Path of Exile 2: How to Trade PoE 2
22.01.2025 - 02:22:16
Game Guides , Path of Exile 2
Are you getting one-shot by high-level monsters in T15 maps? Is your damage output insufficient to kill the formidable pinnacle bosses in Path of Exile 2? Do you need a bit more push to achieve 75% on all of your resistances? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you can address those by trading items with other players.
The problem here is that trading in PoE 2 is not as easy as other games out there. There is an external platform that you have to interact with before you can buy from other people. If you’re the one selling the goods, you have to do things on your end as well.
Don’t worry, we will discuss those things in this trading guide. Read further and learn some useful information about how to trade in Path of Exile 2.
Trade Website
When playing Path of Exile 2, you have to be acquainted with the PoE 2 trade website. This is the external platform we have alluded to earlier, and it’s where you will search for items that you want to buy.
Before you can interact with the website, you have to log in using your credentials. Don’t worry, this is an official platform made by Grinding Gear Games, so your account should be safe when you’re on the trade website.
As you can see in the image above, the large text box lets you input the specific item you are looking for. Just below that are a bunch of filters that help you narrow down the search results considerably.
We will explain the most important filters in the later sections of our Path of Exile 2 trading guide. For now, let’s talk about how you can trade items with other players.
How to Trade Items in PoE 2
Trading items in Path of Exile 2 always involves two parties—the buyer and the seller. Let’s look at each perspective so that you know what to do. Just remember that you have to be logged into the game regardless if you’re the buyer or seller.
Buyer
If you are searching for viable upgrades, head to the trade website and use its various filters to help you with that. After you’ve found an item that you want, click “Direct Whisper.” This will send an in-game message to the seller telling them the particular item you’d like to purchase.
If the seller does not respond the first time, click on that small arrow icon next to the direct whisper, which allows you to copy the text. Paste it into the message box in-game and press enter. Only do a follow-up once and never send spam messages to the seller. Otherwise, they might block you.
When the seller agrees to make a trade, they will always send you a party invite. Accept the invitation and go to where they are by clicking on that small blue icon on their portrait image. Alternatively, you can right-click on their name and choose “Visit Hideout.”
Once you’ve arrived at their whereabouts, wait until they send you a trade request. This is a basic trading etiquette in Path of Exile 2. You should never be the one to initiate the trade unless the one you’re trading with is a friend or a familiar acquaintance.
When presented with the trade UI, place the right amount of PoE 2 currency on your side, and then wait until the seller puts the item on their part of the window. Don’t forget to inspect the item to ensure that it’s the right one.
You will know if the deal is about to be finalized when you see the green-colored border on the seller’s side of the trade window. When this happens, simply press “Accept” to finish the transaction. That’s it!
Take note that even if you don’t inspect the item closely, you still have to hover your mouse cursor over it before you can click accept. Otherwise, the said button is grayed out.
Seller
What if the tables have turned and you’re now the seller? What should you do? Well, there are a few things that you have to do first.
You must buy a Premium Stash Tab in the in-game shop before you can put items up for sale. Press “K” on the keyboard, which will open up the store’s interface. You can find what you’re looking for under stash tabs.
If you don’t have a lot of premium currency to work with, you can simply upgrade your regular stash tabs for 15 points. Those who purchased a Path of Exile 2 Early Access Supporter Pack should have at least 300 points.
If you have the patience, GGG will occasionally offer the premium stash tabs at discounted prices. The discount is not that big, but it can help you save money if you don’t have a lot of disposable income.
Anyway, After obtaining at least one Premium Stash Tab, right-click on it from the top (not on the right side of the stash UI). This brings up the customization settings, which you can tinker to your liking. You can input a name for the stash tab, set affinities, and choose a color to make it stand out.
However, the one thing that you need to do here is set the Premium Stash Tab to “Public.” This is so that any item you place inside will be visible on the Path of Exile 2 trade website.
Once the stash is public, place any item you want to sell inside. To set the price, right-click on the item, choose your desired PoE 2 currency for payment, and then input the price in the box in the middle.
The Exalted Orb is the primary currency for trading in Path of Exile 2. Almost any item on the trade website is being sold for Exalted Orbs, except for those that have pretty awesome mods. For highly-coveted items, you can set Divine Orb as payment.
After everything is set, you can click on that check mark just below the drop-down menu. Doing so will list the item on the trading platform for everyone to see.
At this point, you have to wait until someone messages you. If a player contacts you and wants to buy one of the items you have on sale, send them a party invite.
The good thing about trading in Path of Exile 2 as a seller is that the item that the buyer likes to purchase will be highlighted, making it easier for you to know which one to get from your stash.
When you have the item in your inventory, wait until the buyer goes to where you are located in Wraeclast (typically, in the hideout). Right-click on their name and choose “Trade.”
