Fastest Ways to Gear Up in Path of Exile 2 – Complete Guide
Introduction
Welcome to our guide on how to gear up quickly and efficiently in Path of Exile 2. In this guide, we’ll dive into the complexities of item acquisition and the most effective strategies for gearing your character. From item rarities to crafting, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get your character ready for the endgame in no time.
Gear in PoE 2
The item system in Path of Exile 2 is rich with complexity, which can be overwhelming for new players. With numerous item types, rarities, and affixes, understanding how to efficiently gear up is crucial for progressing in the game. In the sections below, we will break down the core mechanics of gear and provide you with practical tips on how to optimize your equipment.
How Many Gear Slots Are There in PoE 2?
In PoE 2, there are 10 gear slots (or 9 if you're using a two-handed weapon). Additionally, players can equip up to 5 flasks and allocate cluster or normal jewels in the passive skill tree to further enhance their character.
Types of Gear in PoE 2
Gear is divided into several categories, including weapons, helmets, body armor, gloves, boots, and accessories like necklaces, rings, and belts. Flasks are also a critical component of your character's survival and performance, with Life, Mana, and Utility flasks offering various effects.
Fastest Way to Gear Up During the Campaign
Gearing up during the campaign is relatively straightforward in PoE 2. Most players will focus on increasing their damage output and survivability through skill gems and passive tree bonuses, while the gear primarily focuses on basic stats like life and resistances.
During the early stages of the campaign, you’ll mostly rely on magic and rare items with affixes that boost your character’s life and resistances. Your weapon should prioritize flat damage to make your skills more potent. This basic setup will carry you through most of the campaign.
Fastest Way to Gear Up During the Early Game
Once you reach the early stages of mapping after completing the campaign, it’s crucial to ensure your character’s resistances are capped and that you’re equipped with a strong weapon. At this stage, it’s common to farm unidentified rare items for the chaos recipe to generate currency and purchase necessary uniques or key pieces for your build.
One of the most important tools for early-game gearing is having an optimized loot filter. This ensures that you only see valuable items drop, helping you focus on what’s important without getting overwhelmed by useless gear.
Within a few hours of farming and progressing through maps, you should have acquired enough items to fill out your gear slots and be ready to tackle T16 maps comfortably.
Fastest Way to Gear Up During Endgame
The endgame is where Path of Exile truly shines, but it can also be the most grind-intensive part of the game. Gearing up for the endgame requires careful planning and farming. You will need to fine-tune each piece of your gear to push your build to its full potential, and this often means significant time investment.
Farming currency and gear in PoE 2’s endgame involves running maps, taking on bosses, and engaging in other activities such as Heists, Delve, and Expedition. With the right strategy, you can quickly acquire powerful items or enough currency to buy endgame gear from other players.
For most players, a fully optimized endgame build requires approximately one Mirror of Kalandra worth of gear, which usually takes around 200 hours of farming.
Item Rarities in PoE 2
Items in Path of Exile 2 come in four different rarities: Normal, Magic, Rare, and Unique. These rarities influence the potential power and customization of each item, with everything but Uniques being fully modifiable. Uniques provide significant bonuses, often with exclusive affixes, and are crucial for specific builds.
The rarity of an item determines how many affixes it can have, with Normal items having no affixes. In the following sections, we’ll delve into the Magic, Rare, and Unique rarities and how they affect your gear.
Magic Items
Magic items are the second tier in Path of Exile 2 and are typically considered starting gear. You can find them as early as the first areas in the campaign. Magic items can have up to two affixes, one prefix and one suffix, offering a slight boost compared to normal items. As you progress through the campaign, these items are usually replaced by Rare items.
Additionally, Magic items serve a niche purpose in crafting. Players often apply alteration orbs to Magic items, aiming for specific rare modifiers. This is useful for preparing a clean base for crafting powerful end-game items.
Rare Items
Rare items form the core of itemization in Path of Exile 2, being the most common gear across various builds. These items can roll up to six explicit affixes (three prefixes and three suffixes), giving them enormous potential for customization and versatility. Rare items allow players to build gear tailored to their needs, whether boosting damage, survivability, or utility.
The crafting system in Path of Exile 1 allowed for near-perfect items through a mix of affixes and other crafting mechanics. Path of Exile 2 promises to deliver similar complexity, letting players pursue min-maxed gear tailored to their exact needs.
