Guide:Frequently asked questions

This page is intended to provide useful information not necessarily covered in the official FAQ or the first post of the new player forum thread. Global chat tends to see the same questions repeated, so feel free to direct people here and add questions/answers of your own. (Make sure your information is correct!)

The Path of Exile subreddit also has a list of useful guides and resources here.

Official

http://www.pathofexile.com/faq Note: this page is fairly outdated.

Click this text to expand/collapse section

How do I sign up for the game?

By creating an account on the site. You'll have game access immediately!

What character classes can I play?

There are seven character classes in Path of Exile - the Marauder, the Ranger, the Witch, the Duelist, the Templar, the Shadow and the Scion. These classes represent the attributes of strength, dexterity, intelligence, a strength/dexterity hybrid, strength/intelligence, a dexterity/intelligence hybrid, and a generalist respectively.

What are attributes?

Our three attributes are strength, dexterity and intelligence. Path of Exile's character classes, items, monsters and skills (both active and passive) are designed around being aligned with some ratio of these attributes. For example, a short sword might be aligned with 50% strength/50% dexterity. This means that it would be most suitable for use by a strength, dexterity or hybrid character class. Similarly, a monster that is aligned with 100% intelligence would have its damage and armor values biased in favor of intelligence mechanics.

What's the difference between the character classes?

Besides the obvious aesthetic differences, the classes in Path of Exile are quite diverse. Each starts with different base attributes, and has a specific starting point in the passive skill tree. It's still completely possible to make a Marauder with lots of dexterity, or a Ranger with plenty of intelligence, but you'll be most effective sticking with your character's preferred attribute. The classes also differ in the possible Ascendancy classes they have available.

What does Path of Exile cost to play?

Path of Exile is 100% free to play, for everyone, forever. Our website will allow the purchase of many in-game perks and aesthetic upgrades, but all of these are completely optional, and players can have a complete, fulfilling gaming experience without spending a penny.

I still don't understand how it's free to play - what's the catch?

There is no catch at all, once you download the client you are free to play for as long as you like, with no charge. The purchasable perks do not convey any gameplay benefit, but help you create a unique look for your character and its fighting style.

What makes Path of Exile different from other games in the Action RPG genre?

Countless things make Path of Exile different, but here is a short list of the ones we feel most set us apart.

   A gritty dark fantasy setting, supporting a hostile cutthroat atmosphere.
   Free to play on online servers with persistent character storage in a secure economy.
   A unique active skill system that will allow any class to use any skills in the game and augment/combine them how they see fit.
   A haunting fixed-perspective 3D game world, constructed with incredible attention to detail.
   Deep passive skill system that eschews the mere allocation of stat points when levels are gained
   Incredibly complex and sophisticated item system with literally unlimited possibilities.
   A random generation system for monster loot that is dynamic and tremendously exciting.

What platforms are supported by the game?

Path of Exile will initially launch with support for Windows. No Mac support has been announced yet, but it's something we'll investigate after release.

Will you support languages other than English?

Yes, we intend to support other languages once the game has been released.

Are there defined roles for players, like tanking, healing and sustained damage?

While we don't have concrete defined roles for any class, there's enough customization with passive and active skills that a player can focus on one type of play. A Marauder, for example, can load up on hit point buffing skills and taunts, and a Ranger could focus purely on offensive skills. We do not intend to have a dedicated healer role.

What is the level cap?

A level cap of 100 is currently planned, but players will find that they level up more slowly as they gain experience. You'll need to be very high level and be very well-geared to contend with the end game content on the hardest difficulty level. These diminishing returns mean that the game doesn't suddenly end when the player hits some arbitrary point. If a player wanted, they could improve a single character for years on end.

I really love PvP, do you support that?

Yes! In addition to the PvE content, Path of Exile will contain many PvP elements, including random arenas, a ranking system, seasonal ladders and unique PvP item rewards. The game has a tremendously fun and rewarding PvP experience.

What are the hardware requirements for Path of Exile?

