In Path of Exile (PoE) and its successor Path of Exile 2, the mechanic of “Anointments” plays a crucial role in enhancing your character’s abilities through amulets and rings. This mechanic utilizes different systems and currencies in each game, significantly impacting character build strategies.

Path of Exile 1: Oils and Enchantments

In the original Path of Exile, anointments are conducted using Oils obtained primarily from Blight encounters. Players engage with Cassia, an NPC found in their hideouts, who facilitates the anointing process. Here’s how it works:

– Oiling Process: You can place an amulet or ring in the anointing interface and fill designated oil slots. The combination of oils determines the specific enchantments applied to the item.

– Enchantment Outcomes: These enchantments provide various powerful modifiers, enhancing gameplay strategies and personalization of character builds. Players can choose oils based on the desired bonuses and their in-game goals.

This system encourages players to actively engage with Blight content to gather necessary resources, providing a clear incentive to participate in that gameplay element.

Path of Exile 2: Distilled Emotions and Notable Skills

Conversely, Path of Exile 2 introduces a revamped anointment system where players use Distilled Emotions, a new currency acquired through Delirium encounters. This marks a significant shift from simply adding generic enchantments to embedding specific notable passive skills directly into amulets:

– Notable Skills Allocation: Instead of acquiring bonuses from the oils, players can now use three Distilled Emotions associated with a specific notable skill from the passive skill tree. This allows for deeper customization of character builds since players can gain access to powerful abilities without allocating traditional passive skill points.

– Instilling Process: By using the appropriate Distilled Emotions along with the amulet in an instilling window, players can embed a chosen notable skill onto the amulet. Once equipped, this notable passive skill activates and enhances the player’s abilities.

– Strategic Considerations: Anointed amulets cannot be re-anointed with different skills, necessitating careful planning on the part of players. This decision-making adds a layer of complexity and strategy to character customization, as players must weigh their options before committing to a particular skill.

Summary of Anointment Mechanics

– Path of Exile 1: Anointments involve using oils to add specific enchantments, acquired from Blight encounters through Cassia.

– Path of Exile 2: Anointments allow players to embed notable passive skills onto amulets via Distilled Emotions obtained from Delirium encounters, freeing up passive skill points for other areas of the passive skill tree.

Overall, while both systems serve the purpose of enhancing gear and character customization, they differ significantly in execution and strategy. Anointments remain integral to gameplay in both titles, allowing players to personalize their builds and adapt their strategies as they progress through the game.