Currency while levelling

Why this lesson matters

Path of Exile has no gold-for-gear shop. Orbs are how you upgrade items, and the same orbs are what players trade with. While levelling you only need a handful of them. This lesson covers those, in the order you'll meet them, and the ones worth keeping.

Using an orb

Right-click the orb, then left-click the item. Hold Shift to keep using it without right-clicking again. Socket and quality orbs repeat with Ctrl and left-click. Most orbs only work on one rarity of item, so check whether the item is Normal (white), Magic (blue) or Rare (yellow) first.

Scrolls

A Scroll of Wisdom identifies an item. In 3.30 every town vendor sells them for 15 Gold, and monsters with more Item Rarity drop fewer of them. A Portal Scroll opens a portal to town.

Making Magic items

• Orb of Transmutation: Normal to Magic.
• Orb of Augmentation: adds a modifier to a Magic item that has room.
• Orb of Alteration: rerolls a Magic item's modifiers.

In 3.30 vendors sell an Orb of Transmutation for one Orb of Augmentation.

Making Rare items

• Regal Orb: Magic to Rare, keeping the modifiers it has.
• Orb of Alchemy: Normal to Rare with random modifiers.

Sockets (changed in 3.29)

• Jeweller's Orb: rerolls the number of sockets. Since 3.29, sockets it adds are always white.
• Orb of Fusing: rerolls the links between sockets.
• Chromatic Orb: rerolls socket colours. Since 3.29 it forces one socket to be coloured and the rest roll normally. Chromatic Orbs are rarer now, town vendors no longer sell them, and they cost more Gold on the Currency Exchange.

Colour only matters for quality now: any gem fits any socket. The gems lesson covers that.

Quality and refunds

A Blacksmith's Whetstone adds quality to a weapon, an Armourer's Scrap to armour, a Glassblower's Bauble to a flask and a Gemcutter's Prism to a gem. An Orb of Regret refunds one passive skill point.

Orbs worth keeping

Chaos Orbs, Divine Orbs, Exalted Orbs and Orbs of Annulment are valuable trade currency. Check what they're worth on the Economy page before you spend one on a levelling item.

What 3.30 changed about drops

A monster rolls a rarity first, and that rarity decides what can drop. Magic currency, such as Orbs of Transmutation and Alteration, only drops from a Magic roll. Rare currency, such as Orbs of Alchemy, Chaos Orbs and Divine Orbs, only drops from a Rare roll. So the more Item Rarity a monster has, the better its currency.

The Orb of Chance now gives a Unique much more often. In return it's much rarer, vendors no longer sell it, and it costs more Gold on the Currency Exchange.