Path of Exile 2 Beginner Survival Essential Tips, Tricks & Strategies (2025)

Hello guys, it’s Librarian Husky and today I’m giving you the list of tips for beggining the game! Path of Exile 2 has rocketed into Early Access this week.

Path of Exile 2 Early Access Overview

Hundreds of thousands of people are jumping into the Next Generation action RPG created by Grinding Gear Games.

Game Features and Challenges

Across six character classes, 120 skill gems, hundreds of equipment-based types, more than a hundred unique boss fights, and so much more, the deadly continent of Wraeclast can be daunting for new players.

Guide to Exploring Path of Exile 2

Keep in mind, this game is about discovery and exploring a brand new game. I’m not going to give you rigid rules that you can’t break; rather, I’m going to give you recommendations or help explain mechanics such as weapon sets so you can better approach the game on your own merits. I always encourage people to play how they want, not how the internet tells them, and that’s no different here.

Option Screen and Keybinds

One of the first tips I want to talk about here is the option screen. Actually, we’re going to press Escape, we’re going to go to options, and I want you to go to input. Input is where all of your keybinds are, and this is, of course, where you can also change between W, A, S, D or point-and-click move.

Gameplay Tips for Navigating the World Screen

If you’re at the main menu or character select screen, but as it stands within the game, if you press M, it brings up your microtransactions. So, my first thing here is to tell you to swap World screen and the microtransaction shop. Swap those two; it’s going to make it a lot easier for you to take a look at the World screen map and conversely. Go all the way to the bottom of this; you’ll see “Create a Portal.” So, when you have the ability to create a portal, if you’re playing maybe Diablo I or Diablo 4, that’s the T button, right? Well, now this button is not set by default in the game, so set this to a keybind that makes sense for you and how you’re playing.

Configuring Keybinds for Efficient Gameplay

If you’re at the main menu or character select screen, but as it stands within the game, if you press M, it brings up your microtransactions. So, my first thing here is to tell you to swap World screen and the microtransaction shop. Swap those two; it’s going to make it a lot easier for you to take a look at the World screen map and conversely. Go all the way to the bottom of this; you’ll see “Create a Portal.” So, when you have the ability to create a portal, if you’re playing maybe Diablo I or Diablo 4, that’s the T button, right? Well, now this button is not set by default in the game, so set this to a keybind that makes sense for you and how you’re playing.

Improving Damage Visibility in the Game

My last little tip here from the option screen: you do not have the ability here to see damage numbers. That is something that a lot of people do wish they had. The closest thing I can get for you, though, is we’re going to go to options, we’re going to go to interface, we’re going to scroll down to gameplay, and in gameplay, you’re going to see “Show many life bars above NPCs.” If you turn this on (it’s like this by default), you can have it so allies (those are people that are in your party, so if you’re in the camp, it’s easier to see them), enemies only, or allies and enemies. This allows you to get a better idea of what kind of damage you’re doing with your weapons rather than just things dying and you have to see the big old health bar at the top. You can also turn on your health bar above yourself as well so you have a good concept of seeing that without having to look at the globes in the lower left and lower right hand of the screen.

Utilizing Life Bars Above NPCs

My last little tip here from the option screen: you do not have the ability here to see damage numbers. That is something that a lot of people do wish they had. The closest thing I can get for you, though, is we’re going to go to options, we’re going to go to interface, we’re going to scroll down to gameplay, and in gameplay, you’re going to see “Show many life bars above NPCs.” If you turn this on (it’s like this by default), you can have it so allies (those are people that are in your party, so if you’re in the camp, it’s easier to see them), enemies only, or allies and enemies. This allows you to get a better idea of what kind of damage you’re doing with your weapons rather than just things dying and you have to see the big old health bar at the top. You can also turn on your health bar above yourself as well so you have a good concept of seeing that without having to look at the globes in the lower left and lower right hand of the screen.

