Essential PoE 2 Strategies: Common Pitfalls to Sidestep in Path of Exile 2

Don’t Hesitate to Respec

Regarding your build and refunding passives, don’t hesitate to respec further down the line. You will need to wait until you have unlocked The Hooded One after completing The Mysterious Shade and Sorrow Among Stones before you can refund your passives to your liking, provided you possess the currency to do so.

Diving into the game initially, you’ll encounter limited passives to unlock until it diverges into numerous options. Early on, you should focus on strengthening your character by adding +5 to class-specific stats, or improving your attack or casting speed.

As you become more familiar with the mechanics, establishing your build, and discovering weapons that suit you, you might notice that some of your earlier selections no longer benefit you. This is also when you should begin unlocking build-specific skill nodes to boost your Skill Gems and Support Gems. For more details, check out our How to Respec Passive Skills.

Utilize Your Gems Effectively

Path of Exile 2 introduces a revamped skill gem system, allowing you to augment your build with various skills and support bonuses. You can obtain these gems from quests, defeating bosses, and crushing creatures as you navigate through maps.

Whenever you acquire an Uncut Skill Gem, you will have the opportunity to inscribe it and assign a specific skill to it. There are also Uncut Support Gems available, which can be linked to skills and alter them significantly. However, you’ll want to select skills and enhance them in a manner that is appropriate for your class and build to avoid wastage.

That being said, you can interchange skills as often as you wish, so if you acquire a Skill Gem that doesn’t perform as you anticipated, you can replace it with another option.

Do Not Overlook Optional Bosses and Side Quests

It’s easy to rush through the campaign and reach the endgame of PoE 2, yet there are numerous optional bosses to defeat and side quests to undertake. Many of these offer priceless rewards, such as permanent enhancements to your stats, and may even drop items that greatly enhance your playstyle.