PoE really sets itself apart from other titles in the free-to-play RPG genre with its range of in-game currencies. Unlike other games where gold, silver, and gems are typically prized currencies, in PoE2, you’re looking for orbs that manifest or alter the four types of currencies in the game. Looking to pick up any of the currencies or items mentioned in this post? At igitems, we’ve got them all!
Gold
Gold in PoE 2 will be more important than the original. Dropped strictly by monsters and random encounters, gold is picked up automatically within range, similar to Azurite.
Gold cannot be traded with other players and is only used to purchase items and services from NPC vendors, respec passive points, and as a fee for listing items in the currency market.
Understanding Items Rarity
The items available in the game come in four different levels of rarity. The rarer the currency, the valuable it is. You can level up your items using the orbs found in the game, which act as the primary currency of PoE2.
Here’s a breakdown of the four items rarity types.
Magic Items
Are rare Items with affixes that were randomly manifested.
Magical Items
These are blue-colored items offering 2 affixes: 1 prefix and 1 suffix.
Unique Items
These are orange-colored items with ranging variability in the number of special modifiers and affixes they offer.
Rare Items
Yellow-colored items with 6 affixes, 3 prefixes, and 3 suffixes.
Note on item rarity – Item Rarity affects currency drops. So, bosses and unique monsters are good sources of rare currency in the game.
BasicCommon Currencies
Now let's look at the currency system and how it can change the character and value of these items. Top to bottom, we’ll look at each currency class by value.
Scroll of Wisdom
The key currency for identifying all items of higher-than-normal rarity.
Portal Scroll
Used to create a portal that takes you back to the town in the current act. It only works once both ways, after which it disappears, and a new one will have to be produced.
Quality Enhancement Currencies
All these currencies affect the quality of an item. The core mechanics of each item is the same, but they come with varying degrees of rarity and value. These currencies increase an item's quality by 5% for normal items, 2% for magic items, and 1% items for all other items. These currencies are acquired by selling a vendor armor, weapons, gems etc. with a quality of 20% or higher or a collection of items with a total value of 40% or greater.
Blacksmith’s Whetstone
Improves weapon performance. It only alters the physical damage inflicted by weapons, not its properties.
Armorer’s Scrap
Enhances armor protection and defense. It only influences the implicit properties of gear.
Glassblower’s Bauble
Upgrades your flask durability.
Cartographer’s Chisel
Improves map quality, enhancing its quantity modifier augments.
Gem Cutter’s Prism
Improves gem quality, the effects to the item vary, depending on the type of gem you upgrade.
Currencies for Manifesting or Modifying Magic Items
These low-value orbs aren’t anything special, but you want to keep these on hand for re-rolling flasks and gear when leveling.
Orb of Augmentation
Add a prefix or suffix to complete a magic item.
Orb of Transmutation
Unlike the randomized affixes in the original, the Orb of Transmutation will now upgrade normal items to magical ones with one or four affixes.
Currencies for Modifying and Manifesting Rare Items
These orbs are mid to high-value and typically used to upgrade gear you find in later acts of the game, or in bartering for better gear.
Orb of Alchemy
Upgrades normal Items to rare items, giving them random affixes.
Chaos Orb
Chaos Orb removes one random modifier and adds a new random modifier, similar to the Harvest Craft behavior.
Exalted Orb
Augments a rare item with a new random affix, assuming its affix slots aren’t full.
Regal Orb
Augments a magic item to a rare one, keeping its affixes and adding a random one.
A note on these currencies – Save your Chaos and Exalted Orbs; they have substantial value High-tier orbs and shouldn’t be spent casually on crafting low-tier items. Chaos is preferably saved for crafting Endgames or Map items and a major currency to buy all items in PoE2. Exalted Orbs should be saved and used only when you know what to do with them.
Currencies for Manifesting or Modifying All Items
Blessed Orb
Re-rolls an items implicit properties, no matter its rarity.
Divine Orb
Re-rolls an items explicit properties, no matter its rarity.
Orb of Probability
Upgrades normal items to random rarities, causing the item to become magical, rare, or unique. Apart from finding them as drops or trading, this is the only way players can manifest unique PoE2 items. Ordinarily, the odds of rolling to a unique item isn’t great, but it’s worth giving it a shot if it’s a valuable or unique item.
Socket Modification Currencies
Chromatic Orb
Recolor sockets on items: Sockets have a bias towards being the color appropriate to the attribute of the respective base item; therefore, Intelligence-based items have a better chance of rolling a blue socket over green and red ones.
Orb of Fusing
Rerolls the connections between item sockets. Items may have the same number of links as sockets. Linking an item is rare and occurs randomly after 1 or 1,000+ orb fuses.
Jeweler’s Orb
Re-rolls the amount of Sockets on items.
Miscellaneous PoE Currencies
Mirror of Kalandra
Creates mirrored copies of items. These orbs are a thousand times rarer than Exalted Orbs, making it one of the most highly prized currencies in PoE2. It’s also one of the most expensive currencies and duplicates any items and they can’t be corrupted.
Vaal Orb
This orb corrupts an item, changing it in a rather unpredictable manner. Their properties cannot be changed after the item is corrupted. A variety of outcomes may occur; depending on the base items used – and most of the outcomes aren’t going to benefit you, so ensure you know what you’re doing before using them.
Orb of Regret
Gives you a passive Respect point once used.
Special Currencies
Silver Coins
These were introduced with the Prophecy league and traded with Navali in the act town after saving her from the climb. These give you one new prophecy per coin. You can also use them to seal or remove prophecies from your list.
Essences
Introduced in the Essence league as a complex system of crafting currency. There was confirmation that they would make a return to crafting in PoE2. The currency was designed for a player to craft items with one affix, and the others are random. There are 25 essence bases and it’s possible to upgrade them to a higher tier, elevating their power. You obtain essences from essence monsters who spawn in zones randomly throughout the game.
Cartographer's Sextant
Used in the endgame mapping system, these currencies are used on the endgame atlas, not directly on items. This map is a map of all the maps you receive in the game. They add special mods to a map and maps in a certain range, like affixes but with a set amount of uses. Hold on to these currencies as a beginner and use them later in the game.
Divination Cards
Those aren’t really a currency, but a system allowing players to gain items, item bases, or currencies. It’s a single slot, stackable item; after completing a stack, you can trade it to Tasuni in the Highgate town of Act IV.
