: Ultimate Beginner Guide
Time: 2025-03-22 by mmojugg Game: Path of Exile 2 Guide
Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) isn't your average loot grinder—it's a cerebral ARPG where gear is king and crafting is your scepter. Early Access in 2025 drops you into Wraeclast with a streamlined yet daunting system, and if you're new, the wall of modifiers and orbs can feel like a cryptic tome. This guide cracks it wide open. We're talking item types, mod tiers, crafting currencies, benches, strategies, and more, all layered with examples and tips to turn you from a bewildered exile into a crafting savant. Let's get dirty with the details.
Itemization: The Anatomy of Loot
Item Types: Your Gear Arsenal
Every slot in PoE 2 is a chance to flex power. Here's the full roster, with specifics:
Weapons:
One-Handed: Axes (bleed focus), Claws (life leech), Daggers (crit), Maces (stun), Scepters (spirit buffs), Swords (versatile), Wands (caster staples).
Two-Handed: Bows (ranged DPS), Crossbows (piercing), Quarterstaves (melee hybrid), Staves (block + spells).
Unreleased: Flails, Spears, Traps—teased but not yet live.
Base tiers escalate: “Zealot Bow” → “Advanced Zealot Bow” → “Expert Zealot Bow” (higher damage, better crafting potential).
Off-Hands:
Shields: Block chance + defenses (e.g., 30% block, 200 armor). Dual-classed as armor. Grants Raise Shield skill.
Quivers: Bow-only, implicits like +1 arrow or projectile speed.
Focus: Caster off-hands, energy shield (e.g., 50 ES), no block.
Armor:
Body Armor (chest), Boots (movement), Gloves (attack), Helmets (utility), Shields (again). Defenses scale by attribute: Strength (armor), Dex (evasion), Int (energy shield), hybrids (e.g., armor/ES).
Jewelry:
Rings (2 slots), Amulets (1), Belts (1). Implicits like +10% rarity (amulets) or -10% charm slots (belts).
Extras:
Flasks: Life, Mana, hybrids. Quality boosts recovery (e.g., 20% more life/sec).
Jewels: 4-mod max, build-definers (e.g., +20% crit multi).
Charms: Buff duration (e.g., 10% longer warcries).
Equipment Lock: Weapons, off-hands, armor, and jewelry can't swap mid-boss. Plan your loadout—flasks and charms are fair game, though.
Rarity: From Trash to Treasure
Rarity dictates potential:
Normal (White): No mods, raw bases. “Expert Zealot Bow” might have 100-150 phys damage, ripe for crafting.
Magic (Blue): 1-2 mods (e.g., +50 life, 15% attack speed). Early leveling gold.
Rare (Yellow): 4-6 mods on drop (max 6). Example: +80 life, 20% fire res, 15% attack speed, +30 Dex, 10% crit chance, +1 arrow. Crafting's bread and butter.
Unique (Brown): Fixed mods, rare drops. Hands of Wisdom and Action: +25 Dex/Int, +10 lightning, 3% attack speed—build-enabling, but a maxed rare might out-DPS it.
Core Philosophy: Rares rule endgame. Their mod ceiling crushes uniques unless you need a specific effect (e.g., +1 arrow on a unique quiver).
Modifiers: The Stats That Slay
Modifiers are where power lives. Hold ALT to see all—tiers, ranges, IL requirements. Here's the full taxonomy:
Base Mods: Innate stats.
Weapons: Phys damage (e.g., 100-150), crit chance (5%), attack speed (1.2). Wands/Scepters tie to spells.
Armor: Defenses (e.g., 300 armor, 200 evasion).
Shields: Block (30%) + defenses.
Implicits: Fixed bonuses.
Quivers: +1 arrow, 10% projectile speed.
Belts: -10% charm slots.
Jewelry: +10% rarity, +20 life. Divinable if ranged (e.g., 7-10% attack speed).
Affixes:
Prefixes: Damage (e.g., +50 phys), life (e.g., +80), resists (e.g., 30% fire). Max 3 on rares, 1 on magic.
Suffixes: Speed (e.g., 15% attack), crit (e.g., 10% chance), attributes (e.g., +30 Dex). Max 3 on rares, 1 on magic.
Jewels: 4 total (2/2 split), 5 with Vaal corruption.
