PoE 2 Best Base Items To Chance & Craft (Weapons & Armor)

Which white items to keep and chance in Path of Exile 2? Here we will present the most valuable base items to spot!

Path of Exile 2 Best Bases (White Items)

In Path of Exile 2. the base of an item determines its core stats, implicits, and the types of modifiers that can roll on it. Unlike other games where the item's name is arbitrary, in PoE, the item's base name dictates its properties. For example, a Ruby Ring always comes with Fire Resistance as an implicit, while an Iron Ring provides physical damage bonuses. Choosing the right base is crucial for crafting and optimizing your character's gear.

Crafting in PoE 2 revolves heavily around item bases. Knowing which ones to prioritize enhances your efficiency, saves currency, and allows you to create powerful gear. Whether you're looking for resistances, life, or damage, starting with a strong base can make all the difference.

How to Identify Good Base Items?

When deciding whether an item is worth keeping or crafting on, hold the ALT key while hovering over it. This will reveal detailed information about the item's stats, including:

• Whether a mod is a prefix or suffix

• The tier of each mod (e.g., T1 is the best, T9 is the worst)

• The roll range for each mod within its tier

Higher-tier mods are better but rarer. To determine if an item is good, focus on whether it has multiple valuable modifiers at decently high tiers. For example:

• Life and resistances are universally useful for most builds.

• Items like boots must also have movement speed, which is critical for mobility.

If an item lacks necessary mods for its type (e.g., no movement speed on boots), it may not hold much value despite having other decent mods.

Path of Exile 2 Best Base Items (Whites)

Below, we’ll cover some of the best item bases in PoE 2 for various equipment slots, including rings, amulets, belts, gloves, boots, chest armor, and weapons.

Rings

Rings in PoE 2 are some of the most versatile and valuable base items, thanks to their implicit modifiers and ability to cover a wide range of needs such as resistances, damage, or utility.

Prismatic Ring

Implicit: +10% to all Elemental Resistances

This ring provides a high resistance implicit that is universally useful for all builds. When crafted well, it can solve many resistance issues, allowing you to focus on other stats on your gear.

Emerald, Ruby, and Topaz Rings

Implicit: Accuracy Rating (Emerald), Fire Resistance (Ruby), Lightning Resistance (Topaz)

These rings provide focused resistances, making them excellent for builds needing specific defensive boosts. The Emerald Ring’s Accuracy Rating is particularly useful for attack builds.

Iron Ring

Implicit: Adds 1-4 Physical Damage to Attacks

While it's a low-level base, the Iron Ring is incredibly useful for early-game attack builds. Later in the game, this can scale well with physical builds when paired with modifiers that increase physical damage or attack speed.

Pearl Ring

Implicit: Increased Cast Speed

A solid option for spellcasters, especially in builds that rely on faster spell casting.

Chaos Resistance Rings (Amethyst Rings)

Implicit: +Chaos Resistance

Chaos resistance is harder to come by than elemental resistances, making Amethyst Rings a valuable choice for survivability against Chaos damage.

For endgame, rings with high resistances and life are king. Early on, Iron Rings can boost physical builds, while Resistance Rings (Ruby, Topaz, and Sapphire) help balance elemental resists.

Amulets

Amulets offer a wide range of implicits that cater to both survivability and build-specific needs:

Amber Amulet

Implicit: +Strength

Strength not only fulfills attribute requirements but also provides +2 Life per point. Amber Amulets are excellent for builds that need high life or strength requirements for skills.

Azure Amulet

Implicit: +Mana Regeneration Rate

This amulet is perfect for mana-intensive builds, especially in the early game.

Solar Amulet

Implicit: Increased Aura Effect

This amulet shines in endgame builds that rely heavily on auras. It provides additional life and mana regeneration, making it a premium choice for support or aura-stacking builds.

Bloodstone Amulet

Implicit: Life Regeneration

Though the regeneration is minor, it can be useful for builds that aim to stack regeneration effects or rely on sustain for survivability.

For endgame, a Solar Amulet is often the most premium choice, as it can enable additional auras or sustain mana-heavy builds.

Belts

Belts are primarily used for their defensive stats, but some implicits can provide niche utility:

1. Plate Belt

   Implicit: Increased Armor

   Why it's great: This base shines for armor-based builds, offering a solid boost to physical damage mitigation. It’s also a great utility option for hybrid builds that lack armor elsewhere.

