Crafting high-quality Waystones in Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) is both a science and an art. With the right techniques, you can turn ordinary maps into valuable resources that not only enhance your gameplay but can also be sold for significant profit. This PoE 2 Best Waystone Crafting Guide walks you through the fundamentals and advanced strategies to help you master the art of Waystone crafting.
In Path of Exile 2, Waystones are the heart of endgame mapping. To fully unlock their potential, you need to understand how their affix system works.
Each Waystone can roll up to six affixes: three prefixes and three suffixes, and knowing what each category offers can be the difference between a profitable map and a wasted run.
Prefixes are typically the mods you want to target. These modifiers can dramatically increase map rewards, improve monster density, or add valuable mechanics such as increased pack size, improved item quantity, or specific league content like Legion, Breach, or Delirium. High-tier prefixes can exponentially boost your farming efficiency and loot returns.
Suffixes, on the other hand, are a bit more nuanced. While they don’t usually provide direct benefits to map content, they are essential because they increase the chance of additional Waystone drops. This makes them crucial for sustaining your mapping loop, especially during high-efficiency farming sessions. In short, suffixes fuel your long-term mapping grind, even if they don’t offer immediate rewards.
To analyze a Waystone’s affixes, simply hold the Alt key while hovering over it in your inventory or stash. This reveals the tier and category of each mod, helping you quickly evaluate its potential.
For players aiming to make smart decisions early on, it's important to get familiar with the affix tiers and mod pool.
Third-party tools like PoE2DB offer a searchable database of affixes, letting you check mod strength, tiers, and their potential impact on your maps.
This kind of knowledge helps you decide whether a Waystone is worth investing in with chaos orbs, scouring, orbs of alchemy, or if it should be rerolled entirely.
Understanding this affix system is foundational. It sets the stage for everything that follows in crafting, flipping, and running maps with maximum efficiency.
To streamline your crafting, you’ll need:
Alchemy Orbs (Alchs) for initial rare conversions
Augmentation Orbs (Aug) to fill out mods
Regal Orbs to rare a magic map
Exalted Orbs (Exalts) to add additional affixes
Vaal Orbs for powerful corruption outcomes
And yes, you’ll need a lot of these. Organize them in your inventory for quick access during gameplay.
Crafting starts with maximizing your affix count efficiently:
Alchemy Orb: Converts a normal Waystone to rare.
Augmentation Orb: Adds a new mod.
Regal Orb: Converts magic into rare with additional mods.
Exalted Orb: Adds a new rare mod (use cautiously due to rarity).
For endgame crafting, always Vaal your maps.
Here are potential Vaal outcomes:
Nothing happens (25% chance).
Map tier increases or decreases (25%).
Reforges:
Converts suffixes to prefixes or vice versa.
Adds up to 10 mods, with both prefix and suffix groups locked.
The 10-mod reforge is the most powerful, especially when combined with atlas bonuses like "Increased effect of modifiers per modifier".
When evaluating affixes, here's a cheat sheet ranked from most to least desirable:
Quantity of Items Found (Quant)
Rarity of Items Found (Rarity)
Increased Rare Monster Density
Increased Pack Size
Additional Packs of Specific Monsters
Waystones with these affixes should be flagged for personal use or sale.
Use your stash tab's keyword filters to streamline the sorting process:
Example: Rarity Items Experience will narrow results.
Advanced: Use up to 50 characters for more specific filters like waystone drop chance > 100.
Delirium Distillments significantly enhance map rewards:
Right-click a Distillment.
Place the Waystone in the dialog box.
Add up to three Distillments for additional layers of delirium.
Use PoE2DB and the PoE2 wiki to look up effects. The ideal ones often boost rare monster loot, pack size, or pre-cursed areas.
Note: Distillments can be upgraded at the Reforging Bench or bought in bulk from Alva.
Once crafted, organize your maps efficiently for sale:
Avoid the default Waystone tab (non-highlighted trades).
Use an empty affinity tab named for prices (e.g., "1 Div").
List on the trade site using filters:
Tier 15/16
Min. Quant/Rarity
Exclude bad mods like Temp Chains or Ailment Threshold
This is the perfect point to Buy PoE 2 Currency to streamline your crafting or to invest in premium maps from other players, ensuring consistent high-tier performance.
When buying or price-checking, use filters like:
Minimum Waystone Tier: 15+
Deliriousness: Enchantment at 40% +
Required Mods: Quant, Rarity, Pack Size
Excluded Mods: Temporal Chains, Ailment Threshold
These maps often sell for 1+ Divine Orbs each, and some with stacked delirium and premium affixes go for several divs.
Pricing varies, but demand is always there, especially at league peaks.
Run only the top-tier crafted maps:
Prioritize Tier 16 with 10-mods and high delirium.
Look for combos like Quant + Rarity + Rare Packs + Pack Size.
Avoid maps with bricks: Temp Chains, Ailment Threshold, or Ignited Ground.
If you’re unsure whether to run or sell a map, check the trade site prices—some maps go for multiple Divine Orbs!
Crafting Waystones in PoE 2 isn't just about luck; it's about learning to recognize value, using the right tools, and knowing when to slam or sell. With enough practice and strategic thinking, you'll turn every session into a profitable, exhilarating experience.
Now go out there and craft like a pro—and maybe even turn a profit along the way. And, if you don't want to indulge yourself in this time-consuming process, PoE2Currency.com has the perfect solution.