Example: Rare bow—Prefixes: +100 phys, +50 life, 20% fire res; Suffixes: 15% attack speed, 10% crit, +1 arrow.
Enchantments:
Runes: +20% phys damage (socketed).
Soul Cores: +24% crit damage (rarer).
Distilled Emotions: Amulet notables (e.g., Wild Storm, +10% chaos damage).
Corruptions: Vaal-only (e.g., +1 socket, Corrupted Blood immunity).
Quality: 0-20% (23% corrupted).
Weapons: +20% phys damage.
Armor: +20% defenses.
Flasks: +20% recovery.
Jewelry: +20% mod magnitude (with Catalysts).
Item Level (IL): Dropped by monster level (e.g., Act 10 = IL 70+). IL caps mod tiers—IL 82 bows can roll T1 (+100 phys), IL 20 caps at T9 (+20 phys).
Tiers & Weights: PoE 2 flips PoE 1's system—T9 is weakest, T1 strongest (confusing, right?). Weights (rarity) vary—Craft of Exile estimates T1 phys damage at 1/68 Exalt odds. Example: some mirror bow has T9/T8/T2 mods—mixed tiers, but rare weights make it elite.
Crafting: Forging Your Legacy
Currency Arsenal: Your Crafting Kit
Crafting's a currency-fueled dance of RNG and determinism. PoE 2 simplifies PoE 1's 100+ options—here's every tool:
Rarity Upgrades:
Orb of Transmutation: Normal → Magic, +1 mod (prefix or suffix). 1c trash-tier craft.
Orb of Alchemy: Normal → Rare, +4 mods (e.g., +50 life, 20% res, 10% speed, +20 Dex). 5c staple.
Regal Orb: Magic (2 mods) → Rare (3 mods). Adds 1, keeps 2.
Orb of chance: Normal → Unique (e.g., Hands of Wisdom) or destroyed. Low odds, high risk.
Essences: Tagged mods. Regular (Normal → Magic, e.g., +50 phys), Greater (Magic → Rare, +50 phys + random). Tags: Physical, Chaos, Speed.
Vaal Orb: Corrupts—magic jewels → 3-mod rare (5c gamble).
Mod Manipulation:
Orb of Augmentation: Magic +1 mod (up to 2). 1 suffix? Adds prefix. 1c early boost.
Exalted Orb: Rare +1 mod (up to 6). IL 82 bow, +100 phys open? Slam it (10-20c).
Orb of Annulment: Removes 1 mod, keeps rarity. 3 prefix bow → 2 prefix, open slot (50c precision).
Chaos Orb: Removes 1 mod, adds 1 if open; rerolls if full. 5c YOLO craft—e.g., 3 suffix bow → 2 suffix + 1 prefix.
Vaal Orb: Corrupts, up to 3 random mods. IL 70 gloves → +1 socket, +20 life, brick chance.
Value Rerolls:
Divine Orb: Rerolls numbers in tier range. +170-179 phys → +175 (5c polish). Hits implicits (e.g., 7-10% speed → 9%).
Vaal Orb: Uniques only—Divines, then scales (0.78x-1.22x). +25 Dex → +30 (rounded).
Quality:
Armourer's Scrap: +5-20% armor (e.g., 300 → 360). 1c per stack.
Blacksmith's Whetstone: +5-20% weapon damage (100 → 120).
Arcanist's Etcher: +20% caster skill quality.
Glassblower's Bauble: +20% flask recovery (1000 → 1200 life).
Gemcutter's Prism: +5-20% gem effect.
Catalysts: +20% jewelry mod magnitude (e.g., 20% fire res → 24%). Tags match Essences.
Vaal Orb: +0-23% or -10% (e.g., 20% → 23% weapon).
Sockets:
Artificer's Orb: +1 socket (2 max on two-handers/body, 1 elsewhere).
Vaal Orb: Exceeds limits (e.g., 3 sockets on body).
Enchantments:
Runes: +20% phys damage (socketed, swappable).
Soul Cores: +24% crit damage (rarer).
Distilled Emotions: Amulet notables (e.g., Wild Storm, +10% chaos).
Vaal Orb: Corrupted enchants (e.g., +1 curse).