Uniques in Path of Exile 2
Unique items represent the pinnacle of gear in Path of Exile 2, offering a range of powerful affixes and exclusive modifiers. These modifiers often alter gameplay significantly, providing special interactions with skills or even unlocking new mechanics. Many builds revolve around specific Uniques, making them essential for end-game progression.
In PoE 2, Uniques are categorized into tiers based on their power level. For example, Uniques like Headhunter, Mageblood, and Kalandra’s Touch are considered tier 0 because of their game-defining effects. The more powerful the Unique, the lower its drop chance, making them highly sought-after.
How to Get Unique Items in PoE 2
Obtaining Unique items in Path of Exile 2 can be done in three main ways:
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Uber or Normal Boss Drops: Some Uniques are tied to specific bosses in the endgame, with each boss having its own unique loot pool. Uber bosses offer an increased chance for these items and may also drop Uniques from the normal version of the encounter. The rarest Uniques often have a drop rate of around 2%.
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Random Drops: Many Uniques can drop from any monster in the game, though the chances are low. Utilizing Magic Find (MF) gear can increase your odds of finding these Uniques while farming.
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Divination Cards: Certain high-tier Uniques are tied to Divination Cards, which drop from specific maps or enemies. After collecting a full set (ranging from 1 to 21 cards), players can exchange the set for the specified Unique item.
Can You Modify Stats on Unique Items?
Unique items can’t be fully modified like normal or rare items, but you can alter their affix values or corrupt them to create changes. Here are two ways to modify Uniques:
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Rerolling Affixes: Using Divine Orbs, you can reroll the values of affixes already on the Unique, potentially increasing its power.
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Corruption: Applying a Vaal Orb or using a Vaal Temple to corrupt the item can produce various outcomes. The Unique may gain a random corrupted implicit, become a rare item with random affixes, be destroyed, or remain unchanged with the "Corrupted" tag. Once corrupted, the item can no longer be modified, except with Tainted currency.
Most Popular Uniques in PoE 2
Although we have yet to see which new Unique items will be introduced in Path of Exile 2, the developers have mentioned that many powerful Uniques from the first game will make a return, possibly with different base stats or minor changes. Below is a list of some of the most powerful Uniques from PoE 1, which we expect to see again in PoE 2, along with their unique effects:
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Original Sin | Converts all Elemental Damage to Chaos Damage and provides an aura that reduces nearby enemies' Chaos Resistance to 0. |
| Mageblood | Makes your leftmost 4 flasks’ effects persistent. |
| Headhunter | Allows your character to steal modifiers from Rare monsters upon killing them. |
| Kalandra’s Touch | Duplicates all the modifiers from your other ring. |
| Progenesis | Staggers a portion of the damage taken over 4 seconds. |
| Voices | Adds 3 additional Cluster Jewel sockets to your passive skill tree. |
| The Squire | Gems socketed in this shield are linked to the gems in your main hand. |
Item Affixes in PoE 2
Affixes are one of the main sources of power for your character in Path of Exile 2. Items can have up to six affixes, split between prefixes and suffixes. These affixes provide a variety of offensive and defensive stats, including flat damage, increased damage percentages, maximum life, and elemental or chaos resistances.
Affix Tiers
Affixes are divided into tiers, which determine the strength of the modifiers. Some affixes have only one tier, while others can have up to 11 tiers. Tier 1 affixes are the most powerful but have a much lower chance of rolling compared to mid-tier modifiers. Typically, Tier 1 has a set rarity, while lower tiers are twice as likely to roll, except for a few special cases where all tiers have equal weighting.
Implicits
Implicits are modifiers that are intrinsic to the item base. These cannot usually be modified, except by using Blessed Orbs to reroll the values. Examples of implicit modifiers include increased elemental damage on weapons, movement speed on boots, or projectile speed on quivers.
Prefixes
Prefixes occupy half of the explicit affixes on an item and typically provide offensive or defensive bonuses. These can include flat damage, percentage increases to armor, evasion, or energy shield, and other unique bonuses depending on the item's origin, such as those found in Vaal Temples or Delve areas.
Suffixes
Suffixes account for the other half of explicit affixes and typically grant bonuses such as critical strike chance, attack speed, or resistances. Influenced items (those dropped by specific bosses or in specific content) often have special suffixes that provide even more powerful or unique effects related to the theme of the influence.