Path of Exile is designed to run on a huge variety of systems, from an everyday laptop to a top of the line gaming rig. Our detailed art is designed to not only look great, but also reveal additional detail as the resolution is increased to the maximum of 2560x1600.

At the moment, you will need a Graphics Card with Pixel Shader 3.0 or higher, and a CPU that supports SSE2. At least 2GB of RAM is recommended, and older Integrated Graphics Cards will not run well.

Can I post and monetise videos of Path of Exile on YouTube? Can I stream it?

Yes, you may post (and monetise) videos of Path of Exile on YouTube. You may stream it on twitch.tv and other streaming sites. These streams may be monetised. Thanks very much for helping spread the word!

General

How can I check frame rate/latency/etc?

Press F1

What does ___ mean?

Check the Acronyms page for a list of common acronyms and abbreviations.

What are the specific differences between classes?

Main page: Character Classes

Character class determines your starting attributes, your starting position on the skill tree, and your quest rewards. Each class also gets access to three (or just one for the Scion) different Ascendancy classes later in the game to help further specialize your character.

How do I unlock the Scion?

The first time you reach the end of Act 3 in Normal difficulty, the Scion will be encountered shortly before the final boss fight. After clicking on her cage, she will appear in the character selection screen. Killing Dominus will also unlock her if you missed the cage.

Do stats increase when I level up?

The following stats increases with levels. {{#ask:

-Has subobject::Character
Has stat id::~*per_level*
[[Has stat value::>>0]]
|?Has stat text=
|format=ul
|sort=Has stat text
|mainlabel=- 

}} Strength/Dexterity/Intelligence must be increased with passive skills or items.

What do attributes do?

Main page: Attributes

Strength	+0.5 life and +0.2% melee physical damage per point
Dexterity	+2 accuracy and +0.2% evasion per point
Intelligence	+0.5 mana and +0.2% energy shield per point

Items and skills can also have attribute requirements.

Are there caps on any stats?

• Resistances are normally capped at Template:SMW character query%, but this can be increased by certain auras, flasks or unique items.
• The physical damage reduction from armour and other sources such as endurance charges is capped at Template:SMW character query%.
• Chance to hit cannot go higher than 95% or lower than 5%. The exception is Resolute Technique.
• Chance to block is capped at Template:SMW character query%, but can be increased with the unique item The AnvilThe Anvil
  Amber AmuletRequires Level 45+(20-30) to Strength(10-15)% Chance to Block Attack Damage
  10% reduced Attack Speed
  10% reduced Cast Speed
  +(400-500) to Armour
  (34-48) Life gained when you Block
  (18-24) Mana gained when you Block
  +3% to maximum Chance to Block Attack Damage
  Reflects 240 to 300 Physical Damage to Attackers on BlockForge your Perseverance on the Anvil of Faith.

What's the difference between "local" and "global" modifiers?

Local modifiers will only affect the item they're on, and global modifiers affect your entire character. For example, the global critical chance increase from daggers increases the chance of all your skills critting, but the local accuracy bonus from one-handed swords only affects attacks that use the sword.

What's the difference between "implicit" and "explicit" modifiers?

Wands give implicit spell damage.

Some types of equipment come with implicit modifiers that improve the item. Explicit modifiers are specifically added to items with magic, rare, or unique rarity. Implicit and explicit modifiers are separated by a line.

What's the difference between "increased" and "more"?

"X increased/decreased by y%" refers to an additive modifier, and "y% more/less" refers to a multiplicative modifier. If you don't know what this means, see Stats.

Are macros allowed?

Only 1 server-side action per macro is allowed. For example a Out-Of-Sync macro is allowed. A OOS-macro opens the chat box, types \oos then sends the text. The server only sees the command "\oos", therefore it is an allowed macro.

What's the difference between lockstep and predictive mode?

Main page: Networking mode

They are both networking modes, and which one you should choose depends on your latency and personal preference. Lockstep mode keeps the client and server synchronized, but you everytime you move/click, you have a delay of whatever your ping is. On predictive mode there is no delay, but your character may experience desync.

Social

How do I join a party?

