POE Exalted Orb Farming - Read our Introduction Guide

Farming exalted orbs

If you’ve been playing PoE for a while now, you are probably already familiar with the concept of currency items, such as exalted orbs. These items are used in a wide variety of ways: some of them enhance your items with additional modifiers and some allow you to “re-roll” the modifiers on an item. Some of them even allow you to restructure your passive skill tree by giving you refund points!

So which one of these are exalted orbs? Exalted orbs allow you to enchant rare items with a new “affix”. These orbs are an extremely rare drop and are highly sought after by players of all levels. The high value of exalted orbs has made them a go-to currency item that people use to trade, and it is exactly the reason why you should think about farming those orbs if you want to get rich.

And with the game having so much content added in updates so frequently, there is plenty of ways to go about it and this farming guide will make it so much easier. Make sure you read all the tips (the guide is intended for non-hardcore characters)!

Poe Currency flipping

As you may already know, you can actually exchange your low-tier currency all the way into exalted orbs in a shop. However, you probably shouldn’t do that. Those low-tier orbs are actually quite useful while leveling your character from the bottom up, and, moreover, you are not really achieving much by flipping currency. Not only do you waste time during which you could be questing or farming, but you also do not even get any experience out of it!

While currency flipping sure is useful, it is definitely not one of the most reliable farming methods out there. If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, you can always flip some currency that has been laying around in your stash. Exchanging extra currency is also a great idea to save some stash space if you do not want to buy extra tabs for real money.

Mob grinding for exalted orbs

Unlike many of the hack and slash games out there, it is actually quite popular to grind mobs from time to time in Path of Exile. Exalted orbs have a very low drop rate, but can be dropped from any mob out there, but there are certain areas and mobs which should give you a far better chance of getting orbs, and definitely at a faster rate.

Typically a good place to start farming is Burial Chambers. If you already have a high-level character, you can also try farming the Uber Elder. Keep in mind that to do that you already have to have completed 20 maps, but the treasures are oh so worth it! You should also probably work on the Atlas of Worlds while at it.

Endgame maps

As the name of this method suggests, it is primarily for high-level characters, but you should not really worry about farming exalted orbs while beginning your journey with Path of Exile. Even if some drop while you’re just clearing out mobs, you still should use them sparingly and wait till your char is a bit more leveled up.

So how to begin with map-farming and not lose hours trying? First of all, you need access to the Templar Laboratory, which becomes available after finishing Act 10. There, you need to place the map inside of a map device, which consumes the main item and creates a randomized instance, just like a dungeon in most online games. These maps, however, are a bit trickier.

The maps you can find along your journey come in different qualities, just like items. These rarities are normal, magic, rare, and unique. Maps also have their own special affixes, which make them usually more difficult, but also a lot more rewarding. The quality of a map can also be raised by using a Cartographer’s Chisel on it.

Well, there is some rumor about using the map device located in The Chamber of Sins, which is in Act 7, but, sadly, you still need to beat Act 10 to access that device. The developers have not changed it in 2018 and they will probably not change it post 2019.

But which maps should you try out and which of them should just be left in the trash? The general consensus is that you should use maps of at least 66 levels, with a magic quality or higher. Standard maps of such a low level are most often not worth it and you are not going to get much value out of them. Better not waste your life away!

How to find good quality maps

One of the best ways to earn exalted orbs constantly is to run guardian maps over and over. But how to lay your hands on those? Use the trade chat! The easiest and quickest way to get them is to simply buy them. If you have some currency stashed away (like you should have!), then you should find a seller without any problems. Those maps cost around 19-25 chaos orbs, which is quite cheap, depending on the affixes on the map itself. Keep away from Chimera guardian maps, though, as they seem to be the hardest kind, and it is really easy to die while there.

Make sure you focus on the Increased Item Quantity modifier rather than stats when you don your gear, as that will ensure the most amount of exalted orbs dropped (try to keep it at 80% at all times). That way you can easily earn more than you have spent on the map itself. Not only will you be able to find a lot of currency items that way, but you will also collect a whole list of useful equipment of high rarity, which you can use yourself or sell (or keep them in the stash for other classes on your account!). Moreover, you can find a lot of seemingly useless materials, such as gloves and weapons, and so on, which are very handy when you start crafting stuff with recipes.

If you are playing a fast enough build (find some help if you do not) and have decent damage (and some luck), you can safely clear from 5 to 10 guardian maps per hour. That’s quite an income if you apply yourself to it. Make sure you keep your survivability high. So far, farming guardian maps is the most consistent and stable way of generated currency in Path of Exile. Make sure you pick up all the bonus things (such as cards) that you may find there!