1. Prioritize High-Impact Gear
Focus on applying Artificer's Orbs to your most impactful gear—primarily main weapons and body armor. These slots allow up to two rune sockets, offering more room to stack bonuses like increased damage, enhanced resistances, life boosts, or key utility effects. Other gear, like helmets or gloves, support only one socket, making the choice of where to apply orbs a matter of strategic importance.
2. Gather Artificer's Orbs Efficiently
Artificer’s Orbs are crafted from Artificer’s Shards, which you obtain by salvaging socketed gear at the Salvage Bench (unlocked during the “Finding the Forge” quest in Act One). Salvaging gear with more sockets yields more shards, so aim to collect high-socket items during your runs. They can also drop randomly from enemies and destructible objects, but for those looking to speed up orb acquisition, combining salvage efforts with other resources like cheap poe 2 currency from trading can help sustain your crafting economy.
3. Use Orbs to Add Rune Sockets
To apply an Artificer’s Orb, right-click it in your inventory, then left-click the desired item. Each use adds a socket, up to the item’s maximum limit. More sockets mean more rune or soul core slots, directly increasing your character’s versatility and effectiveness. This step is essential before fine-tuning the rest of your gear’s crafting.
4. Combine with Other Crafting Tools
After socketing, you’ll often need to customize further. Chromatic Orbs change socket colors to suit your runes, while Jeweller’s Orbs may modify the total number of sockets on certain gear types. Integrating Artificer’s Orbs with these tools ensures your gear not only has enough sockets but is also color-matched and stat-optimized for your build.
5. Plan Your Rune Setup Carefully
With more sockets available, thoughtful rune placement becomes critical. Popular rune choices include damage-boosting options like Iron Rune, elemental resistances from Storm or Glacial Runes, and survivability aids like Soul Core of Jiquani. Plan combinations that align with your build’s strengths and patch up its weaknesses. Efficient setups often blend both offense and defense.
6. Optimize Before Major Encounters
Use Artificer's Orbs and finish rune setups before facing difficult bosses or engaging with high-tier endgame maps. The stat enhancements from socketed runes and soul cores can tip the scales in your favor, especially when dealing with punishing mechanics or high damage thresholds.
7. Be Strategic with Orb Usage
Artificer’s Orbs are a finite resource, so apply them only to gear you intend to keep. Avoid spending orbs on temporary upgrades. Instead, invest them into pieces that are core to your build and likely to remain equipped long-term. Supplementing with
poe 2 currency for sale can also help you acquire better base items worth enhancing.
Mastering the use of Artificer’s Orbs in Path of Exile 2 means more than just adding sockets—it’s about thoughtful preparation, careful resource management, and synergy planning. When combined with smart salvaging, rune customization, and complementary crafting currencies, these orbs become the key to crafting endgame gear capable of conquering Wraeclast’s deadliest challenges.
How to Use Artificer's Orbs to Enhance Your Endgame Gear