Main page: Partying

You can see the list of public parties by opening the Social window (default S) and clicking the "Public Parties" tab. Clicking a town's noticeboard will also open the window. The list only shows the parties in your current Act and difficulty that are not full (six players maximum). Most parties are friendly and are completing quests or farming an area.

What is item allocation?

To balance the amounts of currency and valuable items each player gets, certain items (like those with Rare or Unique rarity) are assigned to a random player. All other players will see the item appear as a grey box. Short Allocation means the item will become available to everyone after a few seconds, but Permanent Allocation has no time limit. Free For All Allocation does not balance items.

How do I add someone to my Friend list?

Right-click on their name in chat, or their character if you are in the same area, and choose "Add as Friend". They will be notified and must accept the friend request. In the Social window you can see which friends are online and which character they are playing, with their current area, difficulty, and league. You can also write notes describing each friend.

What are guilds?

Main page: Guild

Being in a guild with other people is similar to having them on your Friend list, but you can also use a private guild chat channel and share items in a guild stash.

How do I visit someone's hideout?

Main page: Hideout

In the "Current Party" tab of the Social window, right-click on their name and select "Visit Hideout". You must be in a town or another hideout.

Inventory

Main page: Stash

How do I quickly move items between inventory, stash, and vendor screens?

Ctrl-Click

How do I split stacks of items?

Shift-Click

Do I have a separate stash for each league?

Yes. Any extra stash tabs you purchased will also apply to each stash.

What are "remove only" tabs?

When a temporary league ends, its stash is merged with your Standard or Hardcore stash, depending on the type of league. Race rewards are added to your stash in the same way. If you don't have any empty tabs available, you are given extra tabs that you can take items out of but not use as extra storage. If a "remove only" tab is completely empty when you log out, it will be deleted.

Leagues

Main page: Leagues

What's the difference between Hardcore and Standard?

There are no gameplay or quest differences (increased drop rates, stronger monsters, etc). The only difference is that Hardcore has permanent death as an extra challenge, by means of moving you to Standard. (The admins will not move your character back if you die, except in extreme cases like game patches adding dangerous and widespread bugs.)

Will dying in PvP in Hardcore send me to Standard?

No.

If I join a race, what happens to that character afterwards?

The character is sent to the Hardcore league. If you want to move to Standard, enter an area and die. Certain races with increased drop rates, such as Descent, send your character to an unplayable null league instead until you delete them.

Can you trade items between leagues?

No, since players have to be in the same instance. However you can send items from a Hardcore league to Standard by dying.

Do I lose my characters when a challenge league ends?

No, they are transferred to their parented permanent league (either Standard or Hardcore) along with their stash.

When does a league start/end?

The two latest leagues are shown in the table below. Timezone is UTC. {{#ask: Is event::Challenge league |?Has release date = Release date |?Has end date = End date |mainlabel = League |searchlabel= |limit=2 |sort=Has release date |order=desc }}

Chat

Main page: Chat Console

Is chat separated by league?

Yes.

Is there only one channel per league?

No, chat is instanced. The default channel that you automatically join is Global 1, but if the channel is full you move to the lowest empty channel. You can switch to channel x by typing /global x or /trade x, where x is any number.

How do I link items in chat?

Ctrl-Alt-Click (If the chat window isn't open already, this will open it)

What's the shortcut to reply to whispers?

Ctrl-Enter (If the chat window isn't open already, this will open it)

Gameplay

How do I change difficulty?

Main page: Difficulty

After you finish the game on Normal your character unlocks Cruel, which covers the four acts again at higher levels with tougher monsters. Finishing Cruel unlocks Merciless, and reaching Lady Dialla on Merciless unlocks the Eternal Laboratory where Maps can be played. Note that you unlock difficulties for each character - new characters always start in Normal.

Characters gets resistance penalties for each difficulty. There is also an experience penalty when the character dies in higher difficulties. This will not cause you to lose a level.

Is there a waypoint in area x?

In the World screen (press U to open), areas with a waypoint will have a blue icon to the right of their name.

