Best Uniques for Leveling in Path of Exile 2

The majority of Unique items in Path of Exile 2 are made to make the leveling process faster. Rare items tend to take center stage by the mid-part of the campaign all the way to the endgame, though there are some Uniques that work well up until the point where players can start doing Atlas maps. In this guide, we’ll be going over some of our favorite Unique items for leveling up new characters in PoE 2, including ones that remain useful up until the endgame.

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Best Unique Armor for Leveling in PoE 2

Unique armor pieces tend to have better longevity when it comes to doing the PoE 2 campaign. Some offer extreme value for specific classes/playstyles, while others are just generally good to have.

Enfolding Dawn Body Armour

• Signature Effect: +100 Spirit

This Unique chest piece is the perfect item to use for Minion builds or any other build that uses large amounts of Spirit. Its main draw is the massive amount of Spirit it provides, allowing players to summon huge armies or use multiple Herald skills at the same time. However, it disables the inherent effect you get from the Intelligence stat; with Enfolding Dawn equipped, you won’t get any bonus Mana for every point of Intelligence you have.

Titanrot Body Armour

• Signature Effect: Up to 500% bonus Armour and 30% increased Strength

Titanrot Cataphract is for players who want to build Strength-based characters in PoE 2. It gives you a massive boost to your Armour, letting you shrug off Physical attacks. If you get other gear pieces that make Armour apply to Elemental damage, you’ll be shrugging off most hits that come your way. The downside of this armor is that it will reduce your Intelligence and Dexterity by 10%, and it will prevent passive Life Regeneration too.

Grip of Winter Gloves

• Signature Effect: Increases Freeze buildup, Chill magnitude, and Cold Resistance while granting bonus Cold damage to Attacks.

Grip of Winter is a pair of Unique gloves that’s perfect for Cold-based Attack skills like Ice Strike and Lunar Assault. It helps Freeze enemies faster while adding some extra Cold damage on top of your attacks, making it great for any non-spellcasting build. Be mindful of your defenses when using this, though, as despite providing up to 30% Cold Resistance, Grip of Winter only provides a meager amount of Evasion.

Wings of Caelyn Helmet

• Signature Effect: Melee hits grant 1 Rage, and you gain bonus 1% Stun Threshold per point of Rage.

Wings of Caelyn offers a balance of offense and defense. Not only does it give you 1 Rage on Melee hit, but it also increases your Stun Threshold, preventing you from getting stunlocked when mobbed by enemies. Every point of Rage increases the damage you deal with Attacks, making this a great choice if your character has no other way of generating Rage. Thankfully, Wings of Caelyn has no negative drawback apart from having low base Armour.

Radiant Grief Helmet

• Signature Effect: Enemies in your Presence are Ignited as if dealt 100 base Fire damage

Just by wearing Radiant Grief, all enemies near you are lit on fire. The Ignite effect itself is decent, but what matters most here is that this lets you synergize with effects that require enemies to be Ignited, such as the effect from Blackgleam Fire Quiver.

Thrillsteel Helmet

• Signature Effect: Gain Onslaught

Thrillsteel has one job: it makes you faster. Onslaught is an effect that grants you 20% Skill Speed and 10% Movement Speed, and while it usually lasts for 4 seconds, Thrillsteel gives this effect to you at all times. This helmet won’t protect you much, but you can always compensate for that through other means.

Best Unique Weapons for Leveling in PoE 2

As mentioned earlier, most Unique weapons get overshadowed by well-rolled Rares fairly early on. However, some are good enough to carry players up until the start of Act 4 or even the start of the early mapping stage, while others have special interactions with skills that make them worth using all the way to the end.

Rampart Raptor Crossbow

• Signature Effect: Consume no ammo for a short duration after reloading

Rampart Raptor is a Crossbow capable of giving players virtually unlimited ammo. Its damage drops off extremely quickly, but it enables a special interaction with the Riven debuff from High Velocity Rounds.

The Riven debuff makes enemies take 5% of the damage dealt by High Velocity Rounds every time they are hit by an Attack. With Rampart Raptor, players can pelt enemies with a barrage of shotgun-style Crossbow skills like Galvanic Shards and Fragmentation Rounds, making enemies take ludicrous amounts of damage very quickly thanks to the Riven debuff. This interaction lets players take down even endgame bosses using a level 1 Rampart Raptor.

Shyaba Temple Maul

• Signature Effect: High attack speed; never misses

Shyaba is a two-handed Mace that solves one of the biggest gripes most players have with the weapon class: its slow attack speed. This weapon makes leveling with a Warrior (or any 2H Mace build) feel significantly faster and smoother, especially ones that use Rolling Slam or the basic Mace Strike skill. Shyaba has a higher Dexterity requirement than most 2H Maces, though, and it’s only usable from level 28 and beyond, so plan accordingly.

Tidebreaker Pointed Maul

• Signature Effect: All damage from this weapon contributes to Chill Magnitude; has an up to 200% increased Stun Buildup

While Tidebreaker massively increases Chill Magnitude, its actual value as a level 45 weapon is its amazing stat package. It outperforms most other 2H Maces at its level range, and it can comfortably carry players from Act 3 all the way to about T3-T5 maps if used with the right build.

Widowhail Bow

• Signature Effect: Up to 250% increased bonuses gained from Quivers

Despite being a Crude Bow that deals 6-9 damage, Widowhail is a surprisingly strong option up until late Act 2, provided you can use it with a good Quiver. It pairs well with something like Asphyxia’s Wrath or The Lethal Draw, but don’t expect its usefulness to last very long.

Death’s Harp Bow

• Signature Effect: Bow Attacks fire 3 additional arrows; has a chance to fire more arrows

In most cases, Death’s Harp ends up as the replacement for Widowhail during the leveling process for Rangers and other bow users. The additional 3 arrows it fires greatly increases your offensive capabilities, especially when used with good Quivers. Pair this with a skill like Gas Arrow and go crazy with all the explosions you can make.

Pillar of the Caged God Quarterstaff

• Signature Effect: Gain bonus stats based on your Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence

Pillar of the Caged God deals pitiful damage by default, but it becomes very powerful once you start stacking your three main stats. This weapon gains the following bonuses for every 10 points in the following stats:

• Strength: 10% increased Weapon Damage
• Dexterity: 1% increased Attack Speed
• Intelligence: 1% increased Area of Effect for Attacks

Use this weapon with any other piece of gear that boosts your stats as well as Runes that give bonus damage, and you’re good to go.

Earthbound Voltaic Staff

• Signature Effect: Killing Shocked enemies triggers Spark

If you’re playing a lightning spellcaster build, then Earthbound will likely be the best weapon you can use during leveling. As long as you’re killing Shocked enemies constantly, you’ll be filling the screen with Spark, which will continue to Shock and kill Shocked enemies to create even more Sparks. This interaction is going to drain your mana quite a bit, though, so consider using something like Everlasting Gaze to compensate.