In Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0, the crafting mechanism has received an unprecedented overhaul. Now, the official limit is that only one crafted modifier can exist on a piece of equipment, affixes like Essences that can give the item guaranteed modifiers.
This change completely destroyed the once most popular production method, which was to first use Greater Essences to synthesize the perfect prefix essence, and then synthesize the double perfect suffix essence. This method once created a series of excellent weapons, but unfortunately, it is no longer possible in update 0.5.0.
Especially for Titans fans, this change may completely change the current league building landscape, as the power scaling of these class builds is highly dependent on weapons such as Two-Handed Maces. If you want to use them as a league starter in Return of the Ancients, you’ll have to figure out how to get powerful two-handed weapons first. But don’t worry, because IGGM is here with a solution.
Here again, we provide two methods for making top-level Two-Handed Maces according to different budget situations, ensuring that you can make the weapons you need regardless of whether you have sufficient POE 2 currency reserves in the early 0.5.0 period!
Base choice
Before starting production, the choice of weapon base is crucial, but it mainly depends on your build tendency.
If you are looking for a faster base attack speed, then Sacred Maul is a good choice, it feels better and has good synergy with most in-game mechanics; if you want higher single damage, then Massive Greathammer with extremely high physical base damage is your first choice.
Low budget crafting method
First, let’s take a look at a low-budget production method suitable for players with tight financial resources in the early stages of Path of Exile 2 0.5.0 league. How to create a weapon with extremely high damage by controlling prefixes.
Step 1: Get the core prefix
You must obtain a Two-Handed Mace base with a high-level flat physical damage affix, which is a non-negotiable requirement.
Step 2: Add suffix
Next, we need to add two suffixes. The first one is to directly use the Orb of Augmentation to add it to the weapon. Then consume a Regal Orb to upgrade it from a Magic item to a Rare item, this will also add a random modifier to your weapon.
Please note that if a prefix is clicked here, you need to remove it through Orb of Annulment, and you cannot remove the core flat physical damage affix. If the stripping fails, the affix must be re-rolled with Chaos Orbs.
But if Regal Orb rolls out the suffix: the weapon now has 1 prefix and 2 suffixes. Even though those two suffix attributes are garbage, it doesn’t matter.
Step 3: Make the perfect suffix
Assuming your suffix here is less than ideal, we can use Omen of Dextral Crystallization. It will force your next Perfect or Corrupted Essence to only remove or recast the suffix on the item, thereby 100% protecting the flat physical damage of the prefix and stably adding physical damage to the prefix.
Step 4: Introduce Kurgal prefix
Next, you can add Kurgal modifier to your two-handed weapon. Normally, this modifier only rolls in three situations: % Increased Physical Damage + Reduced Attack Speed, attacks penetrate cold resistance and empowered attacks deal increased damage.
Here, we choose to select % Increased Physical Damage + Reduced Attack Speed. Since the damage bonus of this prefix is huge, although it will reduce the attack speed, it still has its flaws.
If you’re pushing the limit, you can use Omen of Abyssal Echoes to increase the value of this affix, or invest in a large amount of POE 2 Divine Orbs to re-roll the value.
Step 5: Process the suffix
At this point, your prefix is perfect. So the next thing you have to do is use Exalted Orb and Omen of Greater Exaltation direct blind spot suffixes.
It is recommended that you use Chaos Orb and Omen of Dextral Erasure together, which will only remove and replace the suffixes when refining equipment, thus locking the prefixes that have been refined until useful suffixes such as attack speed or melee skill level are developed.
High budget crafting method
If you’re after true BiS gear and have plenty of Path of Exile 2 currency, then trying to fracture your Melee Skill Level affixes is the best option.
Step 1: Make Fractured Base
First, we need to successfully fracturing the +5 to Level of all Melee Skills on the two-handed mace into a golden fixed affix through Fracturing Orbs. IGGM recommends that you use specific Desecrate prefixes to adjust the number of affixes on items to increase the success rate of desecration.
Step 2: Roll Flat Physical Damage affix
Since Melee Skill Level is now locked, we can directly use Chaos Orb to refine the base crazily until it is peeled off or directly click on Flat Physical Damage of T1 or T2. Therefore, your orb reserve will directly determine your affix level and base value. If you do not have enough funds but still want to obtain a more powerful two-handed mace, you can also directly buy POE 2 currency in IGGM without any hindrance to your forging process!
Step 3: Protect useful suffixes
Closer to home, after rolling out Flat Physical Damage, we can use Omen of Dextral Exaltation to add a suffix to this piece of equipment. Again, it doesn’t matter what the suffix is here.
But let’s assume that the initial attributes of this piece of equipment are very poor. Next, we need to use Perfect Essence of Abrasion, which removes the random affix from a rare item and adds a guaranteed modifier to it. Since the Melee Skill Level Fractured affix here cannot be destroyed, it will randomly consume the junk suffix you just added, thereby protecting the good suffix you want to keep while stably adding % Increased Physical Damage.
Step 4: Complete the final refinement
Then we need to use Omen of Sinistral Necromancy with Kurgal affix to prefix desecrate, and select % Increased Physical Damage + Reduced Attack Speed.
Finally, use the same mechanism of POE 2 Chaos Orb and Omen of Dextral Erasure to repeatedly reshuffle and lock the suffixes you want without damaging the prefixes at all, and use Divine Orb to maximize all physical damage variables.
In short, with the weakening of the production mechanism in the 0.5.0 update, the core logic of making a top-level Two-Handed Maces in Path of Exile 2 has changed from the previous synthesis of perfect affixes through essence to first locking the base with flat physical damage/fractured affixes, and then through Omen to supplement prefixes and repeatedly refine the suffixes. Although it may be more complicated than the previous methods of making equipment, mastering these methods provided by IGGM is the best way for you to conquer endgame gear in Return of the Ancients! Try it and see!