Path of Exile 2

Patch 0.2.0 in Path of Exile 2, also known as Dawn of the Hunt, brings in several new crafting systems that give players more control over how they build and refine their gear. Many new tools have been added to the game, so you no longer have to rely entirely on the Trade Site to get upgrades; you’ve got a better shot at building powerful PoE 2 gear on your own.
 
All New Crafting PoE 2 Tools
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been added in the recent update:

• Corrupted Essences
• Talismans (Socketable)
• New Rune Tiers
• Fracturing Orbs
• Azmeri Runes (Socketable)
• Recombinators

Let’s go through each of the 6 one by one:
 
Recombinators
Originally introduced in Expedition, Recombinators are back and more useful than ever. They let you try to combine two PoE items of the same type and merge their good modifiers into a single, stronger item.
The process is unpredictable and carries risk — the outcome can vary, and failure means losing both original PoE items. However, when it works, you can end up with a piece of gear that combines several high-value stats, potentially creating something far better than what you started with.
The more modifiers you try to merge, the lower the success rate. If it fails, you lose both items. But if it works, you’ve got a powerful piece of gear that you made yourself.
 
New POE 2 Rune Tiers
Along with the new socketables, we’re also getting additional tiers of standard Ezomyte Runes, both higher and lower. This makes it easier to slot in PoE runes at various stages of progression and helps scale builds more smoothly from early to late game.
 
Fracturing Orbs
Fracturing Orbs are a new PoE currency that lets you lock in a single modifier on an item, making it unremovable. That modifier is now safe regardless of what crafting method you use later on. It’s a big win if you manage to hit something valuable.
There’s some risk, though — the item needs to have at least four mods to use a Fracturing Orb, so it’s not for early-stage PoE 2 items. You can find Fracturing Orbs in Cleansed areas in the endgame.
 
Corrupted Essences
You can now use Path of Exile 2 2Vaal Orbs on Essences for a chance at upgrading them. This can do a few things:

• Add more Essences
• Upgrade a Normal Essence into a Greater one.
• Transform an Essence into a Corrupted Essence, which grants unique modifiers.

Corrupted essences are rare, but they can give compelling bonuses. One of their effects can make sure you get two corrupted implicits when you use a Vaal Orb. However, monsters with the corrupted essences are tougher and have extra abilities, so you have to face them well prepared.
 
Azmeri Runes
Azmeri Runes are high-powered socketable PoE items that drop from monsters influenced by Azmeri Wisps. Compared to regular PoE runes, they offer better effects and more flexibility. They’re not just limited to melee builds either; they include options for casters and minion builds as well.
If you’re deep into the endgame, Azmeri runes can help push your gear to the next level.
 
Talismans
Talismans are another new socketable, but they work differently from runes. Each one needs to be slotted into a specific gear slot (PoE helmet, PoE chest, etc.) to activate its effect. They tend to offer strong defensive or offensive bonuses, depending on the type.
Think of them as late-game boosts to help round out your build or compensate for weak spots.
 
Closing Word
Dawn of the Hunt adds a lot of depth to crafting in PoE 2. Even though the new additions to crafting are risky and RNG plays a big role, it can still result in a powerful Path of Exile item that’s worth a lot of PoE 2 Divine Orbs or even the legendary Mirror of Kalandra.