Path of Exile 2 (POE 2 Chaos Orbs) is a game where gear can make or break your experience. While grinding maps and defeating bosses is exciting, having the right equipment is crucial to maximizing your character’s potential. Many players often feel that upgrading gear is prohibitively expensive, leaving crafting as the most viable path to acquiring godlike equipment. In this guide, we’ll explore in detail how to craft weapons and items effectively, focusing on crossbows as a prime example, and provide a roadmap for taking your gear from basic to legendary.

Understanding Gear Basics

Before diving into crafting, it’s essential to understand how items in PoE2 work. Every piece of equipment has several key aspects: base type, item level, required stats, and modifiers. For weapons, such as crossbows, the base determines implicit properties like attack speed, critical hit chance, and bolt speed. For example, a flexed crossbow always provides a boost to bolt speed but may have slightly lower base physical damage compared to other crossbows.

Modifiers on items come in two main types: prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes often provide offensive boosts like increased physical or elemental damage, while suffixes typically provide utility stats such as critical hit chance, mana regeneration, or life leech. The power of these modifiers is influenced by the item level, not the required character level, so always check the item level before starting your crafting journey.

Choosing the Right Base

The first step in crafting godlike gear is selecting the appropriate base. Not all crossbows are created equal: some prioritize physical damage, while others excel in critical hit chance or elemental damage. Websites like POE2DB and Craft of Exile are invaluable for understanding which bases yield the best modifiers. For example, if your goal is maximum physical damage, you’ll want a high-level flexed crossbow rather than one optimized for elemental damage.

Loot filters can also streamline this process by highlighting desirable bases while discarding weaker ones, saving you hours of farming. Additionally, some bases are more efficient for endgame crafting because of their innate stats and implicit bonuses.

Basic Crafting Techniques

At the core of crafting are orbs, the currency used to modify and upgrade items. The fundamental orbs include:

Orb of Transmutation – Converts a normal item into a magic item and adds a single modifier.

Orb of Augmentation – Adds a second modifier to a magic item.

Regal Orb – Upgrades a magic item to a rare item with a new affix.

Exalted Orb – Adds a new affix to a rare item, often resulting in high-value gear.

To begin, apply an Orb of Transmutation to a basic crossbow to generate a magic item with a single affix. Then, use an Orb of Augmentation to add a second modifier. If you’re satisfied with the rolls, a Regal Orb can upgrade it to rare quality, introducing a new modifier to the mix. From there, Exalted Orbs can be applied strategically to further enhance the weapon.

It’s important to note that early crafting can feel random, but understanding your desired stats—like physical damage, elemental damage, or critical strike chance—will guide your decisions. For example, increased physical damage and elemental bonuses are often more valuable than accuracy for certain builds.

Advanced Crafting with Essences

One of the most powerful tools in PoE2 crafting is the use of essences. Essences allow you to upgrade a magic item into a rare item while guaranteeing specific modifiers. They come in different tiers:

Basic Essences – Provide guaranteed modifiers on magic items.

Greater Essences – Offer higher-tier bonuses and are typically used on rare items.

Perfect Essences – The pinnacle of essence crafting, providing the maximum potential roll for a specific modifier.

For example, an Essence of Seeking can add critical hit chance to your crossbow, while an Essence of Battle can increase the level of attack skills. The timing of using essences is crucial: applying them to an item with empty affix slots can waste potential, so it’s best to use them once the item has its full complement of prefixes and suffixes.

The Role of Implicit Modifiers

Implicit modifiers are inherent to the base item and cannot be changed through traditional crafting. For a flexed crossbow, the implicit bonus is increased bolt speed. These base stats, combined with crafted affixes, create the foundation for a truly powerful weapon. When evaluating a base, consider how its implicit stats align with your build goals.

Using the Reforging Bench

PoE2 introduces a reforging bench, an essential tool for mid-to-late game crafting. Found in Act Three’s Drown City, the reforging bench allows you to combine three items of the same type to produce a new outcome with potentially better modifiers. This system is especially useful for disposing of lower-tier or undesirable crossbows while creating the potential for higher-tier gear.

