116 articlesCrafting has definitely changed a lot since Path of Exile 2 went into Early Access. With the release of the Return of the Ancients update, crafting has changed even more. I would even go as far as saying that crafting now is a lot easier and more beginner-friendly than it was back then.
There’s the fact that you can craft S-tier items with fewer resources. The caveat is that it now involves a bit more gambling. Regardless, if you want to craft your own S-tier items, this guide is for you.
Let’s get started.
How to Craft S-Tier Items in Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients
As mentioned, crafting S-tier items is now a lot easier in Path of Exile 2. You just need to know how.
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First off, we start by looking for a base item for what you want to craft. In this case, you want to use the Market to look for a solid base that you can craft on.
For the purposes of this guide, we’re going to use a Quarterstaff as an example.
Head to the Market, set the filters to Item Category: Quarterstaff, Item Rarity: Magic, and Item Level: 81. At the same time, type “Increased Physical Damage” in the Stats filter.
Click Search, and you should then have a list of base items that you can use for crafting. You want to sort them so that the weapon with the highest physical damage shows up. If you can’t afford the more expensive ones, set the Trade Filter to only Exalted Orb as the Buyout Price.
Next, you want to decide which Essence you should use. Since we’re aiming to craft a physical Quarterstaff, we’ll be using the Greater Essence of Abrasion.
This will transform our base item into Rare. At the same time, it adds a guaranteed flat physical damage to the quarterstaff. Simply right click on the Essence, and click it on the weapon.
After that, you want to add a Desecrated modifier to the weapon via a Preserved Jawbone. For armors, you need Preserved Rib, while for jewelry, you need Preserved Collarbone. We want to force a prefix on the item, which is why you’ll need an item called the Omen of Sinistral Necromancy.
With the omen in your inventory, right click on it to activate it. Then, use the Preserved Jawbone to add a Desecrated modifier on your item.
Reveal the Desecrated Modifier
With the item having a Desecrated modifier, you then want to reveal it via the Well of Souls. You can either head to your waypoint to get there or click on your map device to open the portal to the area.
Once you’re in the Well of Souls, place the weapon in the interface and click Reveal. It should then show you three different modifiers to choose from.
As you can see, you’ll have three different modifiers you can choose from. Simply click the one you want, then click Confirm.
Unfortunately, this one includes a bit of RNG, so you might not get the mod you need. In this case, we didn’t get any prefix that improves the weapon’s physical damage. But if you’re dealing elemental damage with your attacks anyway, this can still be useful.
However, if you have plenty of currency lying around, you can use the Omen of Light to remove the desecrated modifier on your item via an Orb of Annulment.
Unfortunately, that one costs a few Divine Orbs, making it quite expensive.
Once you’re satisfied with the Desecrated mod, you then want to use a Greater Exalted Orb to add random modifiers to your item. For this, we’re going to use an Omen of Greater Exaltation to add two mods at once.
Same as before, right click on the Omen in your inventory to activate it. Then, use a Greater Exalted Orb on your weapon and hope for the best.
At this point, your item should now have a total of 6 modifiers. As long as you’re lucky, you should be able to get a quarterstaff with around 1,000 DPS.
Your next step is to upgrade its quality to +20% by using Blacksmith’s Whetstone.
Socketing Augments
The final step is to socket augments on your item. You’ll need to use an item called Artificer’s Orb for this. Since the quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon, you can add up to two sockets.
You can then use a Greater Iron Rune to increase the overall physical damage of your weapon. Simply click the Runes and place them on the empty sockets of your item.
After you’re done, you should now have a quarterstaff with high physical damage. Sadly, we didn’t get lucky with our craft, which only goes to show that crafting for an S-tier item still involves a lot of RNG.
As such, if you want to get the best item for your character, I highly recommend you stack up on crafting currency first before you get started.
Final Thoughts
That wraps up the basics of crafting an S-tier item in Path of Exile 2, especially in the Return of the Ancients update. I would also recommend using a third-party website such as POEDb or CraftOfExile to get an idea of which modifiers you want to aim for.
After all, the modifiers that will roll on an item will depend on its type and item level.
Found another tip?
Share your extra strategy, correction, or question below. Helpful comments can make this guide better for everyone.