How do I activate waypoints?

Waypoints must be clicked to "activate" them for future use. Just entering an area or walking by a waypoint doesn't allow you to teleport there later.

There are some exceptions: The Prisoner's Gate waypoint is given for killing Brutus, the Southern Forest waypoint is given for killing Merveil, the City of Sarn waypoint is given for killing Vaal Oversoul, and the Twilight Strand waypoint in Cruel and Merciless is given when you talk to Dialla after killing the final boss. This was added so players don't have to fight a major boss again if their game crashes before reaching the next area.

How do I reset an instance or join a specific instance?

Ctrl-Click on the entrance to the area and the instance menu will appear. You can also do this in the waypoint menu by ctrl-clicking the area node.

Is there a minimap?

There are two maps:

• Pressing tab brings up a full-screen transparent map that you can explore with the arrow keys. The top right also has information about the current area and league.
• In the UI tab of the options menu, checking the minimap option adds a map in the upper right corner. The transparency can be adjusted with the slider.

What affects movement speed?

Movement speed can be seen in the Character screen (press C). Equipping body armour or a shield decreases movement speed, with the specific value depending on the base item type. In general, Strength armour has greater penalties than Dexterity and Intelligence armour. Movement speed modifiers ranging from +10% to +30% can appear on boots. There are also passive skills related to movement speed. Finally, certain unique items affect movement speed.

There is no cap on movement speed.

How do flasks work?

Main page: Flask

Flasks consume their charges to recover some amount of life/mana over time. Normal monsters grant 1 charge each, magic monsters grant 3.5 charges each, and rare and unique monsters grant 6 charges each.

If you reach your maximum life and/or mana before the end of the recovery time, the flask effect will end prematurely. When multiple flasks are used at the same time, the effects are queued. The effect with the highest regeneration rate is always applied first. For example:

You have two flasks, one that gives 500 life recovery over 10 seconds and has a 20% increased movement speed modifier, and a second that gives 500 life recovery of 5 seconds with no additional modifiers. You use the first flask and gain the movement speed while recovering life. After one second, you use the second flask. At this point the remaining 9 seconds from the first flask is queued, and the second flask begins its effect. Once the second flask has expired, the first flask resumes its effect for the remaining duration.

Are there penalties for being over/underleveled?

Every area has a monster level, which you can see on the world screen or by pressing Tab. If your character is too high level compared to the monster level a penalty to the drop rate will come in effect, this penalty isn't in effect in very high areas. See drop rate for further details.

The experience penalty is more complicated. Characters have a "safe range" of levels where the experience penalty isn't in effect, it will however take effect once the character is over- and underleveled. The penalty formula is on the experience page. The penalty increases fairly quickly so being too under-/overleveled isn't recommended for effective leveling.

What bonus does dual wielding give?

{{#ask:

-Has subobject::Character
Has stat id::~*dual_wield*
|?Has stat text=
|format=ul
|sort=Has stat text
|mainlabel=- 

}}

Do I have to crit to inflict status effects? What else affects them?

Under normal conditions, yes. "Chilled" is the exception, and can come from normal hits with enough cold damage. The elemental damage of a critical strike is compared to the enemy's maximum life to end up with a duration for each status ailment. See Shock, Chill, Freeze and Ignite for further reading about status ailments.

If you have Chaos Inoculation, the calculation uses the max life you would normally have without the Keystone. Although mobs have increased life in parties, status effects use their base life for calculations.

What do charges do?

Charges are temporary buffs that can be created by certain skills and consumed by others. See Charge for more information.

Skills

Main page: Skills

Is there an easier way to plan my character's passive skill tree?

There are several skill tree/gem/item planners out that can be downloaded. See List of Path of Exile related applications for more information.

There are also fan sites with build planners and other interesting information. See List of Path of Exile related websites for more information.

Is there a way to bypass the passive skill allocation confirmation?

Yes. Holding Ctrl while selecting a passive node will immediately allocate the skill point and confirm it.

How do skill gems get experience?

