The Best-Kept Secrets of Path of Exile 2—ELD.gg

[Chunzliu]

Path of Exile 2 is shaping up to be one of the most mechanically rich ARPGs in recent memory, boasting more depth, layers, and hidden systems than ever before.In fact, a surprising number of features, mechanics, and systems exist that you would never know about unless you stumble upon them—or someone else clues you in.
This article explores some of the most important hidden systems and obscure features in POE 2 that every player should know. From stealthy movement speed penalties to secret map bookmarks, vendor exploits, stash filtering magic, and unintuitive reforging quirks POE 2 Currency Orbs, here's your all-in-one crash course into the game's best-kept secrets.

1. Movement Speed Penalties: Armor and Shields Are Slowing You Down
Did you know that equipping heavier armor or larger shields can reduce your movement speed in POE 2? Unless you've closely examined the bottom of your character sheet for the "Movement Speed Modifier," you might never realize your gear is actively making you slower.
Let's break it down:

Wearing heavy plate armor drops your movement speed to around 14%.

Switch to chainmail, and it's 15.2%.
Equip light armor, and you're up to 16.4%.
Take everything off? You're zooming.

The same applies to shields:
Without a shield: +5.8% speed.
With a tower shield: down to 11.6%.
With a crest shield or targy: around 13.3%.
A tiny buckler? No speed penalty at all.

This is a huge deal, especially for classes like the Amazon or casters like the Ritualist, where mobility is everything. In fact, the Ritualist example cited had a -2.6% penalty just from choosing a targy over a buckler. You might be unknowingly hurting your leveling speed just by equipping bulkier gear for defense.
Pro Tip: Check that movement speed modifier at the bottom of your character sheet, and consider optimizing your armor and shield loadout to prioritize speed over raw defense.

2. Bookmarking Maps: A Quality-of-Life Feature That's Easy to Miss
When you're in the endgame mapping stage, navigating POE 2's sprawling atlas can be a pain—especially if you're jumping between bosses, citadels, or corruption nodes.
Enter: Map Bookmarks.
Here's how it works:

Right-click any map on the Atlas to add it as a bookmark.
You can name these bookmarks things like "Stone #1", "Corruption Farm", or "Boss Node."
These act like fast-travel markers, letting you zip around without scrolling endlessly through the Atlas.

It's perfect for farming a specific boss path, jumping between citadels, or rechecking missed objectives. It may sound small, but once you start using this feature, you'll never go back to dragging your cursor all over the screen.

3. Delirium Reforging: From Ire to Paranoia
The Delirium mechanic has a secret upgrade path that the game never tells you about. You've probably collected charts like Ire, Guild, Greed, Paranoia, and more. But what do you do with them?
Here's the breakdown:

Reforge 3 Ires = 1 Guild
3 Guilds = 1 Greed
3 Greeds = 1 Paranoia

This lets you upgrade low-tier charts into much rarer and more valuable ones, assuming you know the path. Sadly, this process isn't described anywhere in the game UI. There's no popup, no tooltip—nothing. If no one tells you, you'll never figure it out on your own.
Compare this with Essences, which can be reforged into other random Essences (e.g., 3 of Essence of Body might become Flame), but there's no upgrade path—just a horizontal transformation.
Consistency? Not quite. But at least now you know.

4. Reforging Item Levels: Why Combining Gear Can Ruin Your Crafting
Let's talk reforging gear. Imagine you have three sword spears:

One is item level 56
One is 64
One is 70

What happens when you reforge them? You get a spear with the lowest item level: 56.
Yes, the reforging system uses the lowest item level of the ingredients. So if you're aiming to craft high-end gear, never mix in lower-level items.
This is especially crucial when crafting endgame gear:

If your base item isn't 70+, you're cutting off a huge portion of affixes and modifiers.
Always check item level with Alt and match them before reforging.

This subtle mechanic can be the difference between creating a best-in-slot item and bricking your entire craft.

5. Infinite Vendor Farming: Control + Left Click Respawns Zones
Ever wonder how some players farm vendors or specific zones for hours? They're not logging in and out—they're using Ctrl + Left Click to spawn new instances of a zone.
Here's how:

Visit a zone with a valuable vendor, like the Infested Barrens or Jungle Ruins.
Locate the vendor or special chest.
Go to the zone's waypoint, press Ctrl + Left Click, and select “New Instance.”
The vendor resets with a new inventory.

This also works great for farming easy XP zones like Drowned City. Just clear the area, hit Ctrl + Left Click, and repeat.
Most controller users discover this automatically, but for keyboard & mouse users, the game never hints at it. Once you start using this method, vendor and zone farming becomes far more efficient.

6. Stash Filtering Tricks: Advanced Search Syntax for Loot Goblins
When you've got dozens—or hundreds—of items in your stash, filtering becomes essential. But POE 2's stash search is far more powerful than it first appears.
You can combine multiple search terms to filter exact affix combos:
AND Operator
To search for items with Energy Shield AND Maximum Life:

Search: energy then max life
The stash highlights only items that contain both properties.

OR Operator
To search for Energy Shield OR Chaos Resist:

Use the pipe symbol | (Shift + Backslash on EN keyboard)
Search: energy | chaos

You can even mix and match:
strength | movement | chaos = any item with Strength, Movement Speed, or Chaos Resist

This works not only in your stash—but also with vendors. Set your search string once, and each time you open the vendor, it'll highlight only what you care about.

7. Vendor Hunting with Custom Filters
Let's say you're leveling a melee build and want Strength gear with Movement Speed on boots. Just search:

strength then move

Every time you check a vendor, that string will help you quickly identify upgrades without scanning every item manually. It's especially handy for speedrunning or efficient leveling.

8. Support Gems Not Showing? Uncheck "Show Recommended Gems"
This one's an absolute classic. If you can't see a support gem available for a skill like Explosive Grenade, it might be because the “Show Recommended Gems” box is still checked.
Uncheck it, and voilà—all compatible gems will appear. It's a simple toggle, but it's tripped up countless new (and returning) players.

Conclusion: Path of Exile 2's Best Features Are Hidden in Plain Sight

Path of Exile 2 is overflowing with depth and complexity, but that complexity sometimes hides critical features behind unexplained mechanics Path of Exile 2 Currency, cryptic UI decisions, or missing tooltips. The good news? Once you know about them, you gain a massive edge.
To recap, here are the key takeaways:

Watch your movement speed penalties from gear.
Bookmark maps for efficient Atlas farming.
Upgrade Delirium charts through hidden reforging paths.
Match item levels before reforging.
Ctrl + Left Click respawns zones and resets vendors.
Use advanced stash/vendor filters for faster gearing.
Toggle off “Show Recommended Gems” to reveal all supports.

Enjoy your journey through POE 2.