Guide:Currency creation and trading

This is a guide on the subject of accumulating currency for the purpose of trading.

Last updated on July 10, 2020‎.

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Trading

Trading is a core Path of Exile feature, helping players exchange items. Currency is the term used as a universal term using in the context of trading. It can be differentiated into two broad categories: Raw currency and items with a trade value. Raw currencies are items like the Chaos OrbsChaos OrbStack Size: 20Reforges a rare item with new random modifiersRight click this item then left click a rare item to apply it. and Exalted OrbsExalted OrbStack Size: 20Augments a rare item with a new random modifierRight click this item then left click a rare item to apply it. Rare items can have up to six random modifiers., historically they have been considered the equivalent of what we call in the real world money. Every item in the game has a trade "value" their "price" changes non-stop every minute, based on supply, demand, popularity, and game updates. For example, a player that uses swords for their build finds a good staff. This item has no direct use for them, but might be very good for another player. They can trade the staff in exchange for some currency and then use the currency to buy a better sword for themselves. Trades that exchange an item for another item are obscenely rare and offers to do so are rarely in good faith of some party. Be sure to know exactly what every item in the trade is worth before accepting anything else than raw currency.

Most players sell their items through Premium Stash Tabs and trade-index sites like the official Path of Exile Trade website. This microtransaction allows you to set the price you want for item as a note on them. This note will be indexed by the trade sites and then appear as a result when other players search for it.

How much currency is needed

Path of Exile is a flexible game with a ton of features. Players do not need to trade at all to beat the game. In fact, there is the "Solo Self-Found" game mode or SSF, where trading items with other players is disabled. When creating a character, you can click a box at the bottom of the league banner.

However, trading allows you to use items, you did not find by yourself and help other players with items they may want. Some players create “build guides” for other players which include a list of gear items, they are supposed to have or to buy on market in order for the showcased playstyle to be working as advertised.

Some players consider trading a fun meta-game by itself. They spend their time looking for bargain deals and list them for the value they expect them to fetch or buy items and improve them, so they are easier found by players looking for a specific item from a guide.

Many players like to buy six-linked items or fusing orbs, needed to create six-linked items, in order to better deal with the challenge of the game. Most players buy rare items, suitable for their builds. Some build guides require using one or several specific unique items for them to work.

For example, energy-shield-based character builds require you to either find items with high energy-shield or buy from other players.

Again, players do not need to be involved in trading. It is just a popular game feature, you can have fun with and achieve goals quicker.

Efficiency

The basic idea of making currency is money made compared to the time spent. Players are always creating value. Every action in the game takes time: killing monsters, picking loot, movement, porting to map and back, trading with vendors and other players, putting items in the stash. So many players try to focus on making more currency in a limited time: hour, evening, weekend. As a new player, you should not worry about this too much. It's more important to have fun than checking how much chaos/hour you are getting by playing.

The most basic ways of improving your “currency per time” rely on increasing the value of the content you are playing. Here is a run down of a few simple tricks.

Increasing map value:

• Crafting maps to increase pack size, item quantity, and item quality with Cartographer's ChiselCartographer's ChiselStack Size: 20Improves the quality of a mapRight click this item then left click a map to apply it. Has greater effect on lower-rarity maps. The maximum quality is 20%., Orb of TransmutationOrb of TransmutationStack Size: 40Upgrades a normal item to a magic itemRight click this item then left click a normal item to apply it. or Orb of AlchemyOrb of AlchemyStack Size: 20Upgrades a normal item to a rare itemRight click this item then left click a normal item to apply it..
• Using Prophecy to add more monsters.
• Using Sextants to add monsters to maps.
• Doing Master missions to add monsters to maps.

Improving map clear time:

• Increasing character AOE and single target damage.
• Using movement skills.
• Increasing movement speed.
• Reducing time spent on collecting loot, interacting with map objects, backtracking with the help of an Item Filter.
• Reducing the number of teleports to hideout or town.
• Reducing time spent in hideout or town.

