When you first step into Path of Exile 2, it is rarely about flashy moments. For my Huntress, it was all about scraping by with whatever I could find. A mix of battered leather armour, a splintered spear, and every fight feeling like it could go either way. I would dart in, land a hit, and back off before the enemy could retaliate. Progress came in tiny wins – a cracked gem here, a chipped flask there. Even something as basic as a four-link felt like a treasure. Early on, every PoE 2 Currency drop mattered, and every Scroll of Wisdom was worth holding onto. It is the kind of slow grind that forces you to learn the game’s rhythm before you ever get close to real power.

In those first acts, survival meant being smart. The Huntress’s mobility and spear skills gave her a decent start, but without solid gear, she could only do so much. I would clear zones carefully, looking for anything with life and resistances. Weapons were swapped often – a slightly better damage roll or a fraction faster attack speed could feel like a big step forward. Crafting was out of reach; any currency I found went straight into identifying items or buying support gems. This stage is a patience check. You learn enemy attacks, you dodge at the right moment, and you take fights you know you can win. Nothing comes easy.

Then came the moment that changed everything. Deep in a damp, forgotten crypt, I ran into a rare monster stacked with modifiers. The fight was frantic – weaving in and out, burning through movement skills, landing desperate spear thrusts. When it finally dropped, most of the loot was forgettable… except for one thing. That unmistakable chime. An Exalted Orb. In Path of Exile, that is more than just currency – it is potential. I could have traded it for a full set of decent gear and made life easier. Most players would. But I wanted more. I decided this orb would be the start of something bigger.

I set my sights on one goal: a top-tier endgame spear. First, I hunted down the right base – a high item level Imperial Spear. It had the critical chance and attack speed I wanted. Getting it cost a chunk of the orb’s value in trades. Then came the tricky part. I used Essences and Fossils to roll high flat physical damage and a strong percentage physical modifier. It took dozens of tries. Once I had those two perfect prefixes, I locked them in with “Prefixes Cannot Be Changed” and wiped the suffixes clean. That gave me a perfect foundation.

Next, I worked on the suffixes. Using Harvest crafts and Aisling’s unveils, I chased attack speed and critical strike chance. This part was expensive and unpredictable. After a few tense rolls, I landed a high attack speed mod. To finish it off, I crafted “Hits Can’t Be Evaded,” making sure every strike connected – even against bosses with high evasion. The spear was finally complete, and it was a monster.

The change in gameplay was instant. The Huntress went from cautious pokes to tearing through enemies like they were nothing. Packs that used to take time vanished in seconds. Boss fights flipped from drawn-out battles to quick kills. The spear’s speed and crit chance worked perfectly with her ascendancy, turning her into a blur of lethal strikes. That single Exalted Orb had taken me from scraping for scraps to standing at the top of the food chain, all thanks to one bold choice and a lot of patience. In the end, it proved how one drop of path of exile 2 currency can change everything.