As a pinnacle sequel, Path of Exile 2 is well-known in the industry for its complex system. In this cursed continent of Wraeclast, more than 200 interrelated mechanisms mesh like precision gears, and the most representative of them is Gear Crafting system. At the core of this huge system, a crystal called Essences is quietly determining the gear ceiling of top players – but its secrets may be more complicated than you think.
Essence Value
For new exiles who have just entered Wraeclast, when faced with the extremely high-priced top Essence on the trading market, they often fall into confusion: What is the special thing about these materials? Why has it become a must-have POE2 currency for players? The answers to these questions are hidden in the bottom-level gear logic of the game.
Unlike the completely random affix system of traditional Diablo series, Essence provides a rare certainty in Path of Exile 2.
When you use Essence of Haste on a normal quality boot, the system will force it to have a fixed value of movement speed bonus. This mechanism makes obtaining Essence a must for making top builds – especially in endgame, when players need to stack specific stats accurately, there is no more reliable solution than this.
How To Farm Essences?
There are two main ways to obtain these precious Essences:
1. Map Hunting
In campaign and endgame, players will encounter special monsters imprisoned in rune stone formations. These Essence Monsters have a unique logo menu floating above their heads – pay attention to the energy aura surrounding them: blue represents normal Essence, and purple indicates that Greater Essence may be obtained.
Every time you defeat a monster, it will drop Essence of the corresponding level, which is also the most direct way to obtain it in the system. Of course, if you are lucky enough, you might even get POE 2 Divine Orbs dropped!
But it should be noted that these monsters will become stronger as the map level increases. Therefore, the monsters that players face later may be stronger, and it will be more difficult to obtain Essence. Moreover, Essence monsters are relatively rare, which means that players cannot accumulate a large amount of essence through this method, so the other method I will talk about below is more common.
2. Currency Trading
Finding NPC Alva in the hideout, players can choose to buy Path of Exile 2 currency to exchange Essence with this treasure hunter. Here is a professional tip: the first two hours after the server maintenance every Wednesday, it is most cost-effective to exchange Chaos Orbs for Essence. Remember to stock up enough basic currency in advance.
Silent Cave
True Essence hunters will set their sights on endgame exclusive map – Silent Cave. This is a unique Atlas sealed by ancient runes, built specifically for Essence mechanic. Farming Essence at this location has the following features:
- A large number of Essence Monsters will definitely refresh.
- Every time a group of Essence Monsters is defeated, the final boss will gain the corresponding property enhancement.
- Essence here can also be corrupted, thereby increasing the amount of essence contained in the monster or improving the tier of the essence.
It is recommended to adopt a rotation strategy when challenging in a team: at least three DPS specialization players in the team should switch the main attacker in real time according to the current energy type of the boss. And don’t forget to bring some Purification Flask to deal with the boss.
Corrupted Essences
When you encounter Essence Monsters shining with a special light in Silent Cave, it means that you have triggered the most precious resource in the game – Corrupted Essences. To activate this special form, you must use Vaal Orb on it before releasing Greater Essence monster, which has a certain probability of causing corruption.
The four known types of Corrupted Essences are as follows:
Essence Of Hysteria
This Essence can upgrade a Normal item to Magic or recast a rare item. It also comes with an Item Rarity modifier.
Essence Of Delirium
Essence of Delirium can upgrade a Normal item to Magic or upgrade a Magic item to a Rare item, and comes with a random notable passive as a modifier. However, it can only be used on Body Armor, and can reduce Chaos Damage of Body Armor by 25% over time.
Essence Of Insanity
Essence of Insanity can also upgrade Normal items to Magic items and upgrade Magic items to Rares. In addition, it can also come with a property that can only be used on belts. After corruption, it can gain two enchantment effects.
Essence Of Horror
Similar to Corrupted Essences above, it can also upgrade Normal items to Magic items or Magic items to Rare items, with flat stats, but only works on gloves or boots. The effect of Socketed Runes and Soul Cores is increased by 100%, and its actual amplification effect will surprise you.
It should be noted that the combat mechanism of Corrupted Essence monsters is unique and will be more difficult to defeat than ordinary Essence monsters. Novice players should consider it carefully.
Other Notes
The usage of Greater Essence is exactly the same as that of ordinary Essence, except that Greater Essence can convert Magic items into Rare items.
Therefore, there is a critical time window for its use: when upgrading Magic items to Rare items, the system will retain original magic affixes and add two random affixes. This means that the best gear crafting is to use ordinary Essence to lock the core stat first, and then use Greater Essence to break through the quality limit.
In the chaotic world of Path of Exile 2, Essence system is like a beacon in the dark, guiding the direction for players who pursue perfection. The light flowing in the rune stone formations that imprison Essence Monsters may be reflecting your path to becoming a legendary master.