Specials:
Mirror of Kalandra: Copies an item, mirrored tag locks crafting (except runes). 1000s of Divines—some bow took 24 mirrors.
Omen of Corruption: Vaal Orb always does something (no “nothing” outcome).
Omens: Buff currencies:
Whitling: Next Chaos removes lowest IL mod (T9 trash → T1 chance). 100c+ crafting godsend.
Greater Exaltation: +2 mods. Stack with Sinestral for 2 prefixes.
Sinestral/Dextral Annulment: Removes prefix/suffix.
Benches & Vendors: Crafting Sidekicks
Gwenan: Custom weapons/quivers/foci (e.g., IL 70 bow, +50 phys).
Rag: Armor/shields (e.g., 300 armor chest).
Tuen: Jewelry (e.g., +20 life ring).
Salvage Bench: Quality/socketed gear → scraps/orbs (20% chest → 4 scraps).
Reforging Bench: 3-to-1 same-type (e.g., 3 IL 70 rare bows → 1 IL 70 rare bow).
Essences: 3 regular → 1 random (5% Greater chance).
Waystones/Emotions: +1 tier or randomize.
Corruption Altar: Jinani Sanctum, one-shot Vaal while leveling. Skip—Vaal Orbs are 5c.
Reforging's clutch for recycling—turn three meh rares into a fresh shot.
Crafting Goals & Examples
Profit: Alchemy a 1c IL 82 bow → +50 phys, 20% res, sell for 20c.
Self-Use: Chaos spam gloves → +80 life, 15% speed, 20% fire res.
Min-Max:
Uniques: Vaal Hands of Wisdom → +30 Dex, 4% speed.
Mirror: 6 T1 bow—+100 phys, +50 life, 20% res, 15% speed, 10% crit, +1 arrow. 20k Divines.
Strategy: Crafting Like a Pro
Step-by-Step Crafting
Pick a Base: IL 82+ Expert Zealot Bow, 20% quality. 10c on trade.
Quality Up: Whetstones to 20% (+20% damage). 2c.
Rarity Jump: Alchemy Orb → 4 mods (e.g., +50 phys, 10% speed, +20 Dex, 15% res). 5c.
Mod Sculpting:
Chaos spam (5c each) → +80 life replaces +20 Dex.
Annul junk (50c) → +50 phys open slot.
Exalt slam (20c) → +100 phys.
Polish: Divine Orb (5c) → +179 phys, max roll.
Enchant: Rune for +20% phys (50c).
Total: ~150c. Sell for 500c or keep slaying.
Advanced Moves
Omen Precision: Whitling + Chaos removes T9 +20 phys, rolls T1 +100 phys.
Essence Lock: Physical Essence on IL 82 gloves → +50 phys, build from there.
IL Restriction: IL 60 bow blocks T7-T9 junk, boosts T1 odds.
Mirror Service: Craft 6 T1 bow, list for 1 mirror + 100 Divine fee. Passive income.
Trade Sniping
Spot Value: IL 82 rare, 4 mods (+80 life, 20% res, 15% speed, junk), 50c.
Finish It: Annul junk (50c), Exalt +100 phys (20c), Divine rolls (10c).
Flip: Sell for 300c. 160c profit.
EV Crash Course
Expected Value: (Outcome value × probability) - cost.
Chaos spam: 10% chance of +100 phys (100c value), 5c cost. EV = (100 × 0.1) - 5 = 5c profit. Worth it.
Pro Tips & Pitfalls
ALT Always: Check IL, tiers, weights.
Craft of Exile: Weights (e.g., T1 phys = 1/68). PoEDB2 for tiers.
Start Cheap: Transmute a 1c bow, feel the rush.
Avoid Overcrafting: 5 T1s? Sell, don't brick it with Vaal.
The Payoff
Crafting's PoE 2's soul—rewarding, complex, and endlessly tweakable. From a 5c Chaos flip to 24-mirror bow, it scales with your grit. Early Access keeps it lean, but mastery now sets you up for whatever GGG throws next.
Thanks for Reading
You're now armed to conquer PoE 2's crafting and itemization in 2025. From IL 82 bows to mirror-tier dreams, go forth and craft like a legend. Keep an eye on MMOJUGG for more Wraeclast wisdom—happy grinding!
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