Path of Exile 2: How to Activate Your Aura & Heralds on Controller

Path of Exile 2 has a subset of skills known as Aura or Heralds which you can activate whenever you want, though the process is a bit obtuse with a controller.

Activating one of these Auras or Heralds will give you a passive benefit at the cost of using up Spirit.  Unlike Path of Exile 1, you don’t have to reserve any Mana this time around. You just use up your Spirit, which you earn mostly by progressing through the game’s story!

In this guide, we’ll help you navigate the game’s menus to activate your Aura and Heralds while playing with a controller.

How to Activate Your Aura & Heralds on Controller | Path of Exile 2

To activate your Aura or Heralds with a controller in Path of Exile 2, you first need to press the equivalent of the Select button on your controller. For the main consoles, this would be the View Button (Xbox) or the Touchpad (PlayStation DualSense).

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Then, go to the Skills tab and look for the Aura or Herald you wish to activate. Press X (Xbox) or Square (PlayStation) while hovering over it.

Lastly, press Up or Down on the D-Pad to toggle the effect on or off. This will also tell you how much Spirit the Aura or Herald requires. Additionally, you can press L1/R1 (PlayStation) or LB/RB (Xbox) to change which Weapon Set the Aura or Herald is set to.

If for some reason you still can’t activate your Aura or Herald, make sure that you meet all of the requirements for it. You need to have enough Spirit, Stats, and also need to have matching weapons. For example, the Herald of Thunder shown above requires 30 Spirit, Level 10, 25 DEX, and can be used with any Martial Weapon.

That’s everything you need to know to be able to activate any Aura or Herald you have in Path of Exile 2 while playing with a controller. For more controller-centric help, check out our guide on how to set key binds with a controller.