Since you are the seller in this scenario, put the item the buyer is interested in on your side of the trade window. Wait for the buyer to place the right amount of Path of Exile 2 currency on their side. After you see the green border, click accept. Congratulations! You’ve successfully sold an item in PoE 2!
Useful Trade Filters
Simply searching for a particular item using that large search box won’t do you any good, especially if the results page shows you a lot of unwanted BS that you don’t want to deal with. Fortunately, you can use the various filters that are on the PoE 2 trade website. Let’s go over them one by one, shall we?
Type Filters
Item Category
If you are unsure about the specific name of the item but know what category it falls under, you can use this filter to narrow your search results to items within your chosen category.
For example, if you are playing a Mercenary build in Path of Exile 2 and have forgotten the name of the best crossbow for the job, you can set "Crossbow" in the Item Category filter. This will display only the crossbows currently listed on the trade website.
Item Rarity
This particular filter allows you to limit the search results to show only items with specific rarity. For the most part, set this to “Rare” since rare items have the maximum number of affixes (six). Of course, you have the freedom to choose Normal, Magic, or Unique if you want to.
Equipment Filters
Equipment filters are pretty self-explanatory. You can set minimum values for each of the stats that you want on a particular item. If you like body armor with high amounts of evasion, you can set something like 500 on the minimum evasion value so that you’re only presented with body armor that satisfies that criterion.
If you want to narrow down your search for the ideal body armor, you can take things a step further by putting “zero” on the maximum values of both armor and energy shield. This effectively removes any body armor with these defensive layers from displaying in the search results.
For weapons, what matters most are damage per second (DPS) and physical DPS. The former talks about how much damage a weapon can output per second, while the latter takes into account a weapon’s physical damage.
PoE 2 builds that use attack skills can greatly benefit from weapons that have a high amount of physical damage because most of their abilities convert physical damage to a random damage type (elemental or chaos).
Requirements
These filters are usually left blank because they are not that important, at least, for the most part. However, if you are still in the campaign and are looking for gear that will help make your leveling journey easier, then you can set a maximum level based on the current level of your character.
For example, if you’re stuck in Act 1 Cruel Difficulty and you’re currently at level 47, you can put the number “47” as the maximum value on “Level” so that you are shown items that you can wear immediately.
Miscellaneous Filters
Gem Level
Let’s say that you are having trouble getting your hands on a Level 20 Uncut Skill Gem. You can set both the minimum and maximum values to “20” so that you’re only shown the actual item you’re looking for.
This also helps when you are trying to get more support gems in Path of Exile 2. Take note that, unlike skill gems, support gems can only have a maximum level of 3.
Corrupted
A lot of PoE 2 players don’t mind gambling with their items by using a Vaal Orb in the hopes of getting something good in return. A Vaal Orb “corrupts” an item, which can possibly grant it random modifiers to make it better. Another outcome is that nothing happens to the item, except that you can no longer tweak it further because corrupted items cannot be altered anymore.
Having said that, if you want to purchase non-corrupted unique items, you can click that drop-down menu and select “no.” Otherwise, you can leave it as is.
Trade Filters
The only thing that you need to concern yourself with when it comes to trade filters is the buyout price. This not only allows you to set your preferred PoE 2 currency but also lets you determine the amount that you can afford.
For instance, you are looking for the Hand of Wisdom and Action, though you only have a couple of Divine Orbs on hand. What you can do is type the name of the set unique item on the search box and then set “two” as the maximum value on the buyout price. Don’t forget to select the Divine Orb as the currency you’re willing to use as payment.
You can choose other types of PoE 2 currency as well. Exalted Orbs are used as the primary currency for relatively good items. Chaos Orbs and Orbs of Alchemy can also work, though not as consistently as the Exalted Orb.
In addition, Divine Orbs are reserved for “mirror-tier” items or things that have modifiers so great that you’re willing to pay a huge amount to get them.
Stat Filters
The above-mentioned filters are quite basic in what they can do. Specify the buyout price, check to see if an item is corrupted or not, and ensure that any item that will be shown on the results page are rare (yellow) items only, among others.
However, if you want to go into the details, then you have the stat filters for that. These allow you to specify the exact modifier that you want the item to have.
Suppose you’re looking for a good physical damage bow. What you need to type on the stat filters are “Adds # to # to Physical Damage” and “% Increased Physical Damage.” Of course, you are not limited to that because you can add other modifiers as you see fit.
Stat filters are also quite useful when searching for a unique item with specific numerical values for their distinct modifiers. For instance, you can input “% Increased Effect of Socketed Soul Cores” on the stat filter when you want a well-rolled Mahuxotl’s Machination.