Improving Menu Settings

But that is my big suggestion for you for this menu. The last little one too is also changing your default mouse cursor. If you’re having problems tracking this one or even its size so it’s easier to see when you’re moving around, a lot of people use a third-party app to do this. You can now just simply do it with high contrast green, pink, whatever it is.

Enhancing Accessibility with the ALT Key

Another important portion of the game is the use of the ALT key. So if I hover over anything and I see dotted underlines, I can hold down the ALT key to inspect it.

Customizing Menu Behavior

Now this is going to keep it so that it makes that menu not disappear if I move my cursor away. If I hold down ALT, conversely, there’s this little pin button. I can pin it and then it becomes a draggable little tiny window, a gump as it were.

Understanding Game Mechanics

If I hover over this though, it tells me strength, here’s how strength works in this game, here’s how armor works in this game. If I go over here to like say Rolling Slam, okay, well here’s how Slam works in this game, here’s how stun works, here’s how it knocks them away, oh, it’s a knockback.

Understanding Skill Videos and Information

All these things are easily explainable by holding down the ALT button to get more information.

Importance of Skill Videos

But there’s another portion of this that’s really important, which is my next tip, and that is your skill videos. What the hell does that mean? Well, for example, I’ve got Infernal Cry. I’m going to hover over this, that’s a lot of information. I’m not that smart, I read the gray text, or not, that’s not gray.

Understanding Infernal Cry Skill in the Game

I read this text up here and I kind of don’t understand it. Well, every single skill has this little button right here. If you click that button, Infernal Cry puts a debuff on enemies that makes them explode when they die. It also increases the damage of your next attack. It’s going to give me a breakdown of how that skill operates.

Utilizing the Debuff Effect of Infernal Cry

I read this text up here and I kind of don’t understand it. Well, every single skill has this little button right here. If you click that button, Infernal Cry puts a debuff on enemies that makes them explode when they die. It also increases the damage of your next attack. It’s going to give me a breakdown of how that skill operates.

Skills and Understanding

So this way, I can quickly navigate like, okay, you know what, how does this work? Well, let’s just see what this says. And it will not just simply explain the skill, it will give you a breakdown of how the skill is best used. So this allows you to understand your skills better without trying to sift through or, you know, scry the stones of what this text really means in context of how it applies to the game.

Support Gems in the Game

Now, another topic is the support gems. Support gems are a big part of the game because they are what are really going to amplify and make your skills perform a lot better or in different ways or in different elements, whatever it is.

Understanding Support Gems in Video Games

So I’m going to go ahead and right-click this, and it’s going to bring up all of our support gems for every single skill that we currently have socketed onto our character. Now, there are three tiers or three levels of support gems. That was just a level one support gem, but you can see down here this says it needs a level two uncapped support gem, and this needs a level three uncapped support gem. Now, when you press that button, it’s going to show you a very limited amount of support gems, only nine for every single one that I click through this list, whatever it is. If I click this button at the very bottom, a little check mark, it says “Show recommended gems.” Well, un-clicking that, un-checking that now gives me all of my support gems.

Unlocking Different Levels of Support Gems

So in this game, understanding the various levels of support gems is crucial for enhancing your character’s abilities. By right-clicking, you can access the support gems linked to your skills. Different tiers, such as level one, level two, and level three uncapped support gems, offer varying degrees of power. To view all available support gems, ensure to uncheck the “Show recommended gems” option.

Understanding Gem Requirements

But there are some things you really need to take in mind here when you are looking at these gems. For one, there are requirements for the gems. So looking at something like this, warning, 10 intelligence required, you currently have seven. I’m not a bright boy, so make sure you have the attributes required to do this.

Impact of Gem Attributes

But some of these too will also drastically change the way that this skill interacts with your kit.