Generating raw currency

A lucky player can get more exalted orbs from trading than from killing monsters, but where this currency came from at the very beginning? Almost all currency is created by killing monsters and opening reward boxes. Players kill a lot of monsters every day. Some players have a goal to reach a certain character level by killing enough monsters. Other players kill a lot of monsters to get rewards after achieving a certain goal with their actions.

A popular method to improve the value of collecting currency from monster kills is using a Item Filter to highlight currency items, highlight high-value items, and completely hide low-value drops. Picking fewer items is spending less time to get currency. Arcanist's Strongboxes drop raw currency when opened. Some players take their time to craft them before opening, to increase item quantity with Engineer's OrbsEngineer's OrbStack Size: 20Improves the quality of a StrongboxRight click this item then left click a Strongbox to apply it. Has greater effect on lower rarity Strongboxes. The maximum quality is 20%. and rarity changing currencies like Orb of TransmutationOrb of TransmutationStack Size: 40Upgrades a normal item to a magic itemRight click this item then left click a normal item to apply it., Orb of ChanceOrb of ChanceStack Size: 20Upgrades a normal item to a random rarityRight click this item then left click a normal item to apply it. or Orb of AlchemyOrb of AlchemyStack Size: 20Upgrades a normal item to a rare itemRight click this item then left click a normal item to apply it.. There is a discussion in the community if this is worth the effort later on, but for getting some chaos if you really need them, it is definitely worth it.

Vendor recipes

The Vendor recipe system can be used to make currency. Here are some examples:

• A set of rare items above iLvL 61 sales for a Chaos OrbChaos OrbStack Size: 20Reforges a rare item with new random modifiersRight click this item then left click a rare item to apply it..
• Six socketed items for 7x Jeweller's OrbsJeweller's OrbStack Size: 20Reforges the number of sockets on an itemRight click this item then left click a socketed item to apply it. The item's quality increases the chances of obtaining more sockets..
• Six linked items for a Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 20Randomises the values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it..
• An item with linked red, green, and blue sockets item for a Chromatic OrbChromatic OrbStack Size: 20Reforges the colour of sockets on an itemRight click this item then left click a socketed item to apply it..
• Any number of gems totaling 40% or more total quality for a Gemcutter's PrismGemcutter's PrismStack Size: 20Improves the quality of a gemRight click this item then left click a gem to apply it. The maximum quality is 20%..

It is personal preference whether collecting and vendor trading items for the currency worth spending time in terms of efficiency and currency per hour.

Loreweave

Loreweave is another vendor recipe. Consider saving or buying 60 unneeded unique rings to vendor trade them for Loreweave and then selling it to other players. Perform trade search to find Loreweave price. Is it worth the time to collect or buy 60 rings? If there is a big gap between the ring prices and the value of a Loreweave, you might want to invest your time and currency into this exchange.

Divination cards

Some Divination cards are used for direct currency generation without trading with other players. Collect full stack of the divination card and trade it for currency with Tasuni or Navali.

List of divination cards granting currency

Six socketed and six linked items

Six-linked items can be sold to a vendor for a Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 20Randomises the values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.. So the value of a divine is the minimum price for any six-linked item on the market. Most of the time six-linked items have a higher value to players, because it can be crafted to or already good stats. Six-linked items provide the opportunity to increase active skill power with up to five support gems. The most famous six-link item is Tabula Rasa. You can get it as a unique item drop, divination cards like Humility and Vanity, or the prophecy Cleanser of Sins. Humility is an uncommon drop in the Act 9 Zone [The Blood Aqueduct] and endgame maps like Waterways and Channel.

Delve

Delve or delving means exploring the Azurite Mine.

