Currency
The currency system in Path of Exile revolves around a variety of different Orbs and Scrolls. Each currency item serves a specific function in the crafting and enhancement of a character's equipment, or allowing restructuring of the character's passive skill tree in the case of the Orb of Regret.
Currency Items
Currency items can be found as drops from monsters or chests, bought directly from different vendors in town, or received through the use of the vendor recipe system by trading specific configurations of items to any town vendor. Currency items play a large role in the player to player trading system, with rare orbs able to be traded for powerful equipment, or even other types of orbs that a player might need at the time for crafting.
Orbs and Scrolls
| Icon | Name | Stack Size | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Orb armourerscrap.png | Armourer's Scrap | 40 | Improves the quality of an armour. Right click this item then left click an armour to apply it. Has greater effect on lower rarity armours. The maximum quality is 20%. |
| File:Orb blacksmithwhetstone.png | Blacksmith's Whetstone | 20 | Improves the quality of a weapon. Right click this item then left click a weapon to apply it. Has greater effect on lower rarity weapons. The maximum quality is 20%. |
| File:Orb blessedorb.png | Blessed Orb | 20 | Randomises the numeric values of the implicit properties of an item. Right click this item then left click another item to apply it. |
| File:Orb chisel.png | Cartographer's Chisel | 20 | Improves the quality of a map. Right click this item then left click a map to apply it. Has greater effect on lower rarity maps. The maximum quality is 20%. |
| File:Orb chaosorb.png | Chaos Orb | 10 | Reforges a rare item with new random properties. Right click this item then left click a rare item to apply it. |
| File:Orb chromaticorb.png | Chromatic Orb | 20 | Reforges the colour of sockets on an item. Right click this item then left click a socketed item to apply it. |
| File:Orb divineorb.png | Divine Orb | 10 | Randomises the numeric values of the random properties on an item. Right click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it. |
| File:Orb exaltedorb.png | Exalted Orb | 10 | Enchants a rare item with a new random property. Right click this item then left click a rare item to apply it. Rare items can have up to six random properties. |
| File:Orb gemcuttersprism.png | Gemcutter's Prism | 20 | Improves the quality of a gem. Right click this item then left click a gem to apply it. The maximum quality is 20%. |
| File:Orb glassblowersbauble.png | Glassblower's Bauble | 20 | Improves the quality of a flask. Right click this item then left click a flask to apply it. Has greater effect on lower rarity flasks. The maximum quality is 20%. |
| File:Orb jewelersorb.png | Jeweller's Orb | 20 | Reforges the number of sockets on an item. Right click this item then left click a socketed item to apply it. |
| File:Orb mirrorofkalandra.png | Mirror of Kalandra | 10 | Creates a mirrored copy of an item. Right click this item then left click an equipable non-unique item to apply it. Mirrored copies cannot be modified. |
| File:Orb orbofalchemy.png | Orb of Alchemy | 10 | Upgrades a normal item to a rare item. Right click this item then left click a normal item to apply it. |
| File:Orb orbofalteration.png | Orb of Alteration | 20 | Reforges a magic item with new random properties. Right click this item then left click a magic item to apply it. |
| File:Orb orbofaugmentation.png | Orb of Augmentation | 30 | Enchants a magic item with a new random property. Right click this item then left click a magic item to apply it. Magic items can have up to two random properties. |
| File:Orb orbofchance.png | Orb of Chance | 20 | Upgrades a normal item to a random rarity. Right click this item then left click a normal item to apply it. |
| File:Orb orboffusing.png | Orb of Fusing | 20 | Reforges the links between sockets on an item. Right click this item then left click a socketed item to apply it. |
| File:Orb orbofregret.png | Orb of Regret | 40 | Grants a passive skill refund point. Right click on this item to use it. |
| File:Orb orbofscouring.png | Orb of Scouring | 30 | Removes all properties from an item. Right click this item then left click on a magic, rare or unique item to apply it. |
| File:Orb orboftransmutation.png | Orb of Transmutation | 40 | Upgrades a normal item to a magic item. Right click this item then left click a normal item to apply it. |
| File:Orb portalscroll.png | Portal Scroll | 40 | Creates a portal to town. Right click on this item to use it. |
| File:Orb regalorb.png | Regal Orb | 10 | Upgrades a magic item to a rare item. Right click this item then left click a magic item to apply it. Current properties are retained and a new one is added. |
| File:Orb scrollofwisdom.png | Scroll of Wisdom | 40 | Identifies an item. Right click this item then left click an unidentified item to apply it. |
Shards and Fragments
Shards and fragments are obtained by selling items to vendors. They can be combined to form certain currecy items by stacking them.
| Icon | Name | Stack Size | Combines Into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scroll Fragment | 5 | Scroll of Wisdom | |
| Transmutation Shard | 20 | Orb of Transmutation | |
| Alteration Shard | 20 | Orb of Alteration | |
| Alchemy Shard | 20 | Orb of Alchemy |
Vendor Prices Chart
Most orbs are purchasable vendors, and can thus be ranked like coins in normal currency. There are several progression tables below showing who sells what and what their equivalent value is in a measurable orbs.
Currency items that have scraps are italicised.
| Main Progression | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Orb | Price | Value in Alts | Location |
| Orb of Fusing | 4 Jewellers | 8 | Act 2 (Yeena) |
| Jeweller's Orb | 2 Alterations | 2 | Act 2 (Yeena) |
| Orb of Alteration | 4 Augmentations | 1 | Act 1 (Nessa) |
| Orb of Augmentation | 4 Transmutations | 1/4 | Act 1 (Nessa) |
| Orb of Transmutation | 7 Portals | 1/16 | Act 1 (Nessa) |
| Portal Scroll | 3 Wisdoms | 1/112 | Act 1 (Nessa) |
| Scroll of Wisdom | baseline currency | 1/336 | -- |
| Chance Progression | |||
| Orb of Regret | 2 Scourings | -- | Act 2 (Yeena) |
| Orb of Scouring | 4 Chance | -- | Act 2 (Yeena) |
| Orb of Chance | baseline currency | -- | -- |
| Scraps Progression | |||
| Blacksmith Whetstone | 3 Armourer's scraps | -- | Act 2 (Greust) |
| Armourer's scraps | 1 Blacksmith Whetstone | -- | Act 1 (Tarkleigh) |
Quick note on vendors and player economy
What the vendor prices do is to set s base-relative value of different orbs on the same upgrade path. Note that since player's can't, say, downgrade 1 fusing into 8 alts, he may be willing to sell it for less. ( like 7, don't gauge too much. ;) ) High-level players will tend to accumulate rarer currencies, and when they begin rolling maps and running them, may run out of smaller denominations such as wisdom scrolls and alts.
Converting between orbs that aren't on the vendor table is more tricky and based on supply/demand and drop-rates. There is a "community concensus" on alc-chaos ratios and alch-fusing ratiosm, and a thread or two in the forums. Don't forget that barter trading is not just what it is worth, it is also what you are willing to pay. ;)