Quality

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Path Of Exile - Guide - Quality Basics

Quality improves the signature stat of an item such as physical damage on weapons and evasion for evasion helmets or adds additional bonuses to skill gems.

Mechanics

Quality can be applied to most equipment (quivers and jewels are the exceptions), as well as maps and strongboxes. Any item with at least 1% quality will have a Superior prefix when dropped on the ground but not when in the inventory.

Each item type has a currency item associated with it that increases its quality. Quality does not affect the requirements for using an item or the mana cost of skills.

All items are normally capped at 20% quality and each currency that affect quality will improve:

• normal items by 5%.
• magic items by 2%.
• rare and unique items by 1%.

Increasing the quality on equipment also makes crafting sockets and links with Jeweller's OrbJeweller'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. and Orb of FusingOrb of FusingStack Size: 20Reforges the links between 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 links. easier. Each 1% quality improves the result by 1%. This makes obtaining many sockets and links 20% more likely on 20% quality items.

Quality is normally capped at 20%. However, there are certain crafting methods that can increase quality beyond that, including:

• Beastcrafting recipe for "Corrupt an item with 30% Quality"
• A resonator with Perfect FossilPerfect FossilStack Size: 20Improved QualityPlace in a Resonator to influence item crafting. socketed, increasing quality up to 30%
• Immortal Syndicate safehouse with Hillock stationed
• Infused Engineer's OrbInfused Engineer's OrbStack Size: 20Greatly improves the quality and rewards of a Strongbox and strengthens its defendersRight click this item then left click a Strongbox to apply it.

Additionally, certain Veiled modifiers add Quality as part of explicit mods. This bonus quality does not count against the 20% quality an item is normally allowed to have, even if the veiled modifier is added before using currency to upgrade the item.

Effect on items

The quality is summed together with other increased stats. For example a piece of armour that naturally gives 100 armour that has +50 to Armour and 90% increased Armour would now, with 20% quality, give ${\textstyle \color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}(100+50)*(100+90+20)/100=315}$.

The table below displays what each category of items and which currency that can increase the quality.

Class	Currency	Increases
Weapons	Blacksmith's WhetstoneBlacksmith's WhetstoneStack Size: 20Improves the quality of a weaponRight click this item then left click a weapon to apply it. Has greater effect on lower-rarity weapons. The maximum quality is 20%..	Physical Damage
Armours	Armourer's ScrapArmourer's ScrapStack Size: 40Improves the quality of an armourRight click this item then left click an armour to apply it. Has greater effect on lower-rarity armours. The maximum quality is 20%.	Armour / Evasion / Energy Shield
Flasks	Glassblower's BaubleGlassblower's BaubleStack Size: 20Improves the quality of a flaskRight click this item then left click a flask to apply it. Has greater effect on lower-rarity flasks. The maximum quality is 20%.	Life / Mana recovered or increased the buff duration for utility flasks.
Skill gems	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%.	Depends on skill gem
Maps	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%.	Item Quantity
Strongbox	Engineer's OrbEngineer'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%.	Item Quantity
Jewellery	Catalysts	Depends on catalyst; affects implicit and explicit affixes

Skill gems

Both active and support skill gems may have quality. Every skill is affected by quality differently, but frequently it somehow improves the damage dealt with the skill. Buffs and curses, obviously, do not have their damage improved. Even those that do have their damage improved will see different rates of improvement for a given amount of quality.

The quality of skill gems may be improved with 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%.. These upgrades always improve a skill's quality by 1%. Alternatively, a level 20 skill gem and 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%. can be sold for a level 1 gem with 20% quality.

The effect of quality scales with the base quality effect, however, only whole numbers will be granted (and thus the effect will always be rounded down); for example 3% quality on a gem with 0.5% effect will only grant 1% effect and not 1.5% effect. Effects that have some degree of fractions naturally are rounded to their natural bases (i.e. seconds will be rounded to milliseconds, etc.).

It is possible to get a gem's quality above 20% through corruption, the use of Enhance SupportEnhance SupportExceptional, Support
Icon: +
Level: (1-3)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Supports any skill gem. Once this gem reaches level 2 or above, will raise the quality of supported gems. Cannot support skills that don't come from gems.+(0-16)% to Quality of Supported Skill Gems

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
This Gem gains (5-100)% increased ExperienceThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket. and certain gear.

Skill gems with alternate quality effects can be found in Grand Heists.

Version history

Version	Changes
2.2.0	When you use an Orb of Fusing or a Jeweller's Orb on an item, the item's quality is no longer consumed. The way that quality affects the result has also been changed. Each 1% quality improves the result by 1%. This makes the Fusing process 20% easier on 20% quality items, for example.