Item Modifiers are very common in Path of Exile 2, and you can find them on almost all items you get. When players use currency, the modifiers on the items will generally change. Sometimes these affixes will increase, and sometimes the affix values will change.
For any player who wants to build a good item, it is almost necessary to understand these modifiers.
Bases
Bases generally refer to any equippable item that can be crafted on it. It is usually considered Normal Rarity, but not always. Most equippable items that your character can wear can be crafted, except for unique items.
Modifiers/Stats/Affixes
All the wording you see on items you find are generally referred to as Modifiers, or simply “mods”. Some may also refer to them as “Stats” or Affixes, so when you see them, you know they’re all the same thing.
Explicit And Implicit Modifiers
Implicit Modifiers
Implicit Modifiers are Modifiers that are always on top of other Modifiers, regardless of their rarity. For example, a Topaz Ring always has Lightning Resistance, so this is called an Implicit Modifier. Implicit Affixes are Modifiers that are inherent to the item type and are not affected by most currencies that can be used on items, such as Chaos Orb or Orb of Alchemy. While not all items have Implicit Mods, they are quite common on weapons and jewelry.
Explicit Modifiers
Explicit Modifiers are Modifiers that can be changed when crafting. Using Topaz Ring example again, if you found and identified 10 rare Topaz Rings, they would all have Lightning Resistance Implicit Modifier, but each would have a different Explicit Mod.
When you use an Orb of Alchemy, the item will become a Rare item and gain 4 random Explicit Mods. These Modifiers can be further changed if you then use a Chaos Orb on it. This will remove one Explicit Modifier and replace it with a new one. If you want to try changing Modifiers of an item yourself, you can buy POE 2 Currency to experiment.
Modifier Pool
The pool of all possible Explicit Modifiers on an item is called “Modifier Pool”. Different items have different Explicit Modifiers.
For example, an axe can have a Modifier that increases physical damage, while a body armour cannot. Likewise, a body armour can have a Modifier that increases armor by 10%, while an axe cannot.
Because Modifiers appear on items probabilistically, this means that some Modifiers are rarer than others. This probability is called “Weight” of Modifier.
Prefixes And Suffixes
Mod Pool of Modifiers is further divided into two parts: Prefixes and Suffixes. Some Modifiers are always Prefixes, while some Modifiers are always Suffixes.
This separation of modifiers helps you craft advanced items, but modifiers are also categorized to prevent items from having too many of the same type modifiers.
Resistances are usually suffixes. If you put 4 suffixes on a body armor, it will have too many resistances. Instead, a rare item will have a cap of 3 resistances mostly, so it can have up to 3 suffixes.
Item Rarity
The rarity of an item affects the number of modifiers it can have:
- Normal (White): 0 explicit modifiers
- Magic (Blue): Up to 2 explicit mods (1 prefix and 1 suffix)
- Rare (Yellow): Up to 6 explicit mods (3 prefixes and 3 suffixes)
- Unique (Orange): Cannot be changed with crafting currency, may have more than 6 modifiers in some cases
Local and Global Modifiers
Local Modifiers
Many modifiers can provide players with a boost in the form of health or resistances, but they can also affect the base stats of the item itself, further amplifying its damage or defense, which can make some bases more useful than others. Local Modifiers, on the other hand, modify existing affixes on an item.
Implicit Modifiers that affect the base properties of an item are called Local Modifiers. The numbers showing the base properties of an item will be displayed in white text, but will turn blue when they are affected by a Local Modifier on an item.
For example: Imagine you have a two-handed axe that does 17-59 points of physical damage. If it has a modifier on it that says “100% increased Physical Damage” then Physical Damage at the top will now say “34-118 Physical Damage” in blue.
Global Modifiers
Global Modifiers increase the overall stats of your character, not the item. These mods cover all modifiers that are not local. Modifiers like “Dexterity +10” or “Maximum Life +50” are considered global modifiers.
You’ll see some differences between Global Modifiers and Local Modifiers. For example, “50% increased global critical chance” will increase the critical chance of all your attacks and spells, regardless of the source. But a weapon with a “50% increased critical chance” modifier will only affect the base modifier of the item, increasing the chance of a critical hit when attacking with only that weapon.
Also Read: Is The Patch 0.2.0 Lost Towers Change Good Or Bad In Path Of Exile 2?
Item Level
Modifier Tiers
The same type of modifier has different strengths, which you can think of as Tiers. Modifiers have a fixed range. A low Tier life modifier might only add you 10-20 health, while high Tiers health modifiers can give you 80-90 health. You may find an item that contains all the modifiers you need, but the modifier values are at a relatively low level. At this time, do not try to use Divine Orbs to modify the modifier values, because it cannot make the modifier values enter the high Tiers, which will only waste your Divine Orbs.
Item Level
The level of modifiers that can appear on an item is affected by the level of the item. Higher-level items have a higher chance of appearing affixes of higher Tiers. You are more likely to find high-level items in high-level areas.
The above is a brief introduction to Modifiers, and I hope it will be helpful to all players.
