Crafting is one of the biggest parts of Path of Exile 2, and it has changed a lot since the game first launched into Early Access. This guide walks through the three things you actually need to understand to craft with any confidence: what a base item is and why it matters, how currency orbs work now that most of them come in multiple power tiers, and how the current Rune system turns socketing into a full crafting path of its own. Since Path of Exile 2 is still in Early Access, some of this can change in future patches, so treat this as a picture of where crafting stands right now rather than something set in stone. If you would rather skip some of the early grind, a LootBar top up for PoE 2 currency can help you get your first real crafting started faster.
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.
Understanding Item Bases
Before touching any currency, it helps to understand what a base item actually is. Every item in Path of Exile 2 is built on top of a base type, and that base decides three things: its implicit stat, its attribute requirement, and which pool of modifiers it is even allowed to roll. A Ruby Ring, for example, always comes with fire resistance built in as its implicit, while an Iron Ring leans toward physical damage. The base you pick determines what your item is capable of becoming.
Bases also fall into categories based on the attribute they lean towards:
Strength-based
Strength-based armor and weapons roll more armor and physical modifiers
Dexterity-based
Dexterity-based gear leans into more evasion and attack speed
Intelligence-based
Intelligence-based gear pulls from energy shield and spellcasting modifiers
Weapons and armor also naturally pull from different modifier pools than jewelry, so a ring or amulet ends up being a blend of both offensive and defensive options.
Item level works alongside the base to decide what is possible. A low item level base can only roll lower tiers of a modifier, no matter how good your currency is. This is why end-game crafters specifically hunt down high item level bases before they even start rolling modifiers. As a simple example, an amulet with a very low item level can only get a small life roll, while a high item level amulet of the same base can roll a much bigger one. Item level is separate from the level requirement to actually equip the item, so it is worth holding Alt over any item you pick up to check both before deciding whether it is worth crafting on.
Different types of Currencies
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. |
New Currency Orbs
Currency orbs are still the backbone of crafting, but the current patch, Return of the Ancients, added something that did not exist before: most core orbs now come in multiple power tiers. Instead of just a single Chaos Orb, you might come across a Greater Chaos Orb or even a Perfect Chaos Orb, each one guaranteeing a higher minimum quality on the modifier it adds.
Here is how the main currencies work, including their tiered versions where they exist:
| Currency Type | Effect | Tiers Available |
| Orb of Transmutation | Turns a normal item into a magic item, adding one modifier. | Normal, Greater, Perfect |
| Orb of Augmentation | Adds a second modifier to a magic item (magic items can hold up to 2). | Normal, Greater, Perfect |
| Orb of Alchemy | Turns a normal item into a rare item, adding several random modifiers at once. | Normal |
| Regal Orb | Turns a magic item into a rare item, adding one more modifier. | Normal, Greater, Perfect |
| Exalted Orb | Adds a new modifier to a rare item (rare items can hold up to 6 total). | Normal, Greater, Perfect |
| Chaos Orb | Removes a random modifier from a rare item and adds a new one in its place. | Normal, Greater, Perfect |
| Jeweller's Orb | Adds a socket to a skill gem. | Lesser, Normal, Greater, Perfect |
| Jeweller's Orb | Removes a random modifier from an item, keeping its rarity. | Normal |
| Divine Orb | Rerolls the numeric values of an item's existing modifiers. | Normal |
| Vaal Orb | Corrupts an item, changing it unpredictably and locking it from further crafting. | Normal |
| Mirror of Kalandra | Creates an exact copy of a non-unique item. Extremely rare. | Normal |
The Greater and Perfect versions do the exact same job as the base orb, they just guarantee the new modifier lands at a higher tier instead of leaving it fully random. A Greater Chaos Orb, for instance, guarantees the replacement modifier is at least a mid-tier roll, while a Perfect one pushes that floor even higher. These tiered orbs also tend to be worth a lot more when trading, since they remove a big chunk of the randomness that regular currency carries.
Essences and Omens add another layer of control on top of all this. An Essence upgrades a normal item straight to magic while guaranteeing a specific modifier type shows up, which is a huge help when you know exactly what your build needs. Greater Essences take this a step further, upgrading a magic item directly to rare while still guaranteeing that same modifier. Omens work differently. Instead of using them directly, you carry them in your inventory and they automatically trigger the next time you use a matching currency. Omen of Sinistral Erasure, for example, forces your next Annulment to remove a suffix specifically instead of a random modifier, which turns a normally unpredictable currency into something you can actually plan around.
As for currencies from the original game, Fossils, Catalysts, and Recombinators are still not part of Path of Exile 2's crafting system as of this patch. Oils, on the other hand, did carry over and still work the same way they did before, letting you anoint a passive tree notable onto an amulet.
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.
ust 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.
Tip: 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.
Runes of Aldur System
Runes have grown into one of the most important parts of crafting since the game first launched. At their core, Runes are socketable items you slot into the augment sockets found on weapons and armor, and once socketed, a Rune cannot be removed without destroying it, so choose carefully. Regular Runes start appearing from around Act 2 onward and give straightforward stat boosts depending on the type.
The current patch, Return of the Ancients, added a much bigger layer on top of this through its league mechanic, Runes of Aldur. Since this is tied to the current rotating league, some of what follows is specific to this patch and could shift or move into the permanent game differently once the next major update lands, but here is how it currently works:
Ezomyte Remnants are stone objects scattered through every zone. Interacting with one lets you inscribe runic symbols to choose a reward, then a wave of empowered monsters spawns that you need to defeat to actually claim it.
Farrow, an NPC met in Act 1, introduces the whole system and gradually unlocks more Runeforging options as you progress through her quest line.
Runeforging is a separate crafting station where you spend a new currency called Verisium to add Runic Ward to your gear or upgrade certain unique items.
Soul Cores are a more advanced socketable item than a basic Rune, offering stronger, more specialized modifiers like elemental penetration, critical strike bonuses, or heavier defensive stats, and they tend to matter most in builds that are already leaning hard into a specific playstyle.
Aldur's Legacy is one of the more unusual additions. It lets you destroy a Kalguuran or Ezomyte unique item and extract one of its modifiers into a socketable Rune, which you can then place into a completely different item of the same base type. This turns unique items that would normally just sit in your stash into genuinely useful crafting material.
Because this system is still tied to the current league, treat the specific names and mechanics above as accurate for right now, but do not be surprised if some of it changes shape once Runes of Aldur eventually rotates out or gets folded into the core game differently.
Tips Before You Start Crafting
Always check an item's base type and item level before spending currency on it. A perfect roll on a low item level base will never be as good as a mediocre roll on a high item level one, since the base caps what is even possible. Early on, do not be afraid to use basic Transmutation and Augmentation Orbs freely while leveling, since their value is low and holding onto them does not help you. Save Exalted Orbs and Divine Orbs for items you are already planning to keep long term, since both are far more valuable used with intention than spent randomly. And whenever you are unsure whether an item is worth disenchanting or crafting on, hold Alt while hovering over it to see its full modifier breakdown before deciding.
Conclusion
Crafting in Path of Exile 2 covers a lot of ground: knowing your bases, understanding how tiered currency changes the odds, and working through the current Rune and Runes of Aldur system on top of it all. None of it needs to click immediately. Most players build this understanding piece by piece over their first few characters, and it gets a lot less intimidating once you have crafted a handful of items yourself. If you want to speed past some of the early grind and jump straight into crafting your first real piece of gear, LootBar lets you top up PoE 2 currency quickly so you can get there faster.