Understanding Fire Infusion in the Game

Eternal Flame, no, yeah, Fire Infusion, here we go. There is an infusion for pretty much every single element, but this one specifically supported attack gains 25% of damage as extra fire damage, but supported attack deals 50% less cold and lightning damage. So this is a way to add these mechanics into your build, or you can do stuff like Expand here, which allows you to have more area of effect, all sorts of things. But now you have to deal with a six-second cooldown increase. There’s typically trade-offs for doing some of this stuff, so make sure you read each one of these.

Exploring New Build Options

Eternal Flame, no, yeah, Fire Infusion, here we go. There is an infusion for pretty much every single element, but this one specifically supported attack gains 25% of damage as extra fire damage, but supported attack deals 50% less cold and lightning damage. So this is a way to add these mechanics into your build, or you can do stuff like Expand here, which allows you to have more area of effect, all sorts of things. But now you have to deal with a six-second cooldown increase. There’s typically trade-offs for doing some of this stuff, so make sure you read each one of these.

Understanding Support Gems in Path of Exile

But an important thing to see though is this thing that says support requirements plus five strength. You’ll see this one says Minion Pact Support Requirement plus five intelligence. You are capped in the amount of support gems that you can have based off of your attributes. What does that mean? So, before we jump into the other screen, keep in mind too, every single skill starts with two support gem sockets.

Attributes and Support Gem Cap

But an important thing to see though is this thing that says support requirements plus five strength. You’ll see this one says Minion Pact Support Requirement plus five intelligence. You are capped in the amount of support gems that you can have based off of your attributes. What does that mean? So, before we jump into the other screen, keep in mind too, every single skill starts with two support gem sockets.

Introduction to Gem Cutters in Video Games

Gem cutters play a crucial role in enhancing the abilities of characters in video games. By unlocking the gem cutter, players can access additional support gems that boost their character’s strengths and skills. In the game, the gem cutter is typically unlocked at a specific point, like in Act Two, expanding the player’s options for customization and power.

Utilizing Support Gems for Character Enhancement

Once the gem cutter is unlocked, players can augment their character’s abilities by equipping support gems. These gems enhance specific attributes, such as strength, agility, or intelligence, allowing players to tailor their character’s skills to their preferred playstyle. The support gem capacity indicates the number of support gems a character can use to maximize their strengths and abilities.

Support Gems and Attributes

You can have one support gem per five points in that attribute. So, I have 10 dexterity, I think I actually have like 13, so I can have two dexterity-focused support gems or intelligence. I only have seven intelligence, so I can only have one intelligence-based support gem. But let’s say, you know, you are using a support gem, you don’t really like it, it doesn’t really make sense for your build. You just simply left-click it and bring it and put it out over here, and now you have it outside of the build and you can socket something else in.

Managing Support Gems

If a support gem doesn’t align with your build, you can remove it by left-clicking on it. This action allows you to free up a socket and replace the unwanted gem with a more suitable one. The number of support gems you can use is determined by your attribute points, with one gem available per five points in a specific attribute.

Understanding Support Gems in Path of Exile

You just go ahead and put this in your stash. But another thing that’s cool about this, if I take it out and put it in my inventory and I hover over it, it shows me on the left side of the screen which skills that this support gem can go into with check marks for ones that it can and little red X’s like this one here for Ray Shield that it will not go into. Same thing here with Shockwave Totem. So this gives me exactly an idea of which things can actually take the support gem.

Exploring Skill Compatibility

Another important concept to understand is how Spirit works.

Playing as a Witch and Managing Spirit

If you’re playing as a Witch, then Spirit is the source that is going to be used in reserve to summon up your minions. You can see Spirit down over here, this little bar that is around your Mana bar. You will not get Spirit unless you’re playing a character that uses it until a certain part of the game. Spirit is allocated through a specific quest reward item that will give you a certain amount of Spirit. For example, it gave me 30 Spirit.

Understanding Spirit Allocation for Witch Characters

If you’re playing as a Witch in the game, managing Spirit is crucial for summoning minions. Spirit, displayed as a bar near your Mana, is obtained through specific quest rewards. Only characters utilizing Spirit-based abilities will acquire this resource during gameplay.