Item Levels in PoE 2
The item level (iLvL) of gear in Path of Exile 2 is determined by the area level where the item drops. Item level is important for crafting and determines which affixes can roll on an item and their maximum possible tier.
What is the Max iLvL?
We are still uncertain about the maximum item level in PoE 2, but if it follows the system in PoE 1, we can expect items to reach a maximum iLvL of 88. This is achievable from strongboxes with a modifier that adds +5 to the item level of drops in Tier 16 maps.
How to Get Max iLvL Gear?
To acquire maximum item level gear, players should run the highest-tier maps available and engage with mechanics that increase the item level of drops, such as strongboxes with the appropriate modifiers. Since iLvL is based on area level, combining these strategies will maximize the gear's item level.
Does Item Level Matter in PoE 2?
While item level doesn’t directly affect an item's power, it plays a crucial role in determining the affixes that can roll on the item and their maximum tier. In some cases, farming items with specific or lower item levels can help with crafting by limiting the number of affixes available, making it easier to obtain the desired outcome when crafting.
Crafting vs Farming vs Buying Items in PoE 2
Obtaining gear in Path of Exile 2 can be challenging, requiring many hours of grinding, solid crafting knowledge, or figuring out crafting methods on your own. In this section of the guide, we’ll cover the primary ways players can acquire the gear they need to boost their character's power and conquer any end-game content: Crafting, Farming, and Buying.
Crafting in PoE 2
Crafting is one of the most powerful ways to obtain gear in Path of Exile 2. The game’s crafting system allows players to build items from scratch, offering a vast variety of materials that can yield different outcomes. This means that with a good understanding of crafting mechanics, players can create items with nearly any desired combination of affixes, often in a relatively deterministic manner.
One of the advantages of crafting is the potential to create near-BiS (Best in Slot) items at a lower cost than their market price. For knowledgeable players, this can also be a profitable venture, as crafting sought-after items for popular builds can generate significant in-game currency.
Additionally, crafting is an enjoyable process. Although aiming for perfect stats on every modifier can be daunting, the unexpected results and the satisfaction of rolling powerful affixes can make the experience highly rewarding.
However, crafting isn’t without its downsides. Even with deterministic crafting mechanics, luck plays a role. Sometimes, you'll need to repeat certain steps multiple times to get the desired results. These RNG-heavy portions can lead to overspending, making the item more expensive to craft than buying it upfront.
While crafted items often cost less in the long run, if you're on a tight budget, it may be more prudent to buy the item outright. But if you have room in your budget and are looking for a fun, potentially rewarding experience, crafting is a great option.
If you're interested in theorycrafting or simulating your crafts, tools like Craft of Exile provide emulators, calculators, and affix weighting tests to optimize your crafting process.
Farming in PoE 2
Farming gear directly, especially Rare items, is typically inefficient due to the vast pool of possible affixes and their tiers. Expecting to drop an item with five or more favorable affixes is extremely rare, considering the millions of possible combinations.
Instead, most players focus on farming currencies or materials, which they can trade for gear or use for crafting. Farming provides a consistent income per hour, and you can use the proceeds to acquire your desired items or crafting materials.
For Unique items, divination cards tied to specific maps make farming more targeted and efficient. In this case, you can run profitable maps that drop cards for your target Uniques, adding both currency and divination card drops to your earnings. Once you've farmed enough currency or collected enough cards, you can purchase additional cards or obtain a full stack through raw drops.
Best Way to Farm Gear in PoE 2
The most efficient way to farm gear in Path of Exile 2 is by targeting Uber Bosses or farming divination cards for Uniques that are targetable. For Rare gear, farming currency and trading with other players is more reliable. If you’re looking for specific rare gear pieces, farming crafting materials and crafting the items yourself is often the best route.
Buying Items in PoE 2
Buying items from other players is often the simplest and most direct method to gear up in Path of Exile 2. Instead of spending hours farming or crafting, you can trade for the exact item you need, provided you have enough currency. While buying gear is more straightforward, prices on the market tend to be higher than the average cost of crafting the same item. This is due to the time and effort invested by players who craft or farm these items.
