Path of Exile: Beginner's Guide to Loot

 Path of Exile (PoE), developed by Grinding Gear Games, is a complex action RPG that thrives on its deep itemization system. Loot is not just a reward; it's the very core of progression, power scaling, trading, and crafting. For beginners, the overwhelming flood of items that drop can quickly become confusing. In this guide, we’ll demystify loot in Path of Exile, teaching you how to evaluate, collect, and make the most of your loot from the very beginning of your Path of exile currency.

Understanding Loot in Path of Exile

Loot in Path of Exile comes in various forms and rarities. Each item you pick up has a purpose—be it gear for your build, currency for crafting or trading, or components for endgame systems.

Item Rarity Types

There are four main item rarities in PoE:

Normal (White): No modifiers. Often used for crafting or as base items.

Magic (Blue): Up to two modifiers—one prefix and one suffix. Occasionally useful in early game.

Rare (Yellow): Up to six modifiers—three prefixes and three suffixes. Rares can be powerful and are commonly used from mid to endgame.

Unique (Brown/Orange): Custom-designed items with fixed modifiers. Some are build-defining, while others are collectible or niche.

Item Bases

Each item type (sword, wand, boots, etc.) has different base versions. Higher item level bases can roll better modifiers or socket configurations. For example, a "Titan Gauntlets" is a higher-tier base than "Iron Gauntlets" and can roll stronger affixes.

What to Loot Early On

When you’re just starting, it’s important to be selective. You don’t need to pick up everything.

1. Gear Upgrades

Focus on items that:

Are rare or magic and improve your life, resistances (fire, cold, lightning), and damage stats (like added elemental damage, increased attack/cast speed).

Have good socket colors and links for your skill gems. For example, a 3-linked item with the right colors (like red-red-green for a melee build using Cleave) can be more valuable than a rare item with better stats.

2. Currency Items

Currency is the lifeblood of the game. You’ll find different types of currency orbs that serve various functions. Always pick up:

Scroll of Wisdom – Identifies magic/rare items.

Portal Scroll – Creates a portal to town.

Orb of Transmutation, Alteration, Augmentation – Early crafting and vendor recipes.

Chromatic Orb – Changes item socket colors. Very useful.

Orb of Alchemy, Chaos Orb, Regal Orb, Exalted Orb – Mid to high-tier currency. Always worth keeping or trading.

Beginner Tip: Sell 3 linked red, green, and blue socket items (RGB linked items) to vendors for Chromatic Orbs. It doesn’t matter what item it is or if it's magical.

3. Gem and Support Management

Pick up skill gems you don’t have—even if they’re not for your build—since they might be useful later or for trading. As you progress, you'll unlock gem vendors, but drops can be ahead of your progression.

Loot Filters – Your Best Friend

Loot filters drastically improve your gameplay experience by hiding junk items and highlighting valuable ones with sounds or colors. Path of Exile’s default loot filter is basic and not optimal for long-term play.

How to Get a Loot Filter

Visit FilterBlade, a community-created loot filter tool.

Customize your filter based on your build and preferences.

Download and place the filter file in your Documents > My Games > Path of Exile > "Filters" folder.

In-game, go to Options > UI > Scroll down to Loot Filter > Select your filter.

Neversink’s loot filter is the most popular and updated frequently. It has several strictness levels—start with “Regular” or “Semi-Strict” for beginners.

Crafting and Identifying: What’s Worth It?

Should You Identify Every Rare Item?

No. Especially in mid-game and beyond. Only identify:

Bases that suit your build.

Jewelry (rings, amulets, belts) – they’re compact and can roll valuable affixes.

Weapons with high base physical damage (for attack builds).

Gear with 5 or 6 sockets/links – always worth identifying and possibly selling/trading.

Vendor Recipes

PoE has hidden vendor recipes that reward specific items for selling combinations of things. Some key ones:

3x RGB linked item = 1 Chromatic Orb

Item with 20% quality = 1 Gemcutter's Prism or Blacksmith/Whetstone

Full set of rare items (one of each gear slot) = Chaos Orb

How to Recognize Valuable Items

1. Influence and Special Items

As you progress to maps, you'll find items with influences like “Shaper,” “Elder,” “Crusader,” etc. These can roll exclusive mods and are important for crafting.

Keep:

Influenced bases with good sockets.

Jewelry or weapons with desirable influence combinations.

2. Jewels and Cluster Jewels

Rare jewels can roll powerful stats. Look for:

Increased maximum life.

Global damage, crit, attack/cast speed.

Specific modifiers like “increased minion damage” or “fire damage over time.”

Cluster Jewels are used in the passive tree and can be very valuable, especially if they have specific notables like "Renewal", "Disorienting Display", or "Sadist".

Endgame Loot Considerations

1. Maps and Scarabs

Maps are your endgame content. They drop from level 60+ zones. Always pick up:

Maps of any tier.

Scarabs – modifiers for maps that add monsters or loot.

Fragments (like Sacrifice, Breachstones, etc.)

Maps also have modifiers when you use currency like Alchemy Orbs or Chaos Orbs to roll them. The better the map mods, the more loot—but also the more difficult.

2. Divination Cards

Div cards are collectible items that, when turned in as a full set, reward specific items. Notable examples:

The Nurse – 8 cards = The Headhunter (very rare).

The Tabula Rasa – 9 cards = Tabula Rasa (a popular 6-link starter chest).

Keep an eye out for div cards even if you don’t know what they do. You can check prices on the trade site later.

Loot Etiquette and Party Play

In multiplayer or group environments, loot is often on Free-for-All, Short Allocation, or Permanent Allocation. Talk to your party about loot distribution—especially with valuable items.

In trade leagues, items drop for whoever it’s allocated to. In permanent leagues or private groups, looting rules can be customized.

Conclusion

Loot in Path of Exile is not just about what shines on the ground. It’s a deep system that rewards knowledge, build synergy, and strategic decision-making. As a beginner:

Focus on gear that helps you survive and scale damage.

Learn vendor recipes and what currency to keep.

Use a loot filter to avoid clutter.

Start familiarizing yourself with item bases and trading tools.

With experience, you’ll develop an eye for what’s valuable and how to buy Path of exile currency from your drops. Loot in Path of Exile isn’t just gear—it’s opportunity, currency, and even build identity.

So get out there, exile. The loot gods are waiting.