It is a currency item in Path of Exile 2.
Stack Size: 1/20
Adds a socket to a martial weapon or armour
Right click this item then left click an armour or martial weapon to apply it.
In Path of Exile 2, the Artificer’s Orb is a powerful and valuable currency item that allows players to enhance their armour and martial weapons by adding sockets to them. Sockets are essential for many builds, as they enable players to slot gems that grant a wide array of abilities, such as increased damage, defence, or utility. Whether you’re building a melee character, caster, or hybrid build, the Artificer’s Orb offers a simple yet effective way to optimize your gear and maximize its potential.
This guide will walk you through how the Artificer’s Orb works and the benefits of adding sockets to your gear.
The Artificer’s Orb is a currency item in Path of Exile 2 that adds a socket to a martial weapon or armour. Unlike other currency items that modify stats or affixes, the Artificer’s Orb focuses purely on expanding your gear’s potential by allowing you to place more gems.
Stack Size: 1/20 — This means you can carry up to 20 Artificer’s Orbs in your inventory at once. Managing your Artificer’s Orbs and using them strategically can help you fine-tune your gear as you progress through the game.
Applicable Gear: The Artificer’s Orb can be applied to martial weapons and armour. Martial weapons include swords, axes, maces, and other melee-focused items, while armour refers to pieces like helmets, chestplates, gloves, and boots.
Socket Addition: When you use an Artificer’s Orb, it will add one socket to your selected armour or martial weapon. This gives you the flexibility to socket additional gems, which can significantly increase the effectiveness of your gear.
Using the Artificer’s Orb is easy and involves the following steps:
Obtain the Artificer’s Orb: The Artificer’s Orb can be found as a drop from monsters, acquired through crafting, or bought from vendors or other players in the trade market.
Right-click the Artificer’s Orb: Open your inventory and right-click on the Artificer’s Orb to activate it.
Left-click on Your Armour or Martial Weapon: After activating the orb, left-click on the piece of gear to which you want to add a socket. The Artificer’s Orb will then add a socket to that item.
Check Socket Limitations: Some items may have a limit on how many sockets they can have, so be mindful of that. For example, certain high-tier weapons and armour might only accept a set number of sockets.
Enjoy Your Enhanced Gear: Once the socket is added, you can begin slotting gems into the new socket to enhance your gear’s capabilities. This is an essential step for developing powerful builds that require specific gem combinations for optimal performance.
Adding sockets to your gear with the Artificer’s Orb offers several important advantages:
Increased Flexibility: The primary benefit of adding sockets is the increased flexibility in how you build your character. By adding sockets to weapons or armour, you can now use more Active Skill Gems, Support Gems, or Utility Gems depending on your build’s needs. This makes it easier to fine-tune your character’s abilities and adjust to different challenges.
Improved Damage Output: Many builds rely heavily on gems for increased damage, whether it’s through support gems (e.g., Increased Damage, Faster Attacks) or Active Skill Gems (e.g., Frostbolt, Sweep, Whirlwind). Adding more sockets allows for greater customization and synergy with your chosen gems, potentially increasing your total damage output.
Enhanced Defence: Gems can also improve your defences. For example, Guard Skills like Steelskin or Molten Shell can be slotted into your armour for extra protection, or you can add Defensive Aura Gems to bolster your resistance and energy shield.
Maximized Utility: For players focused on utility or hybrid builds, additional sockets can allow for the inclusion of essential utility gems like Summon Skeletons, Flame Dash, or Curses like Enfeeble. These provide important strategic options that can be vital for surviving endgame encounters.
Tailored for Specific Builds: Whether you’re using martial weapons (swords, axes, maces) or armour, the ability to add sockets gives you control over the customization of your gear. Martial weapons benefit from more offensive gems like Attack Skills or Weapon Buffs, while armour can support defensive and utility-focused gems to provide balance in combat.
While the Artificer’s Orb can be a useful tool, there are some situations when it’s more effective to use than others:
Mid to Late-Game: Adding sockets is often more beneficial in the mid to late-game stages when you start focusing on optimizing your gear. Early on, you may not have enough gems to make full use of additional sockets, but as you progress, more sockets will allow you to adapt your gear to harder content.
Finalizing Your Gear: The Artificer’s Orb is often used when you are finalizing your gear before tackling high-level maps, bosses, or endgame content. Having more sockets enables you to slot in higher-tier gems and boosts the overall effectiveness of your gear.
Multi-Gem Synergy: If you are creating a build that relies on multiple gem synergies, such as combining offensive and defensive gems on your armour or weapons, the Artificer’s Orb will be essential in ensuring you have the sockets needed for these combinations.
Socketing for Specific Modifications: If you’re crafting gear with specific mods in mind or planning to trade your gear for specific gem combinations, adding sockets gives your item more value in both gameplay and trade.
The Artificer’s Orb is an indispensable tool for players in Path of Exile 2 looking to optimize their martial weapons and armour by adding additional sockets. With a maximum stack size of 20 and the ability to increase the flexibility of your gear, this currency item is essential for making the most out of your build’s gem requirements.
Whether you’re a melee warrior looking to add more offensive gems to your weapon, or a tanky character seeking more defensive or utility gems in your armour, the Artificer’s Orb can help you fine-tune your gear and elevate your overall effectiveness in combat. Use it wisely to create powerful synergies and face the challenges of Path of Exile 2 with even greater strength.