However, buying can be the most efficient strategy if you're short on time and need to upgrade your character quickly. The in-game economy allows for fluid transactions, where players can exchange their farmed currency for gear, making trading a key aspect of PoE 2's endgame gearing process.
Conclusion
Ultimately, crafting, farming, and buying each have their pros and cons when it comes to obtaining gear in Path of Exile 2. Crafting offers the potential to create top-tier items at a lower cost, but it requires significant game knowledge and a tolerance for RNG. Farming is a reliable way to earn consistent income, which can be used to either trade for gear or craft it yourself. Buying, on the other hand, is the quickest method to get your desired items but often comes at a premium price.
Choose the method that suits your playstyle and budget. For those who enjoy the thrill of crafting and are looking for a rewarding experience, experimenting with crafting mechanics is ideal. If you’re more focused on efficiency and prefer straightforward gameplay, farming currency and trading may be the better option.
Trading in PoE 2
Trading currency for items is one of the most efficient and common methods players use to acquire BiS (Best in Slot) gear and prepare their characters for endgame content. The main advantage of trading over crafting or farming is the certainty of acquiring the exact item with the specific stats you need.
Trading eliminates the RNG elements associated with crafting, such as the risk of crafting an unwanted affix or wasting resources. It also saves players time by not having to research or figure out complex crafting methods themselves. Additionally, you avoid the hassle of sourcing crafting materials, which can be time-consuming, especially if specific items are overpriced or scarce in the market.
Trading is a straightforward and safe approach, as it allows you to avoid the uncertainties and time investment involved in both farming and crafting, particularly when the required materials or crafting methods are complicated.
Can You Buy Gear in PoE 2?
No! Path of Exile does not feature any P2W (Pay-to-Win) mechanics. All items available for purchase in the store are purely cosmetic and do not affect your character's power or progression. However, players can purchase gear from professional service providers such as Dving to save time and effort.
FAQ
How does gear work in PoE 2?
Gear in Path of Exile 2 empowers your character through affixes that provide both offensive and defensive stats. Implicits typically grant generic bonuses related to the item's type, while prefixes and suffixes offer a wide range of modifiable stats that contribute to the character's overall power.
What are the gear rarities in PoE 2?
There are four gear rarities: Normal, Magic, Rare, and Unique.
Will PoE 2 have set gear?
As of now, there is no confirmation that Path of Exile 2 will include set gear. However, like in PoE 1, there are items that interact with each other, such as the Forbidden Jewels, which require specific pairings to activate their effects.
Can you upgrade gear in PoE 2?
Unlike other ARPGs, gear cannot be "upgraded" in the traditional sense. However, as long as an item is not corrupted, you can change its affixes using crafting currencies, which may result in an improved version of the item.
Will PoE 2 have trading?
Yes, similar to PoE 1, PoE 2 will feature trading through an online marketplace, where players can view and trade items with each other.
How many unique items can you equip in PoE 2?
There is no limit to how many Uniques you can equip at once. However, equipping only Unique items may limit your character's power since Rare gear can often provide essential stats that Uniques cannot.
What are the best Uniques in PoE 2?
Some of the most powerful Uniques in PoE 2 will likely include Mageblood and Headhunter, known for their potent effects that can significantly enhance your build or save you resources by filling specific stat gaps.
How many affixes can items have in PoE 2?
Items can have up to six affixes: three prefixes and three suffixes.
What is the fastest way to get gear in PoE 2?
The fastest way to acquire gear in PoE 2 is through currency farming strategies. With sufficient currency, you can buy or craft your desired items quickly.
How do you craft gear in PoE 2?
You can craft gear by using a variety of crafting currencies that modify the affixes on an item. Some league mechanics, such as Harvest, also offer specialized crafting systems.
Final Thoughts
We hope this guide has provided you with all the essential information for gearing up efficiently in Path of Exile 2. To achieve your endgame goals, it's crucial to understand your character's needs, learn about crafting mechanics, and apply the strategies and tips mentioned in this guide.
If you find this process time-consuming or challenging, you can always consider using Build Services from professionals, allowing them to quickly and efficiently handle the grind for you.
At Dving, we offer not only guides but also comprehensive PoE 2 Boosting Services to help players achieve their gaming goals. Whether you need assistance farming currency, defeating bosses, or clearing high-tier maps, our team is ready to help you complete any activity in no time!