Key Element: Spirit Management

If you’re a Witch player, effectively managing Spirit is essential for commanding your minions.

Understanding the Scepter’s Spirit Feature

But also, Scepter will grant you Spirit. You can see at the top of this, it says right there “Spirit 100.” So if I were to put this on, I don’t have, unfortunately, don’t have enough intelligence. Putting this on would set my Spirit to 130. Then I can use the Spirit to allocate it towards minions that would otherwise use that Spirit towards reserve. So, if I actually press this button here, we’ll go here, go to ult.

Utilizing the Spirit Points for Minions

But also, Scepter will grant you Spirit. You can see at the top of this, it says right there “Spirit 100.” So if I were to put this on, I don’t have, unfortunately, don’t have enough intelligence. Putting this on would set my Spirit to 130. Then I can use the Spirit to allocate it towards minions that would otherwise use that Spirit towards reserve. So, if I actually press this button here, we’ll go here, go to ult.

Understanding Spirit Mechanics in the Game

So this right here says that will reserve 41 Spirit to have that Skeletal Sniper or this Arsonist 41 or this Reaver 35 or this Warrior 27. That’s where that Spirit comes in. But the other portion of how Spirit works is using these Spirit gems. Spirit gems give you these persistent buffs that then will use that Spirit in reserve. So I’m going to right-click it here.

Utilizing Spirit Reserves and Spirit Gems

So this right here says that will reserve 41 Spirit to have that Skeletal Sniper or this Arsonist 41 or this Reaver 35 or this Warrior 27. That’s where that Spirit comes in. But the other portion of how Spirit works is using these Spirit gems. Spirit gems give you these persistent buffs that then will use that Spirit in reserve. So I’m going to right-click it here.

Understanding Herald of Ash and Dead Banner Reservations

I’m playing a Warrior right now, so I have the Herald of Ash. By turning this buff on, you can see that it will reserve 30 Spirit or Magma Barrier 30 Spirit or Scavenger Plating 30 Spirit. But let’s just jump down here to Dead Banner. This is going to also reserve 30 Spirit. You see it has a list of other requirements here, but Spirit is a big crucial mechanic within the game, and you’ll use it more as you expand into other things as you level up and get into the end game and get more intricate portions of it.

Importance of Spirit Reservations in Gameplay

I’m playing a Warrior right now, so I have the Herald of Ash. By turning this buff on, you can see that it will reserve 30 Spirit or Magma Barrier 30 Spirit or Scavenger Plating 30 Spirit. But let’s just jump down here to Dead Banner. This is going to also reserve 30 Spirit. You see it has a list of other requirements here, but Spirit is a big crucial mechanic within the game, and you’ll use it more as you expand into other things as you level up and get into the end game and get more intricate portions of it.

Understanding Spirit Mechanics

But understanding how Spirit works now at the beginning of the game, even if you’re not playing a Witch, is crucial to understanding how these persistent buffs are going to play into your character. I can only have one persistent buff active right now because I only have 30 Spirit. If I were to somehow get another 30, then I can have two of these persistent buffs active. So keep that in mind as you’re playing through.

Managing Your Economy

A big portion of the game is, of course, going to be your economy, and selling things is what you’re probably going to want to do when you first start off. You’ve got all these things that you can sell that are unidentified, and you probably going to use Scrolls of Wisdom to identify them and get some money.

Considering Financial Decisions

You can definitely do that, but it’s really not a whole ton of money. You can see, if I buy or sell this, it’s 27, it’s 52, it’s 23, it’s 15. That’s a white item. I would by and large completely forget about picking up white items. I don’t know why I had this on here.

Importance of Money Management

You can definitely do that, but it’s really not a whole ton of money. You can see, if I buy or sell this, it’s 27, it’s 52, it’s 23, it’s 15. That’s a white item. I would by and large completely forget about picking up white items. I don’t know why I had this on here.