Finding loot in delve requires sulphite. It is a reward for Niko map missions. How to get more sulphite:

• Players get one Niko mission for free every day its color is based on the last map color done before the reset
• Killing a map boss has a chance to reward a Niko mission, based on the color of the map complete
• Using Sulphite Scarabs adds Niko mission to maps.
• there is a chance for random Niko mission spawn on maps when a player opens one without scarabs or master mission choice

Once enough sulphite is accumulated, players can start delving.

There are several ways to get currency from delve, either by direct drop or trading valuable items with other players. The direct method and azurite farming are good for beginners because they can do it on any comfortable depth level and without much skill and risk.

Direct currency

There are currency nodes with currency icons and descriptions. Just travel there and collect the reward. Also, reaching any node has will reward drops for clearing all monsters, just like on maps. Special nodes, like Vaal Outposts, have currency chests. So it may be worth checking them out as well.

Azurite

Players need to farm azurite to improve their character’s stats in delve, like darkness resistance. However, it is possible to trade azurite for Resonators with Niko. Check resonator prices on the market and pick the one with the most value per azurite. Players may wish to buy them in larger packs for crafting. If it is profitable enough, target farm azurite nodes in delve, convert it to resonators and sell it on market.

Fossils

Players tend to buy fossils on the market in large packs. So it is worth farming them in delve. There are nodes with fossils explicitly visible on delve map, but they are rare. A more common way to find fossils is to explore darkness in side-passages or behind breakable walls. Use flares to avoid the darkness damage on the way and blow up walls with dynamite. Such side passages with fossils behind walls are common in long delve corridors and sometimes visible from the path of the crawler.

This method is a bit more advanced and requires practice with understanding delve layouts. The Azurite mine map is a grid. All grid points contain something, either marked on the map or not. If the map has empty space in place of the supposed node, it means there will be a long corridor next to it, in turn, meaning must be hidden something there behind a wall.

Immortal Syndicate

Players interact with Immortal Syndicate members by doing Jun missions. There are several different approaches to organize Jun’s syndicate “map”. They all have pros and cons. Learning them, understanding, and implementing them requires advanced game experience and separate guides.

Beginner players do not have to involve with all syndicate manipulating details. Here are the basics. Choose several members with good rewards. Try to increase their ranks by executing them and promote them to lead their safehouse. Run safehouse for rewards when they are ready, as this type of encounter will not spawn while the safehouse intel is full. Sell rewards to other players or use them. Choosing members is based on rewards. Refer to Immortal Syndicate page. Here are some high market demand ones:

• It That Fled in Research provides craft to upgrade breachstones.
• Tora in Research provides craft to level up gems.
• Cameria in Intervention provides chests with Sulphite Scarabs.
• Vagan in Intervention provides chests with Legion Scarabs.
• Hillock in Fortification allows you to upgrade the quality of an armor piece to up to 30%.
• Korell in Fortification gives Atziri fragments that can be used as juice for your maps.
• Rin in Transportation tries to give you maps you haven't completed yet.

Also many other syndicate members provide chests with different scarabs. Check scarab prices on Trade.

Bestiary

Bestiary is Einhars master mission mechanic. It rewards players with beasts in the menagerie. You can itemize them with Bestiary Orbs and sell to other players.

There are several different ways to get Einhar’s mission: daily mission, killing map boss, opening a map with no other missions, and using a Bestiary Scarab.

Players help Einar to capture beasts by reducing enemy HP to a minimum. Then you can visit Menagerie, buy Bestiary OrbBestiary OrbStack Size: 10Stores a Beast in an itemRight click on this item then left click on a Beast in your Menagerie to itemise the Beast., find your beast in the menu (default H)>Bestiary>Caputred Beasts, itemize it, and sell to other players. Some beasts reward currency by killing in the arena directly.