Equipped skill gems get experience equal to 10% of the experience you gain. Equipping more gems doesn't divide the experience; all gems get the 10%. Gems are not affected by any experience penalties.

Do gems in my second weapon set gain experience when I'm not using them?

Yes. This is convenient if you need to level a lot of gems.

Can you link multiples of one support gem to a skill?

Yes, but they don't stack. Only the highest level gem will take effect.

Do support gems need to be placed next to a skill gem?

No. As long as they are in the same link group, gems will affect each other.

Can a support gem affect more than one skill?

Yes, it affects every skill in the link group.

What's the difference between attacks and spells?

Attacks are affected by your equipped weapon, while spells are based only on your stats. "Attack" is not a general word for anything offensive.

Does support x work with skill y?

As a general rule, the keywords of the support gem need to be included in the skill gem. (Keywords are the category words near the top of the mouseover description, such as "Attack" or "Projectile".) Exceptions are the words "Fire", "Cold", "Lightning", and "Chaos"; supports like Added Fire Damage will affect any damage-dealing skill. "Bow" is equivalent to "Projectile". Below are answers to common questions:

• only works with Attack skills. works with everything that deals damage.
• and have 100% pierce chance, so it doesn't work with or .
• won't make endurance charges gained from last longer. It only affects the skill itself, which is instantaneous.

Items

Which items should I identify?

Items with a rarity other than Normal must be identified with a Scroll of WisdomScroll of WisdomStack Size: 40Identifies an itemRight click this item then left click an unidentified item to apply it. before you can see their modifiers and equip them. Selling unidentified items at a vendor returns Transmutation ShardTransmutation ShardStack Size: 20A stack of 20 shards becomes an Orb of Transmutation., while selling identified items gives Alteration ShardAlteration ShardStack Size: 20A stack of 20 shards becomes an Orb of Alteration. and Alchemy ShardAlchemy ShardStack Size: 20A stack of 20 shards becomes an Orb of Alchemy. depending on their modifiers. Since Orb of AlterationOrb of AlterationStack Size: 20Reforges a magic item with new random modifiersRight click this item then left click a magic item to apply it. and 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. are much more valuable than 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., it is worth identifying items that you plan on selling.

In general, all rare and unique items should be picked up and identified. Magic items are useful to pick up if you need better equipment or if you need more alteration orbs and have a lot of extra wisdom scrolls.

What does quality do?

Main page: Quality

All weapons, armour, flasks, gems, and maps can have a quality bonus between +1% and +20%. Items dropped as loot may have a random quality, and quality can be increased by using currency items.

Using a quality-increasing item will raise the quality of Normal items by 5, Magic items by 2, and Rare/Unique items by 1. If you plan to upgrade an item's rarity, it's most efficient to max out the quality beforehand.

Item Type	Effect of Quality	Quality increased with...
Weapons	Increased physical damage	Blacksmith's Whetstone
Armour	Increased armour/evasion/energy shield	Armourer's Scrap
Recovery Flasks	Increased life/mana recovery	Glassblower's Bauble
Utility Flasks	Increased duration	Glassblower's Bauble
Gems	Specific to each gem	Gemcutter's Prism
Maps	Increased item quantity bonus	Cartographer's Chisel

How do item rarity/item quantity work?

Main page: Rarity

These modifiers come from players (through skills, passives, gear etc.), monster rarity, party bonuses, and map bonuses. Modifiers from the player stack additively with each other, and are subject to diminishing returns. Modifiers from the party bonus and monsters stack additively with each other, and are not subject to diminishing returns. The total player bonus stacks multiplicatively with the total party & monster bonus.

Increased Item Rarity (IIR):

Increases the chances of an item being magic, rare, or unique. Note: This modifier does not affect chests, and has no effect on the number or type of currency items, scrolls, or gems that drop.

When in a party, only the modifier from the player who lands the killing blow on an enemy is counted. If one of your minions gets a kill, the minion's IIR is added to yours and the total is used. Magic, rare, and unique monsters have an increased item rarity modifier for drops.

