Best Exalted Orbs Farming Locations in Path of Exile 2
This guide will explore what Exalted Orbs are, why they are so important, and, most importantly, the most effective farming strategies and locations in Path of Exile 2.
What Are Exalted Orbs?
Before diving into farming strategies, it's essential to understand the role Exalted Orbs play in the economy of Path of Exile 2.
Function: An Exalted Orb adds a new random affix to a rare item. This makes it one of the most powerful and versatile crafting tools in the game.
Rarity: Exalted Orbs are extremely rare drops. Even high-level endgame content offers them sparingly.
Value: They are highly sought after in Path of Exile 2 Trade markets, making them a reliable form of currency to exchange for other items.
Because of their value, farming Exalted Orbs isn't just about grinding - it's about efficient farming, targeting locations where your chances of obtaining them are highest.
Why Farming Exalted Orbs Is Challenging
Exalted Orbs are rare for a reason. Unlike common currency items such as Chaos Orbs or Orbs of Alchemy, they do not drop frequently in normal zones. Several factors make Exalted Orb farming challenging:
Low Drop Rate: Even in high-level endgame maps, the chance of an Exalted Orb dropping is extremely low.
High Competition: In multiplayer environments, other players may kill monsters faster, reducing your own drop rate.
Time Investment: Efficient farming often requires optimizing your map layouts, monster density, and league mechanics.
Understanding these challenges is crucial because it emphasizes that quantity and quality of content cleared matter more than random grinding.
Best Places to Farm Exalted Orbs
While Exalted Orbs can drop almost anywhere, certain locations and strategies provide higher chances due to monster density, map modifiers, or endgame content.
1. Endgame Maps
High-tier maps are the classic go-to for Exalted Orb farming. Maps with high monster density and strong modifiers increase both drop quantity and rarity.
Tier 16+ Maps: These maps are often the most efficient for high-value farming. Look for layouts with dense pack encounters and multiple bosses.
Map Modifiers: Prioritize maps with modifiers that increase item rarity, quantity, or pack size. For example, maps with "Increased Item Rarity" or "Monsters have higher pack size" tend to yield better results.
Atlas Strategy: Certain regions of the Atlas are better for high-tier maps, depending on your passive tree and league bonuses. Focusing on regions with synergistic map drops can save time.
Pro Tip: Use the crafting bench or Sextants to add bonus modifiers that increase drop potential in a map. Sextant use can occasionally create rare encounters with loot drops that include Exalted Orbs.
2. Delirium Encounters
Delirium mechanics are known for exponentially increasing drop rates, especially for high-value currency like Exalted Orbs.
Mechanics: Enter a map with Delirium Fog applied. This spawns additional monsters, buffs them, and increases overall loot drops.
Efficiency: The added density can yield multiple rare drops in a single encounter. High-tier Delirium encounters often reward divination cards, unique items, and rare currency including Exalted Orbs.
Pro Tip: Combining Delirium with blighted or corrupted maps maximizes monster density and item drops, providing more opportunities for Exalted Orbs.
3. Breach and Legion Encounters
League mechanics such as Breach and Legion are among the most lucrative for high-value currency farming.
Breachstones: Engaging with Breachlords and their minions increases the odds of Exalted Orbs dropping due to higher item rarity.
Legion Monoliths: Summoning large packs of Legion enemies through monoliths creates high-density encounters, often with multiple rare drops.
Strategy: Stack map modifiers that increase item rarity alongside these mechanics. Maps with high monster density plus league mechanics are often the most rewarding combination for currency farming.
4. Shaper and Elder Influenced Maps
Shaper and Elder influence modifies maps in ways that make them ideal for rare currency farming.
Shaper Bosses: The Shaper and his guardians drop high-value currency including Exalted Orbs on death.
Elder Guardians: Similarly, Elder-influenced maps provide enhanced boss loot chances.
Influence Combination: Maps that are both Elder and Shaper-influenced often yield additional loot from guardian encounters, rare monsters, and corrupted zones.
Pro Tip: Use Scarabs or Sextants to create influence modifiers on maps to further boost Exalted Orb drop rates.
5. Uber Boss Fights
Endgame Uber Bosses are high-risk, high-reward farming locations. Bosses like Uber Atziri, Uber Elder, and the Shaper have guaranteed drops that include high-value currency and sometimes Exalted Orbs.
High Investment: These fights require strong builds and preparation but often reward multiple Exalted Orbs from single encounters.
Repeatable Fights: Some Uber bosses can be repeatedly challenged through specific league mechanics, allowing for consistent high-value currency farming.
Strategy: Prepare builds with maxed damage and survivability, as Uber fights are mechanically challenging. Faster kills result in higher overall efficiency for Exalted Orb farming.
6. Divination Cards and Currency Farming
Certain divination cards can be exchanged for Exalted Orbs, creating an indirect but highly reliable farming method.
Example Cards: Cards like The Doctor or The Saint's Treasure can be collected and turned in for currency including Exalted Orbs.
Strategy: Farm maps where these cards have high drop rates and sell completed sets to vendors or trade with other players for Exalted Orbs.
This approach is slower than direct farming but can be more predictable for players who prefer structured goals.
Tips to Maximize Exalted Orb Farming Efficiency
Focus on Quantity and Rarity Modifiers: Maps with Increased Item Quantity and Increased Item Rarity are exponentially more profitable.
Combine League Mechanics: Blight, Delirium, Breach, and Legion can all stack on maps, creating dense, loot-rich encounters.
Group Farming: Farming in a party can increase efficiency. More players means faster kills and more monster packs cleared per unit of time.
Atlas Management: Prioritize maps that drop frequently and target those with favorable modifiers. Using the Atlas passive tree efficiently is key to long-term farming.
Use Loot Filters: While not increasing drop rates, loot filters help you identify Exalted Orbs faster, reducing time wasted picking up lower-value items.
You can also buy POE 2 Exalted Orbs directly to get them fast.
Conclusion
Farming Exalted Orbs in Path of Exile 2 is about more than just killing monsters-it's about strategy, map selection, and efficiency. By targeting high-tier maps, leveraging league mechanics like Delirium, Breach, and Legion, and carefully planning your Atlas progression, you can maximize your chances of obtaining this rare and valuable currency. Uber bosses and divination card farming provide alternative high-reward methods, while combining multiple modifiers ensures each run is as profitable as possible.
Ultimately, the best farming method depends on your build, playstyle, and risk tolerance. With careful planning, optimization, and persistence, you can accumulate Exalted Orbs efficiently and use them to craft the gear that takes your characters to the next level.
Farming Exalted Orbs may be challenging, but in Path of Exile 2, the payoff is worth the grind. Your builds, trades, and ultimate progression depend on it.