Optimizing Item Management in a Video Game

I would really only pick up blues that I wanted to upgrade, or if I really wanted to disenchant them. I would disenchant my yellows and my oranges if I really wanted to disenchant oranges. I wouldn’t spend time selling what I would do is come over to this character, Una, disenchant items and use this. Now white items are really important for crafting in the beginning portions of the game. You’re not really going to be focusing on that as much, so you can bypass all the white items.

Strategic Disenchantment and Crafting

I would really only pick up blues that I wanted to upgrade, or if I really wanted to disenchant them. I would disenchant my yellows and my oranges if I really wanted to disenchant oranges. I wouldn’t spend time selling what I would do is come over to this character, Una, disenchant items and use this. Now white items are really important for crafting in the beginning portions of the game. You’re not really going to be focusing on that as much, so you can bypass all the white items.

Upgrading Items Through Transmutation

You will eventually want to invest in them and upgrade them through the process of transmutation and what have you. But disenchanting blue items gives you materials. Here, right orbs of transmutation shards. It can make an orb of transmutation after 10 shards. Just go ahead and break stuff down, especially as you get into some of the rare yellow items.

Disenchanting Blue Items

You will eventually want to invest in them and upgrade them through the process of transmutation and what have you. But disenchanting blue items gives you materials. Here, right orbs of transmutation shards. It can make an orb of transmutation after 10 shards. Just go ahead and break stuff down, especially as you get into some of the rare yellow items.

Upgrading Items in the Game

That’ll then give you other, okay, well, hold on, there we go. If I put this in here, you can see that this is going to give me a Regal Orb with a Regal Shard, which upgrades a magic item to a rare item. So this allows you to progress items from white to blue to gold or yellow, whatever you want to call a rare item, and push things through all the way up to an Exalted, which is the ultimate goal. So this gives you the materials to have in the later game. So do it now, so you’ve got plenty to go on, and once you hit 10 shards, it automatically converts to an orb for you.

Getting Started Tips

One last thing to note, if you’re just getting started a little bit into the game, maybe an hour or two, you’ll get the hooded one, who will then allow you to identify all items and, of course, refund passes.

Maximizing Profit in the Game

So now I can go ahead and sell these for more if I really want, but the big thing here is to disenchant all of your items that you don’t need. Now I did just say you can skip any white item in the game. That’s not entirely true. This brings up salvaging. Once you get to a certain part of the game, you give the tools to the blacksmith.

Disenchanting Items for Profit

So now I can go ahead and sell these for more if I really want, but the big thing here is to disenchant all of your items that you don’t need. Now I did just say you can skip any white item in the game. That’s not entirely true. This brings up salvaging. Once you get to a certain part of the game, you give the tools to the blacksmith.

Using the Salvage Bench in the Game

You can now use this Salvage bench, and anything that is superior that has a quality like that has right there, or anything that has a socket can now be broken down at the Salvage bench for currency. You click on the Salvage bench, you got this little hammer, you click this, it’s going to give you artificer shards back of 10 to become artificer orbs, add a rune socket to a martial weapon or armor. This is how you’re going to socket anything that you really like, and then this is going to give us armor scrap, improves the quality of an armor. I click the item, I click to apply it, the max quality is 20%. That quality just makes it an overall better item.

Breaking Down Items for Currency

You can now use the Salvage bench to break down superior items or those with sockets for currency. Click on the Salvage bench to access it. By using the hammer icon, you can obtain artificer shards that can be converted to artificer orbs, which allow you to add rune sockets to weapons or armor. Additionally, the bench provides armor scrap to enhance armor quality, with a maximum improvement of 20%.

The Importance of Item Sockets in Gaming

So I know what I said before, but this is also a very important part of this mechanic. And one last note here too is anytime you are playing the game, if you see little tiny squares on an item’s name, that means it has a socket. And I’m also recording this live, so you probably heard someone being praised about the emperor. We’ll just keep moving on in the guide.

