1. Play in the main league, not Standard
For your first character, pick the current trade league (in October 2026: Runes of Aldur or the Forbidden Rites event). Leave Standard, Hardcore and solo self-found (SSF) for later. In a league everyone starts from zero and trading works best. To pick a class, see which class to start with.
2. Kill the three Spirit bosses
Spirit is the resource you "pay" for permanent buffs, persistent minions and meta gems. A character starts with zero, and the campaign gives 100:
| Boss | Where | Item | Spirit |
|---|---|---|---|
| The King in the Mists | Act 1, Freythorn | Gembloom Skull | +30 |
| Ignagduk, the Bog Witch | Act 3, Azak Bog | Gemrot Skull | +30 |
| Lythara, the Wayward Spear | Interlude 3, Kriar Village | Gemcrust Skull | +40 |
Each of them also gives an Uncut Spirit Gem. Ignagduk is the easiest to miss: look for the ritual site in Azak Bog. You have to earn these bonuses on every character separately. Later, more Spirit comes from items, e.g. an amulet with +Spirit from level 30.
3. Gems: you cut them yourself
Skills do not drop as ready gems. You find an Uncut Skill Gem, Uncut Support Gem or Uncut Spirit Gem, right-click it and choose a skill available for that gem's level. An uncut gem also levels up a gem you already have. Early on, gem levels are a big part of your damage.
You put Support Gems directly into the skill gem, not into your gear. A skill gem can hold up to 5 Support Gems (extra slots come from Jeweller's Orbs). It is better to boost one main skill than to spread supports across many.
4. Resistances: aim for 75%
The cap for fire, cold and lightning resistance is 75%. Maxroll: "Having 50% Cold Resistance instead of 75% means you take double damage". According to the community wiki, the game lowers your resistances after each act: −10% in Act 2, −20% in Act 3, −30% in Act 4 and −60% in the endgame. That is why early values become too low over time.
Permanent campaign bonuses: Beira of the Rotten Pack (Act 1) gives +10% cold, the Sisters of Garukhan (Act 2) +10% lightning, Blackjaw, the Remnant (Act 3) +10% fire. In Act 4, three tattoo trials let you choose an attribute or +5% resistance. Chaos resistance is hard to get and you do not need to chase it in the campaign.
5. Flasks and charms
You have only two flasks: life and mana. They refill as you kill enemies and fully at checkpoints. Upgrade them as you level: Medium from 4, Greater from 10, Grand from 16, Giant from 23, Colossal from 30 (according to Maxroll).
Charms trigger on their own when something happens, e.g. the Thawing Charm protects you from being frozen. You can have at most 3 charm slots. An extra one comes from the "Ancient Vows" quest in Act 2 and from some belts.
6. Currency: what not to waste
| Orb | What it does |
|---|---|
| Orb of Transmutation | normal item → magic with 1 modifier |
| Orb of Augmentation | adds a modifier to a magic item |
| Regal Orb | magic → rare, +1 modifier |
| Orb of Alchemy | normal or magic → rare with 4 modifiers |
| Exalted Orb | adds a modifier to a rare item |
| Chaos Orb | replaces a random modifier with a new one |
| Divine Orb | rerolls the numeric values of modifiers |
| Artificer's Orb | adds a socket for a rune |
| Jeweller's Orb | adds a support gem slot |
Players trade mainly with Exalted, Chaos and Divine Orbs, so in the campaign do not use them on items you will replace soon. Transmutation, Augmentation, Regal and Alchemy are enough to improve campaign gear. Exchange rates between orbs change every league.
Gold drops from monsters and from selling to vendors. You spend it at vendors, on passive respecs and on Currency Exchange fees. You cannot trade gold with other players.
7. Break items down: the Salvage Bench
In Act 1 the "Finding the Forge" quest (give the Smithing Tools from Ogham Village to Renly) unlocks the Salvage Bench. It breaks items with quality down into quality currency, and items with sockets into Artificer's Shards (10 shards = 1 Artificer's Orb). On your first character, salvage everything with quality or sockets and sell the rest.
8. Turn on a loot filter
Without a filter the screen fills with worthless items. The most popular filter is NeverSink's:
- Log in at pathofexile.com, open Item Filters at the bottom of the page and switch to Path of Exile 2.
- Pick a NeverSink filter ("regular" or "semi-strict" for the campaign) and click Follow.
- In game: Esc → Options → the Item Filter option → select the filter and save.
On FilterBlade (filterblade.xyz) you can tailor the filter to your build. A stricter filter hides more. The filter is updated after big patches.
9. Death, checkpoints, dodge roll
- Every zone starts with a checkpoint. It heals you, refills your flasks, and you return there after dying.
- Death in the campaign has no penalty apart from walking back through the area. Campaign bosses, however, must be beaten in one attempt.
- In the endgame, death costs 10% of your experience.
- Every character has a dodge roll, with no gem, on its own key. Holding it makes you sprint, but getting hit while sprinting knocks you down.
- Bosses flash red and give a sound cue before a heavy attack. That is your moment to dodge.
10. Your weapon matters most
"Where is my damage?" in the campaign almost always means a weak weapon. Check vendors after every act and swap your weapon as soon as you find a better one. Upgrade it with currency before the rest of your gear.
11. Trading
- The in-game Currency Exchange swaps currencies (orbs, fragments, essences, runes and, since 0.3, uncut gems) for a gold fee. You cannot buy gear there.
- You buy items on the official trade site (pathofexile.com/trade2). Since version 0.3 some listings are Instant Buyout, with no waiting for the seller.
- Be careful with prices: it is easy to confuse Exalted and Divine Orbs.
12. The most common new player mistakes
According to Mobalytics, Maxroll, MyleSwi and players on Reddit:
- Not reading descriptions. The Alt key explains underlined keywords (the right stick on a controller).
- Forgetting about flasks and resistances.
- Not levelling gems with uncut gems.
- Spending valuable currency on campaign gear.
- Skipping optional quests with permanent bonuses (Spirit, resistances, passive points).
- Entering maps far above the character's level and losing experience.
- Playing a "glass cannon" with no defence. Many bosses kill you in one hit.
- Respeccing the whole tree only after the campaign, when it is expensive: players report 100,000–250,000 gold at level 60–71. Experiment early.
What version 1.0 will change
On December 11, 2026 Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access and becomes free. Acts V and VI, the Duelist and a big balance patch arrive. GGG has not announced changes to Spirit, resistances or trading, so this advice should stay valid. We will check it against the 1.0 patch notes. More: Path of Exile 2 1.0.
