Path of Exile 2: How to Obtain Artificer's Orb

In Path of Exile 2, currency items play a central role in progression, trading, and crafting. Known collectively as POE 2 Currency, these items allow players to modify gear, upgrade equipment, and unlock powerful customization options. Among them, the Artificer's Orb stands out as one of the most important tools for early to mid-game development. This unique orb lets you add sockets to gear, an essential feature if you want to maximize skill gem potential and character builds.

If you're wondering how to reliably get your hands on Artificer's Orbs, you'll need to understand not only how they drop but also how to create them yourself. Let's dive into the mechanics of acquiring this crucial currency and the most efficient ways to farm it.

What Is the Artificer's Orb

The Artificer's Orb is a crafting currency item that allows you to add sockets to weapons, armor, and other socketable gear. In Path of Exile 2, sockets determine how many skill gems you can use in an item, and linked sockets make support gems possible. As such, adding sockets through Artificer's Orbs is one of the fastest ways to increase both damage and survivability.

Unlike some other POE 2 Currency items, such as Armourer's Scrap or Blacksmith's Whetstone, Artificer's Orbs are relatively rare. This rarity makes farming them efficiently an important part of gearing up, especially before endgame content.

Two Main Sources of Artificer's Orb

There are two primary ways to acquire Artificer's Orbs in Path of Exile 2:

Random Enemy Drops

Monsters and bosses across Wraeclast have a small chance of dropping an Artificer's Orb. However, this is relatively uncommon and shouldn't be your main strategy. While it's always exciting to see one drop during combat, relying on random luck can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to actively socket your gear.

Crafting via Artificer's Shards

The far more consistent method is to collect Artificer's Shards and combine them into a full orb. You'll need 10 Artificer's Shards to create a single Artificer's Orb. Thankfully, shards can be farmed more reliably through salvaging gear, provided you've unlocked the right tools.

Unlocking the Salvage Bench

To begin farming Artificer's Shards, you must first unlock the Salvage Bench. This happens early in the campaign:

Complete the Finding the Forge side quest in Act One.

During this quest, you'll recover Renly's Tools.

Returning the tools unlocks the Salvage Bench for your use.

Once you have access, the Salvage Bench becomes one of the most valuable resources for currency farming. It lets you break down unwanted equipment into different crafting items, including Blacksmith's Whetstone, Armourer's Scrap, and, most importantly, Artificer's Shards.

Salvaging Gear for Artificer's Shards

Not all gear will yield Artificer's Shards. To collect shards specifically, you'll need to salvage gear with sockets. The number of shards you gain depends on how many sockets the item had.

How to Spot Socketed Gear

You don't need to pick up every item to check for sockets. Instead, look for white squares next to the item's name when it drops. Each square represents a socket. More squares mean more shards once the item is dismantled.

Best Strategies for Farming Socketed Gear

While socketed equipment can appear randomly, you can maximize your efficiency by targeting specific encounters and map features:

Fight Unique Enemies and Bosses: These foes tend to drop higher-quality loot, which has a greater chance of including socketed gear.

Explore Points of Interest: Caches, chests, and treasure nodes, especially blue (magic) or yellow (rare), often yield socketed items.

Revisit Cleared Areas: Path of Exile 2 allows you to create new instances of zones. By re-clearing areas and farming mini-bosses, you boost your odds of finding socketed drops.

Higher-Level Areas: As you progress, drops naturally scale up. Later acts and more dangerous zones have a higher chance of rewarding socketed equipment.

If you focus on these activities, your Salvage Bench will quickly stockpile shards, allowing you to craft Artificer's Orbs consistently instead of waiting for rare drops.

Why Farming Artificer's Orbs Matters

Sockets are at the core of Path of Exile 2's build diversity. An item with just one or two sockets may limit your gem combinations, while fully socketed gear opens the door to complex setups that define playstyles. For example:

A weapon with multiple linked sockets allows you to combine a primary skill gem with several support gems, amplifying damage or adding utility.

Armor pieces with sockets can carry defensive gems or utility skills, strengthening survivability.

By farming and crafting Artificer's Orbs, you ensure that you're never stuck waiting for a socketed item to drop with the "perfect" number of slots. Instead, you can modify existing gear to suit your build.

Final Thoughts

In Path of Exile 2, Artificer's Orbs are essential for expanding socket options on your gear, allowing you to push your build to new heights. While rare drops may occasionally reward you, the most consistent way to obtain them is through salvaging socketed items into shards and combining them into full orbs.

By unlocking the Salvage Bench early, targeting bosses and treasure nodes, and farming zones strategically, you'll be able to steadily supply yourself with this vital currency. Whether you're chasing your next skill synergy or preparing for endgame encounters, farming Artificer's Orbs ensures you'll always have the sockets you need.

And remember: in the vast economy of POE 2 Currency, mastering the orb system is one of the best investments you can make for long-term success.

MMOexp POE 2 Team