Just below “+Add Stat Filter,” you will find another option called “+Add Stat Group.” This lets you add another set of criteria that aids in narrowing down your search for the perfect item in PoE 2. Most of the additional stat groups are pretty straightforward, but we will explain the other two that are worth exploring in greater detail.
Weighted Sum
The Weighted Sum is a stat group on the PoE 2 trade website that lets you specify a bunch of modifiers that guarantee the best values through calculation. This can get really complicated, so we will simplify it in the best way we can.
Basically, you set a weight for each modifier that you want an item to have. Think of this as a level of priority, with the larger weight resulting in a much higher sum when calculating the total values. So, if you want “movement speed” to be of higher priority over “fire resistance” when searching for a pair of boots, for example, the weight of the movement speed modifier has to be larger than that of the fire resistance mod.
For a more concrete example, let’s say you are searching for body armor that has a high maximum life bonus. You add a few maximum life modifiers (implicit, explicit, and enchantment) and put “1” as their weight.
Strength also provides you with an increase in maximum life, so you can include that as part of the modifier group. However, since STR gives more HP per point, you can put a higher weight on it.
After inputting the weight of each modifier, you can set a total value at the top as shown in the image below:
In this case, we are looking for body armor that has at least 200 to maximum life, with strength factored into the equation. After pressing search, you will see something like this:
As you can see, it’s still not the best body armor that will suit your needs because it has a sum of zero (highlighted in red). So, the next step would be to click on the “sum” so that the search results will be inverted, showing you the best possible results. This next screenshot is in stark contrast with the previous image:
Upon closer inspection, the body armor above has at least 300 HP and 29 strength, with a weighted sum of 368. You don’t have to concern yourself with the sum because what you are after are the modifiers with the correct values based on the parameters you have previously set.
If the ones displayed on the search results are too expensive, you can set the buyout price to the exact amount you are willing to spend.
Now, capping your resistance to at least 75% is crucial to your survival. If your resistance values are below that, you will undoubtedly struggle in T15 maps, especially because the monsters there hit like a truck!
You can utilize the Weighted Sum to search for body armor with resistance values that amount to, say, 70%. This just means that the ones that you will see after clicking “sum” on the next page have a total of 70% resistance when summed up.
Weighted Sum is considered a godsend by many Path of Exile 2 players because it really helps cut unnecessary items from the search results. Just don’t forget to click the word “sum” after the initial search.
If you are into the nitty-gritty details, the weight is simply a multiplier in this regard. For instance, 40% cold resistance with a weight of 1 is equal to 40. A movement speed mod with a weight of 2 and a value of 20% is also equal to 40. These values are summed up, which will then be displayed to you as the “sum” highlighted in red in the previous images. The higher the sum, the closer it is to the ideal item you’re looking for.
Count
Stat filters already allow you to specify a particular set of modifiers that an item can have. There’s only one problem: anything that you’ve set on the stat filters should be respected. If no item on the trade website contains the exact modifiers you are looking for, then you end up with nothing. This is where “Count” comes in.
Count is another stat group on PoE 2 trade where you can list as many modifiers as you want. However, the main difference here is that you can set a limit so that the items displayed on the search results will only have some of the modifiers from your preferred stats, not all.
For example, you want to buy a jewel that has at least two of the seven modifiers you’ve listed. So, what you’ll do is put the number “2” on the “min” value in the box shown below:
Here is the search results page with Exalted Orbs set as the buyout price:
If you’ve noticed, the jewels that you can find there only have two random modifiers from the list. This is why “Count” is a nice way to search for stuff on the trade website that doesn’t necessarily have to satisfy all of the modifiers you have specified.
Weighted Sum vs. Weighted Sum V2
One common question that people ask about trading in Path of Exile 2 is: what is the difference between Weighted Sum and Weighted Sum V2?
Well, the minimum and maximum values of each stat that you’ve listed under “Weighted Sum” are to be respected. This means that you will not see any items outside of your specified ranges.
For instance, if you want body armor that has a total of 70% resistance on it, then those that have resistance values below that threshold are not displayed on the search results.
If you don’t want the system to be too restrictive on the search, then use Weighted Sum V2 instead. Let’s say you want a pair of boots that has a minimum item rarity (IIR) of 15%. However, someone is selling boots that have awesome modifiers, albeit the IIR is below 15%. These boots will be shown on the search results because the weighted sum of the other affixes still satisfies the overall min-max values you’ve set.
Live Search
So, you’re searching for an item on the trade website and nothing turns up with the exact set of modifiers that you want. This can happen even if you’ve used Weighted Sum or Count as extra filters. If this is the case, you can activate Live Search, which will prompt the website to look for specific items in real-time.
Live Search is only visible on the search results page, as you can see in the image below:
Bulk Item Exchange
If you want to buy a lot of consumable items, you can use the Bulk Item Exchange, which is also found on the Path of Exile 2 trade website. Click on “Bulk Item Exchange” and then set the right parameters to suit your needs.
