Summary
Patch 0.5 introduced some truly exciting unique items to Path of Exile 2. While some—like Mageblood and Split Personality—became build-defining staples, others fell short of expectations. With Patch 0.5.5 promising a focus on character building and uniques, now is the perfect time to discuss which items need love. Whether you craft your own gear or prefer to buy POE2 Currency to fund your experiments, understanding which uniques are worth investing in can save you a fortune. Here are the top five unique items I believe are on the cusp of greatness, just waiting for the right buffs to become meta powerhouses.
1. The Raven's Flock
What It Does
The Raven's Flock is a unique Perching Staff that grants the Spiraling Conspiracy skill—a swirling vortex of ravens that deals damage over time in an area, much like Righteous Fire . With modifiers including:
14% increased Cast Speed
+24 to Intelligence
Minions deal 111% increased Damage
34% increased Spirit Reservation Efficiency of Skills
The Problem
Despite its cool concept, Spiraling Conspiracy deals disappointing damage. The root cause? It's classified as a minion, not a spell . This classification creates several issues:
Limited scaling options on the passive tree
No access to spell damage bonuses from gear
Cannot benefit from "+Level to Spell Skills"
The staff itself lacks +Level to Minion Skills, compounding the damage loss
Suggested Buffs
Change Spiraling Conspiracy to a spell instead of a minion—this would open up vastly more scaling options
Add +Level to Minion Skills directly on the staff as a compromise if GGG wants to keep the minion identity
Increase the base damage to justify the staff's two-handed weapon sacrifice
2. Facebreaker
What It Does
Facebreaker returns from Path of Exile 1 with an innovative new mechanic. These gloves allow unarmed combat with a unique twist :
Boss's Face Broken: Kill campaign bosses with skull icons to stack flat physical damage (3-4 per boss, up to maximum)
8-12 base physical damage
1% more unarmed damage per 5 Strength
1 Armour per Strength
Allows using Mace skills while unarmed
The Problem
Facebreaker forces you to give up both your weapon and shield—sacrificing massive damage and defenses. The trade-off simply isn't worth it because:
You lose +Level to Melee Skills from weapons (up to +7 levels)
The Strength stacking bonus doesn't compensate for the damage loss
"Smash of Smitherines" (the new skill) seems bugged or deals negligible damage
Suggested Buffs
Increase the flat physical damage significantly
Reduce the Strength requirement from 5 to 3 per 1% more damage
Add +Level to Melee Skills on the gloves (at least +3-5)
Fix Smash of Smitherines—it either needs a damage buff or socket support
Review Fist of Stone interaction—currently doesn't work well with Hollow Palm Technique
3. The Bringer of Rain
What It Does
This unique Decorated Helm gives you the equivalent of Giant's Blood: you can wield two-handed Axes, Maces, and Swords in one hand . In exchange:
Cannot use Chest Armour
The helmet provides Armour and Evasion
Works as your Body Armour for socketed skills
The Problem
The item's design doesn't work well with the current passive tree layout :
Armour and Evasion nodes are on the bottom of the tree
Giant's Blood keystone is also on the bottom of the tree
Players are already in that area—the helmet's benefit is redundant
You're giving up a Chest Armour for a benefit you can get with 1-2 passive points
The Path of Exile 1 version had extra gore effects, which are missing in PoE 2
