Path of Exile 2 Currency Guide: What Every Orb Does

In Path of Exile 2, currency items are both crafting tools and money. Each orb changes an item in a specific way, such as upgrading its rarity, adding a modifier or rerolling its numbers. Players also use the same orbs to buy and sell gear. This guide explains what every common orb does, using the in-game item descriptions.

Last checked: November 9, 2026 (patch 0.5.5).

First: how item rarity works

Most orbs only work on items of a certain rarity, so this is the key to reading the tables below:

The usual crafting path is Normal → Magic → Rare, adding modifiers along the way.

Basic crafting orbs

A simple crafting example

1. Use an Orb of Transmutation on a white item to make it Magic with 1 modifier.
2. Use an Orb of Augmentation to add a second modifier.
3. Use a Regal Orb to turn it Rare with a third modifier.
4. Add more with Exalted Orbs, up to 6 modifiers in total.
5. If a modifier rolled low, a Divine Orb can reroll the numbers on the item.

An Orb of Alchemy skips steps 1 to 3 and makes a Rare with 4 modifiers at once, but you get no control over them.

Use Annulment and Chaos Orbs carefully

An Orb of Annulment and a Chaos Orb both remove a random modifier, which may be the best one on the item. On a strong item, think before you click. The Fracturing Orb protects one modifier permanently, but it also picks that modifier at random.

Greater and Perfect orbs

Several basic orbs have stronger versions. They do the same thing but only roll higher-level modifiers, which makes them better for endgame crafting:

A higher minimum modifier level means low-tier modifiers can't appear, so a Perfect orb is far less likely to waste a slot on a weak roll.

Quality currency

Quality boosts an item's base stats. Each quality currency works on one type of item:

The Vaal Infusers (Armourer's, Blacksmith's, Arcanist's and Catalysing) can push quality past the normal maximum by up to 10%. They only work on items that already have at least 20% quality, and they may Corrupt the item.

Jeweller's Orbs for your skill gems

Jeweller's Orbs set how many support gem sockets a skill gem has:

More sockets means more support gems on your main skill, which is one of the biggest damage upgrades in the game. Save these for the skills you actually use.

Shards

Some orbs drop as shards: Transmutation Shards, Regal Shards, Chance Shards and Artificer's Shards. A stack of 10 shards becomes the full orb. Some town vendors can also disenchant items you don't need into currency shards, so it's worth checking before you sell everything for gold.

Corruption currency

Corrupting an item, usually with a Vaal Orb, changes it unpredictably. Corrupted items can't be crafted with normal currency afterwards, but a few special items still work on them:

• Architect's Orb: modifies a Corrupted equipment item or jewel unpredictably, or destroys it.
• Crystallised Corruption: modifies a Corrupted skill gem unpredictably, or destroys it.
• Orbs of Sacrifice (Yaomac's, Kopec's, Kamasa's and Yugul's): upgrade the corruption enchantment on a Rare weapon, armour, piece of jewellery or jewel, but remove a random modifier.

Only Corrupt items you're willing to lose or ruin.

Essences and Omens

• Essences come in four tiers: Lesser, normal, Greater and Perfect. The first three upgrade a Magic item to Rare and add a guaranteed modifier, which depends on the essence and the item type. Perfect Essences instead replace a random modifier on a Rare item with a guaranteed one.
• Omens sit in your inventory and change how your next currency item behaves. For example, an Omen of Chaotic Effectiveness makes your next Chaos Orb on a Waystone replace all its modifiers with ones that don't add Monster Effectiveness.

What about gold?

Gold isn't an orb, but you'll use it constantly. It buys items from vendors and pays to reset your passive tree. When you buy an item from another player's Merchant's Tab, you also pay a gold fee on top of the orb price. You get gold from drops and by selling items to vendors.

Which currency is worth the most?

Rarity drives value. The Mirror of Kalandra is the rarest item on the list, and the Divine Orb is the main high-value currency. Most trade prices are listed in Exalted Orbs, Chaos Orbs or Divine Orbs, and the in-game Currency Exchange lets you swap between them at player-set rates.

New players should spend low-value orbs like Transmutation and Augmentation freely while leveling, and save Divine Orbs and Perfect orbs until they understand crafting. New to the game? Start with our Path of Exile 2 beginner guide.

Frequently asked questions

What does a Divine Orb do in Path of Exile 2?

It rerolls the numeric values of the modifiers on an item without changing which modifiers it has. It's mainly used to improve a good item's rolls, and it's also one of the most valuable trade currencies.

What does an Exalted Orb do in Path of Exile 2?

It adds one new random modifier to a Rare item. A Rare item can have up to 6 modifiers, so Exalted Orbs are how you fill the empty slots.

What is the difference between Greater and Perfect orbs?

They work like the basic orb but set a minimum modifier level, so weak low-level modifiers can't roll. Perfect orbs have a higher minimum than Greater ones.

Is there an Orb of Scouring in Path of Exile 2?

No. The Orb of Scouring and the Orb of Alteration aren't in Path of Exile 2's currency list. To remove modifiers, you use an Orb of Annulment, which removes one at random.

How do you add more support sockets to a skill gem?

Use a Jeweller's Orb. A Lesser one sets the gem to 3 support sockets, a Greater one to 4 and a Perfect one to 5.

What does a Chaos Orb do in Path of Exile 2?

It removes one random modifier from a Rare item and adds a new random one. It doesn't reroll the whole item like the Path of Exile 1 version did.

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