Increased Item Quantity (IIQ):

Increases the average number of items that drop from monsters. There is no cap on the usefulness of this modifier, since there is no limit to the number of items a monster can drop. Note: IIQ does not affect chests, and it does not affect the type, quality, or rarity of item dropped, only the chance that something will drop.

The base chance for an item to drop varies between monster types, and drop rate increases with monster rarity. When in a party, each player in the party after the first gives a +50% item quantity modifier on drops.

Blue items can only have two modifiers, why does mine have three?

Magic items have up to two affixes, but some of these add more than one modifier. For example, the "Beetle's" prefix adds local armor and stun recovery. Rare items can have more than six modifiers, but are limited to six affixes.

What affects item sockets and links?

Main page: Sockets

The maximum number of sockets an item can have is determined by its type and item level.

Helmets, Gloves, Boots can have up to 4 sockets; Chest armor and two-handed weapons up to 6; One-handed weapons and Shields up to 3. Links are not affected or limited by item level.

Socket color is weighted towards the attribute requirements of an item. Strength items will have mostly red sockets, etc.

What does "itemlevel" mean?

Though it isn't shown on the mouseover description all items have an item level, which affects the modifiers that can be added as well as the number of sockets. Items dropped from chests or normal (white) enemies have an item level equal to the area's monster level. Items from Magic enemies are one level higher than the area, and items from rare or unique enemies are two levels higher.

To find the item level of an item, hold down the ALT key while hovering the cursor over the item. The item level will be shown above the level requirements in the item description.

There are two additional ways to find the item level of something:

• Pick up the item with the cursor, and type the /itemlevel command into the chat box. The item level will appear in chat.
• Hover with the mouse over an item linked in chat, and press CTRL+C. This will copy the complete item information to your clipboard, including item level, which can be pasted somewhere else with CTRL+V.

What is an Item Filter?

Main page: Item filter

With the release of Path of Exile: The Awakening (version 2.0.0) Item Filters were introduced as an optional feature for players to customize what they see when items drop in the game. There are multiple options from colors, text size, borders and even sounds

For more information, see Item filter guide, List of item filters.

Master Trainers

Main page: Masters

How can I access the masters?

Each of the seven masters must be first encountered at random in the wild. After completing one of their missions, that master will appear in their associated town. Afterwards, finding them again and completing missions will give reputation experience to increase the master's level, up to level 8.

Lioneye's Watch	Haku and Elreon
Forest Encampment	Catarina and Tora
Sarn Encampment	Vagan, Vorici and Leo
Eternal Laboratory	Zana

How do I get a hideout?

Main page: Hideout

Speak to a master who is at least level 3. Each master has a specific hideout based on their theme.

What time do daily missions reset?

Midnight UTC. Daily missions give 250% reputation and favor of normal missions.

How many masters can stay in my hideout?

The initial hideout can hold two masters. When a master reaches level 5, their hideout expands to hold three masters. At level 7, four masters can stay. Daily missions can only be accessed in your hideout. Leo does not take up a spot in your hideout.

Are my masters specific to each league?

Yes. To make challenge leagues fair for new players, masters must be found and leveled in each league.

What happens to my masters/hideout after a challenge league ends?

When a challenge league ends and merges with a permanent league, your favour totals from each league will be combined, and you will retain your highest master level between the two leagues. The hideout with the highest number of decorations will be retained. If you wish to ensure that a specific hideout is saved when a merge occurs, it is recommended to empty your other hideout of all decorations, which can be easily completed by claiming a new hideout.

Support

Does Path of Exile run on Linux?

Though it is not officially supported, Path of Exile can run on Linux via Wine. See this guide for more information.

Steam

Path of Exile can be played with a standalone client or on Steam depending on your preferences.

Why does small updates take so long for Steam to update?

Path of Exile uses a large file that contains all the necessary in-game files. Due to the way Steam patches games, this can mean redownloading this large file for each patch. If you find these patches to take too long, the best option is to switch to the standalone Client.

Is it possible to switch to/from Steam?

Yes, contact Path of Exiles support team for further assistance.

References