Weapon Sets and Abilities

Depending on what class you’re playing, you’re going to be swapping between your weapon sets for specific abilities. And in doing so, you might have abilities that all come from the same weapon class, as it were.

Character Weapon Comparison

So for example, I’m using a one-handed and a two-handed mace on this character. So if you take a look at my skills, I can see by swapping my weapons how much DPS is coming out of my character for the specific ability that I’m using. So if I take a look at my one-handed weapon DPS on Bone Shatter, it’s 110, and if I go ahead and look at Rolling Slam, it’s 141 on the two-handed weapon versus 121 on my one-handed. Well, the game will automatically swap to any weapon that has a specific skill. So if I was, say, using a bow and arrow, it will swap and use the bow and arrow skill before swapping back to whatever one corresponding to my abilities at the bottom.

Automatic Weapon Swapping

Text: So if I take a look at my one-handed weapon DPS on Bone Shatter, it’s 110, and if I go ahead and look at Rolling Slam, it’s 141 on the two-handed weapon versus 121 on my one-handed. Well, the game will automatically swap to any weapon that has a specific skill. So if I was, say, using a bow and arrow, it will swap and use the bow and arrow skill before swapping back to whatever one corresponding to my abilities at the bottom.

Gameplay Tip: Weapon Swapping

But in this case, you have to either manually swap or choose a skill like a mace strike that will force a swap. But you can get around this. So let’s look at Rolling Slam. Remember, it does more damage with my two-handed weapon, right? So I’m going to go ahead and press this little arrow, and at the bottom of the screen, you see “Use with weapon set.” I’m only going to use it with two.

Utilizing Rolling Slam

But in this case, you have to either manually swap or choose a skill like a mace strike that will force a swap. But you can get around this. So let’s look at Rolling Slam. Remember, it does more damage with my two-handed weapon, right? So I’m going to go ahead and press this little arrow, and at the bottom of the screen, you see “Use with weapon set.” I’m only going to use it with two.

Weapon Switching Mechanics in the Game

So now the game will force use my two-handed weapon when I want to use Rolling Slam, and it will fluidly switch back to my one-handed weapon when I want to use Bone Shatter, which has a higher DPS. This is a great way to allow you to split weapons that are using the same weapon class to use different weapon sets to get the most damage or maybe a specific element. Maybe you’re using a Quarterstaff, you have one Quarterstaff that does a specific element versus one that does another, and you want to focus on that element for that skill. Use these checkmarks to allow you to navigate that. Also, another thing if you are playing a Ranger, you have this right above, always attack without moving.

Enhancing Combat Strategy

So now the game will force use my two-handed weapon when I want to use Rolling Slam, and it will fluidly switch back to my one-handed weapon when I want to use Bone Shatter, which has a higher DPS. This is a great way to allow you to split weapons that are using the same weapon class to use different weapon sets to get the most damage or maybe a specific element. Maybe you’re using a Quarterstaff, you have one Quarterstaff that does a specific element versus one that does another, and you want to focus on that element for that skill. Use these checkmarks to allow you to navigate that. Also, another thing if you are playing a Ranger, you have this right above, always attack without moving.

Understanding Weapon Sets and Passives in the Game

So maybe you want to stay in one spot. This allows you to do that, an easy way to navigate that ability when it comes to weapon sets and passives. It’s important to understand how this works because it’s a little convoluted. If you need help, you can simply hover over

Exploring the Navigation and Functionality

the game’s interface for more information. This feature enhances your gameplay experience and provides additional strategic options during battles. Understanding the intricacies of weapon sets and passives can give you a competitive edge in various scenarios.

Unlocking Advanced Strategies

Exploring different combinations of weapon sets and passives can lead to discovering powerful synergies that maximize your character’s potential. By mastering these elements, you can adapt your playstyle to suit different challenges and opponents effectively.

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