Actual market prices are based on popularity and change with time and game updates. Usually, players like to buy beasts for crafting and for opening portals to bestiary bosses. Here are some examples to check prices:

• Farric Ape - unique belt
• Craicic Chimeral - imprint
• Farric Lynx Alpha - Add a Suffix, Remove a Prefix
• Farric Wolf Alpha - Add a Prefix, Remove a Suffix
• Farric Tiger Alpha - Farrul's Den Portal
• Saqawine Rhex - Saqawal's Roost Portal
• Fenumal Hybrid Arachnid - Fenumus' Lair Portal
• Craicic Spider Crab - Craiceann's Cove Portal

Atzoatl

The Temple of Atzoatl is a temple with many rooms.

Alva will open portals to it after a player completes enough missions for her. Minimum is 4 missions, 3 incursions each, 12 incursions total. The same room can not occur twice in the same map, so some players prefer to delay Alva quests to manipulate room incursion probabilities.

If nothing else, Alva provides a lot of additional monsters on each map. It increased the total quantity of item drops, including currency. Atzoatl itself is a free map.

Direct currency rooms are:

• Vault, Treasury, and Wealth of the Vaal.

Some players prefer to target farm other room for a small chance of very valuable reward.

• Apex of Ascension - upgrading specific unique items with Vials
• Locus of Corruption - double-corrupt items
• Doryani's Institute - double-corrupt gems
• Museum of Artifacts - all other room rewards and rarely old league unique items
• Atlas of Worlds - maps
• Court of Sealed Death - strongboxes
• Hall of Mettle, Hall of Heroes, Hall of Legends - legion encounter, only appear in areas above lvl 68

Legion

Legion is league mechanics included into core Path of Exile. Occasionally players encounter Timeless Monoliths. After activating they start Legion encounter. There are several ways to generate a timeless monolith:

• They have a chance to spawn in a maps.
• As a Delve node in the Azurite Mine.
• As a room in The Temple of Atzoatl (the Hall of Mettle room and its upgraded versions).
• As a sextant affix.
• With the use of a Legion Scarab.

Some legion monsters and chests with Chaos OrbChaos OrbStack Size: 20Reforges a rare item with new random modifiersRight click this item then left click a rare item to apply it. icons drop currency directly. A common reward for each legion encounter are timeless splinters. Collect 100 splinters to assemble a timeless emblem. These emblems usually are in high demand on the market.

Legion generals are special mini-bosses at the very edge of the encounter. You know that one of them spawned when a beam indicates their position from the monolith. They drop a bigger stack of splinters when defeated.

Legion encounters can randomly reward players with incubators. They can be sold well to other players. Check market prices. Fine incubators and Ornate incubators generate currency directly. Other popular incubators are:

• Geomancer's Incubator - six linked item (can be traded for divine orb value or more).
• Thaumaturge's Incubator - high level gem
• Time-Lost Incubator - old league unique item
• Foreboding Incubator - valuable currency shards
• Skittering Incubator - scarabs

Blight

You will meet Blight encounters in maps. After successfully completing a blight encounter players are rewarded with chests of items. Common blight rewards are oils and blighted maps. Blighted maps are just a giant blight encounter. You can sell blighted maps to other players. They usually have a relatively high cost. If the player is capable of doing a blighted map successfully, they are rewarded with many blight chests. Upgrade oils with the 3-to-1 vendor recipe until you get good enough oil, worth spending time trading. Oils are used in augmenting amulets, rings, and blighted maps. Check prices of the following oils:

• Opalescent OilOpalescent OilStack Size: 10
  Oil Tier: 11Can be combined with other Oils at Cassia to Enchant Rings or Amulets, or to modify Blighted Maps.
• Silver OilSilver OilStack Size: 10
  Oil Tier: 12Can be combined with other Oils at Cassia to Enchant Rings or Amulets, or to modify Blighted Maps.
• Golden OilGolden OilStack Size: 10
  Oil Tier: 13Can be combined with other Oils at Cassia to Enchant Rings or Amulets, or to modify Blighted Maps.
• Tainted OilTainted OilStack Size: 10
  Oil Tier: 0Can be combined with other oils at Cassia to enchant corrupted rings, amulets or blighted maps.

