Orb of Transmutation vs. Orb of Alteration: Which One Should You Use?

[Jerry]

The Orb of Transmutation and the Orb of Alteration are both essential crafting currencies in Path of Exile, but they serve different purposes and are used at distinct stages of item upgrading.

The Orb of Transmutation is used to upgrade a normal (white) item into a magic (blue) item by adding one or two random explicit modifiers. It is the very first step in the crafting process, turning basic gear into something more powerful and useful. Without transmuting a normal item first, you cannot apply other crafting orbs that modify magic items. This orb is especially valuable in early gameplay or when you want to prepare an item for further crafting.

On the other hand, the Orb of Alteration is used exclusively on magic items. It rerolls all the explicit modifiers on a magic item, removing the old ones and granting up to two new random affixes. This makes it a powerful tool for refining and improving magic gear, as you can repeatedly reroll the affixes until you obtain desirable stats. The Orb of Alteration is more versatile in mid-game crafting because it allows you to customize magic items without advancing them to rare status. If you're progressing quickly through leagues, you may choose to buy poe 2 currency to fuel this refinement process more efficiently.

In terms of value and usage frequency, Orbs of Alteration are generally considered more valuable than Orbs of Transmutation. This is because you can use multiple Alteration Orbs on a single magic item to try for the perfect combination of affixes, whereas the Orb of Transmutation is a one-time upgrade from normal to magic rarity. Alteration Orbs are in higher demand for crafting and trading, making them a more sought-after currency.

Use the Orb of Transmutation first to upgrade a normal item to magic rarity.

Once the item is magic, use the Orb of Alteration to reroll its affixes until you get desirable mods.

The Orb of Transmutation is essential for starting the crafting process, while the Orb of Alteration is key for refining magic items.

Alteration Orbs tend to be more valuable and widely used due to their rerolling capability.

Both orbs are important but serve distinct roles in the crafting progression.

Choosing which orb to use depends on the item’s current rarity and your crafting goals. For initial upgrades, the Orb of Transmutation is necessary. For modifying and improving magic items, the Orb of Alteration is the better choice. Many veteran players even keep reserves of cheap poe 2 currency to ensure they can continuously engage in both early and mid-tier crafting without interruption.