How To Farm Chaos And Exalted Orbs

Crafting Orbs are the mainstay of Path of Exile’s economy. In addition to their originally intended use in creating or modifying items, they also serve as the standard medium of exchange used to buy valuable items from other players. Chaos and Exalted Orbs are especially highly prized, serving as the silver and gold of this economy respectively. The former can be used to reroll all random modifiers on a piece of Rare equipment, while the latter can add new random modifiers, potentially vastly increasing the item’s power. Having large amounts of both currencies is essential for getting the best possible gear in the game, explaining why they are so greatly valued.

Trading

There are many ways to get your hands on those currencies. Trading with other players by selling them items or through currency flipping (exchanging less valuable currencies for the Orbs) may work, but requires both careful planning and luck if you want to turn a profit. Chaos Orbs have a low chance of dropping as a standard reward from monsters, chests, or destructible containers. Exalted Orbs have an even lower drop chance from any of those sources, but continuous grinding may still pay off, especially in some rich spots like the Burial Chambers maps. Mirrors of Kalandra may be downgraded to get Exalted Orbs, but this is seldom worthwhile, as those mirrors are a much rarer and more precious currency.

Loot options

Some special loot options provide somewhat better odds of acquiring crafting Orbs while exploring the game world. There is also a moderate chance of exchanging Gilded Fossils from fractured walls in the Azurite Mine for Orb rewards of either type, though as usual, Chaos is more likely than Exalted. If you stumble upon an Arcanist’s Strongbox anywhere in the game world, defeating the guardian monsters that it releases will give you access to both Orb types. Nevertheless, there are more efficient and reliable methods of Orb farming available to players at higher character levels.

Divination card

You can exchange certain Divination Cards for predetermined Chaos or Exalted Orb rewards with Tasuni at Highgate or Navali at various towns. The cards drop from monsters and containers on specific maps in Wraeclast and the Atlas of Worlds, though they are not common spawns even there. Other Cards may give you especially lucrative items, such as Headhunter. Once you have reached the endgame, Zana, the Master Cartographer can give you missions to go after powerful monsters called Harbingers. Vanquishing them may give you Chaos or Exalted Shards, which can be put together to create new Orbs of their types.

Vendors

Perhaps the most dependable way to farm Chaos Orbs is to sell rare item sets to vendors in any town. This vendor recipe calls for a full collection of gear, including an item for each armor or accessory slot and either one of the following: a two-handed weapon, a one-handed weapon and a shield, two one-handed weapons, or two shields. Flasks, quivers, and alternate weapons are not required. Assuming that the lowest item level in the set is at least 60, the vendor is guaranteed to give you one Chaos Orb. You can get an extra Orb if none of the items were identified or if all items have 20% quality. If both conditions are satisfied, you can get three Orbs per set. If you are using this method, then all you need to do is play through high-level content, such as the Eternal version of the Lord’s Labyrinth or Atlas maps, and collect as much rare gear of all types as possible. Raising the levels of available maps by completing the Atlas, grinding for more maps, and activating Watchstones will give you access to consistent rare item drops.

There is a similar, but more challenging and complex way of farming Exalted Orbs. It requires you to sell full sets of Elder- or Shaper-influenced items. In return, vendors will give you Exalted Shards, which can be upgraded into Exalted Orbs. Such items can be found on Atlas maps that are influenced by the bosses in question, and spawn with a higher likelihood if you use multiple Watchstones to raise the Awakening Level of your Atlas. Once again, Zana can help by selling maps influenced by either boss or giving missions to hunt them or their minions.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are some solid Orb farming opportunities in Path of Exile that do not require you to rely on blind luck or trading with players. However, taking advantage of those opportunities successfully requires both a properly leveled character and good player skills. Don’t be afraid to ask for coaching if you want to guarantee the best results.