PoE 2 Item Rarity Guide: Drop Tiers and Crafting Explained

In Path of Exile 2, items are central to character progression and build customization. One of the key mechanics that defines an item's value and potential is its rarity. Most craftable items are randomly generated with one of four rarity tiers: normal, magic, rare, or unique. Each tier affects the item's properties, customization possibilities, and drop rates.

Items with magic, rare, or unique rarity are found unidentified in the world. To reveal their properties, players must use a Scroll of Wisdom. On the other hand, some items such as currency do not have a rarity tier, but their drop chance is influenced by an internal "weight" system that determines how commonly or rarely they appear.

Normal Items

Normal items, often referred to as base items, are the most common and simple form of gear in the game. They contain no explicit affixes but may have implicit modifiers depending on the base type.

These items serve as the foundation for crafting. An Orb of Transmutation upgrades a normal item into a magic item, adding a single affix. An Orb of Alchemy transforms a normal item into a rare item, granting it four affixes (two prefixes and two suffixes). If a unique version of that base exists, an Orb of Chance may upgrade a normal item into its unique counterpart, provided the item level meets the minimum requirement.

To efficiently craft and upgrade gear in Path of Exile 2, players rely heavily on various types of PoE 2 currency, such as Chaos Orbs, Exalted Orbs, and Orbs of Alchemy. These currency items are essential tools for modifying item properties, rerolling affixes, or enhancing item rarity. Understanding how to use them effectively is a core part of item progression and build optimization in the game.

Magic Items

Magic items are enhanced versions of normal items, imbued with magical affixes. They can have up to one prefix and one suffix. An Orb of Transmutation creates a magic item from a normal one with one random affix. To add a second affix, players must use an Orb of Augmentation.

Unlike in the original Path of Exile, magic items in PoE 2 cannot be easily rerolled with orbs like Orb of Alteration. Instead, players must rely on Orb of Annulment to remove a single random modifier or a Chaos Orb, which removes one modifier and replaces it with another.

Magic items can be upgraded into rare items using a Regal Orb. This process preserves the current affixes and adds one new affix, bringing the total to three, as opposed to four when using an Orb of Alchemy on a normal item.

Rare Items

Rare items offer the highest potential for stat customization. They can possess up to six affixes: three prefixes and three suffixes. If a rare item has fewer than six modifiers, additional ones can be added with Exalted Orbs, each granting one new mod.

Just like with magic items, players can manipulate rare items using Orb of Annulment to remove a mod or a Chaos Orb to randomly reroll one mod.

Rare items are distinguished by a randomly generated name. When dropped unidentified, they can have 4, 5, or 6 affixes, with respective probabilities of 8:3:1. Not all item types can be rare; for instance, flasks and charms do not have a rare variant.

Unique Items

Unique items share their base properties with normal items of the same type but differ in that they have specific names, artwork, and a predefined set of modifiers. These modifiers are not random and often grant effects that are build-defining or offer unique utility that cannot be replicated by any other item tier.

While rare items typically offer more powerful stats overall, unique items stand apart because of their distinctive traits and synergies. Some uniques are drop-restricted, meaning they can only be acquired from specific bosses, encounters, or mechanics. These cannot be created with an Orb of Chance and are not part of the general unique item drop pool.

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Item Rarity Tier System in Path of Exile 2

In Path of Exile 2, the loot system revolves around a complex item rarity tier structure that influences the quality and potential of item drops. Central to this system is a skewed "10-tier" rarity mechanic, which determines the rarity of the item that appears when an enemy is defeated or a chest is opened. Understanding how this system works is important for players who want to maximize their loot and target specific item qualities.

The 10-Tier Rarity System

When an item is about to drop, the game first rolls a rarity tier between 0 and 9. Higher tiers favor better item outcomes. The player's item rarity modifiers, such as the "% Increased Rarity of Items Found" stat, help skew this roll toward higher tiers, thus improving the chances of obtaining magic, rare, or unique items.

Tier 0

At rarity tier 0, there are no noticeable changes to the outcome of drops. This is the baseline tier and represents the default loot table behavior with no enhancements. Items that drop at this tier follow standard generation rules, meaning normal items are most likely.

Tiers 1 to 5

Starting at tier 1, several enhancements begin to take place. The main effect of these middle-tier rolls is an increased probability that an item will drop as magic, rare, or even unique. These tiers also affect the quality and type of currency and base items that drop:

• Items that are eligible for rarity (such as weapons, armor, and accessories) are more likely to be rolled as higher rarity.
• The likelihood of dropped items being converted to gold is reduced.
• Currency items have a better chance to be upgraded into higher-value currencies.
• The system avoids dropping base types that are far below the area's level requirement, keeping loot more relevant to the player's progression.
• These tiers do not influence the affix outcomes on unidentified items; those are handled separately by the unidentified tier system.

Tiers 6 to 9 and the Unidentified Tier System

Higher rarity tiers, specifically tier 6 through tier 9, introduce a new mechanic: unidentified item tiers. When an item drops at these high tiers and is marked as unidentified, it can carry a hidden "Unid Tier" value ranging from 2 to 5. These tiers do not alter the item's stats directly at the time of the drop, but they do have a profound impact when the item is identified using a Scroll of Wisdom.

The unidentified tier system begins to apply only once items meet certain item level thresholds. These tiers clamp the affix pool at the time of identification, effectively removing weaker modifiers that normally appear on lower-level items. This ensures that identified gear from higher Unid tiers will have better stat outcomes and more relevant affixes.

Here is a breakdown of the minimum item level requirements and how they influence modifier generation upon identification:

• Unid Tier 2 requires item level 66 and filters out modifiers that have a minimum item level of 11 or lower.
• Unid Tier 3 starts at item level 71 and clamps modifiers below item level 23.
• Unid Tier 4 begins at item level 76, removing modifiers below item level 35.
• Unid Tier 5 requires item level 79 and blocks modifiers below item level 48.

These thresholds ensure that players in higher-level areas are rewarded with items more likely to support endgame builds and progression.

The item rarity tier system in Path of Exile 2 adds an additional layer of depth to the loot experience. From basic tier 0 drops to high-tier unidentified items, the system supports both random excitement and strategic planning. Players who build around increasing item rarity will benefit from not only more frequent rare and unique item drops but also more relevant and powerful affixes once those items are identified.

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