Your Friendly Guide to the Path of Exile 2 Currency List

Every new Path of Exile player has the same moment.

You are twenty hours into your first character. A stack of shimmering orbs fills a corner of your inventory. You know they are important—the game does not stop telling you—but you have no idea which ones are rare, which ones are common, and which ones you just spent on a piece of vendor trash that will be replaced in thirty minutes.

This is the currency system. It is simultaneously Path of Exile 2's greatest strength and its most intimidating barrier to entry.

Here is the truth: there is no gold in PoE 2. No coins drop from monsters. No vendor accepts a universal currency for every transaction. Instead, the items you use to craft your gear are the same items you use to trade with other players. Every Chaos Orb you find is both a crafting tool and a unit of exchange.

This guide walks through every major currency in Path of Exile 2, what it does, how rare it is, and—most importantly—when to use it and when to save it.

The Philosophy of PoE 2 Currency

Before the list, you need to understand the system.

In most games, currency is abstract. Gold coins exist outside the gameplay loop; you earn them by playing, and you spend them at shops. They have no function other than exchange.

In Path of Exile 2, currency is the gameplay loop.

Every orb, every scroll, every fragment has a mechanical function. Using an Orb of Alchemy transforms a normal item into a rare item. Using a Chaos Orb rerolls a rare item's properties. These are not abstract transactions. They are the core crafting mechanics of the game.

This creates a natural economy. Because every player needs these items to improve their gear, they become the default medium of exchange. You do not trade gold for a sword. You trade 20 Chaos Orbs for a sword. The orbs have intrinsic value because they do something.

Understanding this distinction is the difference between treating currency as pocket change and treating it as capital.

The Currency Tiers – What Actually Matters

Currency in PoE 2 falls into rough tiers of scarcity and utility. Here is how they break down.

The Workhorses

Orb of Alteration

Rerolls the properties of a magic (blue) item. Drops frequently. Used constantly in early crafting and map rolling. Do not hoard these excessively—they are meant to be spent. But do not vendor them either. They have consistent trade value in bulk.

Orb of Augmentation

Adds a second property to a magic item that currently has only one. Common. Useful primarily in the campaign and early mapping. Bulk trade commodity.

Orb of Transmutation

Turns a normal (white) item into a magic (blue) item with one property. Extremely common. Essentially the baseline currency for interacting with the crafting system.

The Mid-Tier Players

Chaos Orb

Rerolls all properties on a rare (yellow) item into new random properties. This is the most important currency in the game. It is the standard unit of exchange for player trading. When players say an item is worth "5 chaos," this is what they mean.

Chaos Orbs are rare enough to be valuable but common enough to be practical. You will find them regularly in maps. You will spend them constantly on crafting and trading. Never vendor a Chaos Orb. Never use one without thinking about whether the item is worth the investment.

Orb of Alchemy

Upgrades a normal item directly to a rare item with random properties. Less common than Chaos Orbs but still a core part of the economy. Excellent for generating usable gear early in a league. Also used in map rolling.

Vaal Orb

Corrupts an item, adding unpredictable outcomes—can improve, ruin, or leave the item unchanged. Drops in Vaal side areas and certain league content. High risk, high reward. Not a trading currency; a specialized crafting tool.

The High-Value Items

Exalted Orb

Adds a new random property to a rare item. This is the premium currency of Path of Exile 2. It is rare enough that finding one is a notable event. It is used to finish nearly-perfect items by adding that final affix.

In trading, Exalted Orbs serve as the high-denomination currency. Large transactions are priced in Exalts, not Chaos. If you find one early, do not use it. Store it. Wait until you understand what makes an item worth improving.

Divine Orb

Rerolls the numerical values of all properties on an item. If an item has "Adds 10–15 Fire Damage," a Divine Orb might change it to "12–15" or "10–12."

Divine Orbs are used to perfect items that already have the right affixes but suboptimal rolls. They are rare and valuable. In some leagues, they become the primary currency for top-end trading.

Mirror of Kalandra

The rarest currency in the game. Creates an exact copy of a non-unique item. Finding one is a life event. Most players will never see a Mirror drop in thousands of hours. If you find one, do not use it. Sell it to players who are crafting mirror-tier gear. You will fund multiple characters for the rest of the league.

Socket and Link Currencies

Jeweller's Orb

Changes the number of sockets on an item randomly. Common enough to be farmable. Essential for getting six-socket items.

Orb of Fusing

Changes how sockets are linked randomly. The bane of many players' existence. Getting a six-link requires either extraordinary luck or a massive stack of Fusings.

Chromatic Orb

Changes the colors of sockets randomly. Used to match socket colors to gem requirements. Common but constantly in demand.

The Currency That Is Not Currency

Scroll of Wisdom

Identifies items. Vendors sell them for scraps. Never run out. Always carry a stack.

Portal Scroll

Creates a town portal. Always carry a stack. Running out mid-map is a special kind of frustration.

Gold

Yes, gold exists in PoE 2. No, you cannot trade it. Gold is used for vendor purchases, respeccing, and certain endgame fees. It is personal. It does not enter the player economy.

How to Build Wealth

Understanding what currency does is step one. Understanding how to accumulate it is step two.

Pick up everything.

In the campaign, pick up every currency that drops. In maps, use a loot filter (more on this below) to highlight valuable currencies, but do not ignore the small ones. A stack of 200 Alteration Orbs is worth real Chaos.

Convert upward.

Vendors and the currency exchange market let you trade lower-tier currencies for higher-tier ones. Accumulate Alterations, trade them for Chaos. Accumulate Chaos, trade them for Exalts. This is passive wealth building.

Sell what you do not need.

If you are not crafting, you are sitting on inventory. List your excess currency on the exchange. Let other players turn it into Chaos for you.

Use a loot filter.

This is non-negotiable. Path of Exile 2 drops so many items that you cannot manually assess everything. A loot filter highlights valuable currency, hides trash, and audibly notifies you when something important drops. PoE community sites host dozens of filters. Download one. Learn it. Love it.

Common Mistakes New Players Make

Using Exalted Orbs on low-level gear.

That level 30 weapon you are using? You will replace it in two hours. Do not Exalt it. Save Exalts for endgame items with good bases and multiple high-tier affixes already in place.

Vendoring valuable currency.

Vendor recipes exist. Some currencies can be traded to vendors for other currencies. But vendoring a Chaos Orb for a few scrolls is a tragedy. Know what you are selling.

Not using the currency exchange.

The exchange lets you list currencies for sale and match with buyers automatically. If you have excess Alterations and need Chaos, list them. Do not spam trade chat.

Holding everything forever.

Currency is meant to be used. If you never craft, you never improve. If you never trade, you never convert. Find the balance between hoarding and spending.

The Bottom Line

Path of Exile 2's currency system rewards knowledge. The player who understands what each orb does, how rare it is, and when to use it will always progress faster than the player who treats every drop as random vendor trash.

Start with the basics. Learn Chaos Orbs first—they are your trading baseline. Learn Exalted Orbs next—they are your wealth accumulator. Everything else fills in around them.

And when in doubt: save it, look it up, ask a friend. Currency spent ignorantly is currency wasted. Currency saved is currency that can become something greater.

We maintain current exchange rates and currency market data for Path of Exile 2.