2. Charm Belts (e.g., belts with situational effects like freeze immunity)

   While niche, these belts provide unique effects such as immunity to freeze or bleeding. However, their uptime can be inconsistent, especially in prolonged fights.

3. Rustic Sash

   Increases physical damage, ideal for melee characters.

Unfortunately, PoE 2 doesn't yet have Stygian Vises (a popular belt from PoE 1 with a socket), but the Plate Belt and Leather Belt remain strong choices for defense and survivability.

Gloves

Gloves are versatile but lack standout implicits. Their value depends largely on your build and the type of mods they can roll.

1. Expert Intricate Gloves

   High evasion or hybrid Energy Shield/Evasion gloves are excellent for hybrid defense builds, particularly those relying on dodge mechanics.

2. Energy Shield Gloves

   These gloves provide a solid base for casters or builds focused on energy-shield-based defenses.

3. Hybrid Gloves

   Combine evasion and energy shield or armor and energy shield for hybrid builds.

There’s no universal "best" glove base in PoE 2. but choosing one that aligns with your defensive layer (armor, evasion, or energy shield) is key.

Boots

Boots are all about movement speed, life, and resistances. Without movement speed, even the best boots lose their value.

1. Expert Silk Slippers

   Why they're great: High Energy Shield is perfect for caster builds or hybrid builds that focus on Energy Shield sustain.

2. Expert Plated Greaves

   Provide the highest armor for tanky characters.

3. Expert Rogue Boots

   Combine evasion and energy shield for hybrid builds.

Look for boots with movement speed as a prefix, as it's mandatory for efficient gameplay. Life and resistances should fill the suffixes.

Chest Armor

Chest pieces provide the bulk of a character’s defenses. Choosing the right base is crucial for survivability.

1. Expert Scale Mail

   This base provides a balance of armor and evasion, making it a versatile option for hybrid builds.

2. Pathfinder Coat

   Implicit: Reduced Slow Effects on You

   An excellent choice for builds that struggle with movement impairments, such as chilled or hindered effects.

3. Serpent Scale Armor

   Implicit: Increased Elemental Threshold

   Reduces the chance of being frozen, shocked, or ignited, offering extra survivability.

4. Expert Alter Robe

   Offers the highest energy shield for spellcasters.

5. Expert Studded Vest

   Provides the highest evasion for dodge-based builds.

Some bases, like the Pathfinder Coat, reduce slowing effects, making them useful in niche scenarios. However, expert-tier bases generally outperform lower tiers due to their higher stats.

Weapons

Weapons are highly build-dependent, but certain bases stand out due to their unique implicits:

1. Dual String Bow

   Implicit: Bow Attacks Fire an Additional Arrow

   This implicit is essential for bow builds, effectively doubling damage output in certain scenarios and significantly improving clear speed. Fires an additional arrow, massively increasing damage for bow builds. This is the best bow base in PoE 2 for most builds.

2. Exploding Mace

   Implicit: Enemies Explode on Critical Kill

   Exploding enemies deal AoE damage, which is excellent for clearing dense packs. 

3. Scepters (Spirit Modifier)

   Scepters with Spirit modifiers are perfect for minion builds, as they grant additional resources for summoning and sustaining minions.

4. Caster Weapons (Wands and Staves)

   Look for bases with +1 to skill levels, spell damage, or increased elemental damage. These modifiers are crucial for maximizing DPS in caster builds.

5. Expert Gothic Staff

   Provides spellcasters with increased spell damage and block chance.

6. Crumbly Maul

   Explodes enemies on critical hits for 10% of their life as physical damage, a powerful mechanic for AoE builds.

For physical builds, prioritize weapons with high base physical damage. For casters, look for spell damage, plus levels to spells, and elemental bonuses.

PoE 2 Base Item Crafting and Selling Tips

- Essences: Use essences to guarantee specific modifiers, such as resistances or life. They're especially powerful on rings, amulets, and belts.

- Catalysts: Improve modifiers on jewelry by adding quality. For example, catalysts can increase resistance values on rings by up to 20%.

- Trading: Rings and amulets with high resistances are always in demand. Even if they lack life, they are worth selling.