Metamorph

Players encounter Metamorphs in maps. It involves collecting monster organs and assembling a metamorph, mini-boss enemies. Different organs have different rewards. There are direct currency reward options and rewards from other leagues: oils, incubators, scarabs, fossils.

Metamorphs, killed in maps, while having full difficulty bar, drops unique organs of map bosses. Assembly the 5 different types Metamorph organs to fight metamorph boss in Tane's Laboratory. The rewards of this Metamorph are determined by the organs used. Many players look for organs with the most "drops additional currency items" mod on them when assembling a monster.

Catalysts are the special metamorph league rewards, used to increase jewelry quality. Players can sell catalysts to other players.

Delirium

Players can encounter Delirium mirrors after defeating Innocent (High Templar Avarius in all areas after The Torched Courts (Act 5). After going through the mirror, delirium empowers existing and adds new monsters to the map. Kill as many as possible while in the fog and go further away from the mirror as the fog slowly dissipates. The reward type is shown during the encounter at the bottom of the screen. There is a direct currency reward, looking like a Chaos OrbChaos OrbStack Size: 20Reforges a rare item with new random modifiersRight click this item then left click a rare item to apply it.. Other league rewards are also found in delirium: oils, incubators, scarabs, fossils.

Harvest

Harvest is a mechanic, allowing players to harvest plants in the groves spawning in maps. When encountering a grove you will fine three to four plots of two fields right next to each other. You choose one by clicking on it, causing the other to wilt. Clicking again starts the encounter. To easily make currency, you want to be on the lookout for the exchange crafts, swapping essences, fragments and delirium orbs. You buy/have a maximum stack of the worst item in the category and use the exchange every time until you have something you feel like selling. Crafts can easily be used on large or medium cluster jewels, getting two passives on mediums and three on large is worth checking the price for.

Gems

Some players level gems in weapon swap to sell on the market. The rarest and the most valuable are awakened gems but they are hard to find for most beginner players. Drop-only gems may be easier option to start with. This should be done by players that have upgraded all their own gems already, other players might want to achieve this goal for themselves first. Once the gem reaches level 20, sell it with one to get a level 1 gem with 20% quality. Level them again to get a level 20 gem with 20% quality. You now have three options:

• sell the gem as is to other players if you don't feel like gambling and just get the safe payout
• use a Vaal OrbVaal OrbStack Size: 20Corrupts an item, modifying it unpredictablyRight click this item then left click an item to corrupt it. Corrupted items cannot be modified again. trying to get a lvl 21 gem or get 23% quality, this might work, but corrupted 20/20 gems are worth less
• keep the and use the Doryani's Institute to try for two vaaling outcomes, for example a 21/23 gem.

There is also a Harvest craft which allows you to try to awaken a gem with a corresponding awakened gem (See Awakened Support Skill Gems There are also Harvest crafts that allow you to sacrifice corrupted gems to either gain s or Facetor's Lenses

Labyrinth

Players must complete The Lord's Labyrinth to progress in the ascendancy tree of their characters.

Izaro's Treasure at the end has a chance to give multiple currency items. Also, some assorted chests in the labyrinth itself drop currency as well: Labyrinth Trove, Emperor's Trove, Emperor's Treasury, Emperor's Vault.

When farming the Labyrinth for currency, you want to get as many Silver Keys as you need to open all Silver Doors on your way through the lab. You don't want to go out of your way to get these, as the rewards from the final room are most of the time better. This in turn means you want to collect all 4 Treasure Keys, 3 from gauntlets and puzzles and 1 from Argus.

Endgame bosses

Killing bosses for loot is a natural popular concept of all RPG games, including Path of Exile. This requires some decent gear investment and is not easy for the most part.

Refer to endgame part of List of unique monsters.