For example, combining three crossbows with moderate physical damage or elemental damage rolls can yield a single crossbow with superior stats. The reforging bench is also invaluable for crafting rare jewelry or other equipment where exact modifiers are essential.

Abyssal Crafting: The Green Mechanics

A new mechanic in PoE2, referred to by players as the "green guys", involves Abyssal Essences. These essences can remove random modifiers on a weapon and replace them with powerful Marks of the Abyssal Lord, unlocking custom options at the Well of Souls. Players can choose modifiers that complement their build, such as increased elemental damage, attack speed, or enhanced critical hit chance.

Abyssal crafting allows for unprecedented customization, giving even solo self-found players the ability to create high-tier equipment without relying solely on trading.

Omens: High-Level Crafting Enhancements

Omens are another powerful late-game crafting tool. Different omens affect prefixes, suffixes, or essences when combined with currencies like Orbs of Chaos. Examples include:

Omen of Sinistral Necromancy – Affects only suffixes or prefixes.

Omen of Crystallization – Enhances the probability of rolling optimal modifiers.

Omen of Recombination – Rerolls outcomes for even higher-tier results.

Using omens strategically allows players to guarantee that only lower-tier modifiers are replaced, significantly increasing the chances of obtaining godlike stats on rare items.

Combining Techniques for Maximum Power

The most effective crafting approach in PoE2 combines several methods:

Select the best base item – Prioritize bases with optimal implicit stats.

Use orbs strategically – Start with transmutation and augmentation orbs, then progress to Regal and Exalted Orbs.

Apply essences – Use greater and perfect essences to guarantee desired modifiers.

Leverage Abyssal Essences – Replace undesirable modifiers with Marks of the Abyssal Lord.

Refine with omens – Ensure low-tier or unwanted modifiers are removed safely.

Reforge when necessary – Combine multiple items at the reforging bench to maximize outcome quality.

Following this systematic approach allows players to create items with unprecedented DPS, critical hit chance, elemental damage, or other specialized stats tailored to their builds.

Market Considerations

Crafting can be highly cost-effective for players willing to invest time and learn the mechanics. Some crafted items may be worth several divine orbs or more on the market. For example, crossbows with high-level projectile skills, combined with critical hit chance and damage modifiers, often sell for significant profit. Even mid-tier crafted items can be sold for profit, offsetting some of the costs of higher-tier crafting orbs.

Solo Self-Found Strategy

Many advanced crafters prefer the solo self-found (SSF) approach, where all gear and currency are obtained without trading. This method emphasizes mastery of the crafting mechanics over reliance on the market. By combining farming, essence crafting, and reforging, SSF players can produce godlike weapons like crossbows capable of destroying endgame content.

For instance, with careful crafting and the right combination of essences, one crossbow can reach over 36,000 DPS with support gems and buffs—a remarkable achievement for a self-found player.

Final Tips for Aspiring Crafters

Know your stats – Identify what your build needs most (physical damage, elemental damage, critical hits, etc.) and focus on crafting for those stats.

Track tiers – Understand the tier system for affixes; T1 modifiers are the most powerful, while T0 are usually suboptimal.

Use tools – Websites like POE2DB provide critical insight into affixes, essences, and crafting strategies.

Experiment – Don’t be afraid to try different combinations, especially with essences and omens, to discover unique, high-value outcomes.

Plan currency usage – Some crafting orbs and essences are expensive. Use them wisely on items with maximum potential rather than low-tier bases.

Combine methods – Use Abyssal Essences, essences, and reforging together for the best results.

Conclusion

Crafting in Path of Exile 2 is a complex yet rewarding endeavor. By understanding item bases, prefixes, suffixes, essences, omens, and reforging mechanics, players can create weapons that rival or surpass even the rarest market finds. Crossbows serve as a prime example of how methodical crafting—combining the right base, modifiers, POE 2 Exalted Orbs for sale, and omens—can yield godlike results capable of tackling any content PoE2 has to offer.

Whether you are a solo self-found player or a market trader, mastering the intricacies of crafting opens a world of possibilities. From powerful crossbows to perfect jewelry, the right approach ensures that you are always equipped with gear that maximizes your build’s potential. With patience, strategy, and a little bit of luck, you too can craft items that not only dominate gameplay but also become prized possessions in the PoE2 community.