Let’s say you want to buy Divine Orbs since you have a good supply of Exalted Orbs waiting in your stash. Click on the Divine Orb icon in the “Items I Want” section, and then choose the Exalted Orb in the “Items I Have” section of the Bulk Item Exchange.
After pressing search, you should see something like this:
Based on the image above, a single Divine Orb sells for 145-147 Exalted Orbs. Of course, its price is subject to change through Early Access and upon full release but this should give you a general idea of how to use the Bulk Item Exchange.
Now, you’re probably asking why you need to use the Bulk Item Exchange if the Currency Exchange exists in-game. Well, the simple answer is players usually offer something at a reduced price compared to what you can see in the Currency Exchange.
Of course, it is much easier to use the Currency Exchange for simple transactions like buying a soul core or two. However, if you want to purchase more than 10 pieces of something, then the Bulk Item Exchange is more suited for that.
Tools for Trade
You can download third-party software that will make your PoE 2 trading experience a whole lot easier! Don’t worry, the tools that we recommend here are safe and not bannable. We’ve used these programs and we can vouch for their authenticity! Anyway, here are the top trading tools for Path of Exile 2:
Exiled Exchange 2
Exiled Exchange 2 is the spiritual successor to the popular Awakened PoE Trade program for Path of Exile 1. This is an overlay that you can activate while playing the game.
Basically, what it does is it allows you to easily check the price of items by pressing “Ctrl+D.” You can tick or untick the modifiers to see similar items on PoE 2 trade. If you want to open the trade website, there is a handy button you can press on the overlay itself, which will set the necessary parameters automatically.
Sidekick
Sidekick is another PoE 2 overlay that is quite similar to Exiled Exchange 2. It enables you to do a quick price check on an item, with some beautiful images to boot! You can check or uncheck mods as you see fit.
Both Exiled Exchange 2 and Sidekick offer configurable hotkeys for certain commands. For example, if you want to go directly to your hideout without interacting with a Waypoint, you can just press F5. Make sure that both overlays are running in the background for this to work.
PoE2DB
This last trading tool is not an overlay like the previous ones but it’s still essential, especially if you’re selling high-end gear. PoE2DB allows you to see the different tiered modifiers that can roll on an item.
For example, if you want to know how high the “Increased Spell Damage” mod can roll on a wand, you can go to PoE2DB to check for relevant information.
Now, if you have a high-level wand in your possession that contains the highest-tier increased spell damage modifier, you can sell that for multiple Divine Orbs without a problem!
Trading Tips
Now that you know the essentials of trading items in Path of Exile 2, we will give you some practical advice in this section of the guide. Here are some useful trading tips in PoE 2:
Use ‘Fuzzy Search’
Whenever you add a stat filter on PoE 2 trade, you must type the exact modifier that you want, word for word. Did you know that you can actually be a bit more casual when typing for a particular mod? To do this, you have to activate what is known as “Fuzzy Search.” Simply input the tilde symbol (~) first and then type away!
For example, instead of typing “increased movement speed,” you can just input “~move speed” and it will show the same thing.
No Tilde
With Tilde
Set a Maximum Budget
If you are still a beginner in Path of Exile 2, you can set a budget for a particular item by typing a number on “max” for the buyout price. For instance, if you only have five Exalted Orbs to spend, you can input the number “5” so that the items that are displayed on the SERP will be anything that costs five Exalted Orbs or less.
Always Check Everything Before Finalizing the Trade
It should be common sense to look at the items before completing the trade, right? However, you won’t believe how many people still fall for scams just because they’re too lazy to check. Always make sure to check everything before finalizing the transaction. This advice goes for both buyers and sellers.
For buyers, make sure that the item the seller has placed on their side of the trade window is actually the one you intend to buy.
On the other hand, sellers must ensure that the right amount of PoE 2 currency is placed on the buyer's side of the trade UI before clicking accept.
In the early days of Path of Exile 2 Early Access, some buyers would put Orb of Alchemy instead of Exalted Orb when purchasing items from other players. After all, the former has some resemblance to the latter. That’s why it’s important to double-check at all times.
Don’t Spam the Seller
When you want to buy an item from somebody, click “Direct Whisper” only once. If the seller does not respond, you can copy the trade message and paste it into the message box in-game. Although you can certainly do this, only send a follow-up message and that’s it. If you receive no responses or party invites, go to the next seller. Never spam messages or there will be undesired consequences!
Send Multiple Whispers
You can find good items sold at affordable prices on the trade website if you’re diligent enough to look for them. Having said that, if one seller does not respond, you can click “Direct Whisper” on the other sellers until you get an invite.
If you get multiple invitations, choose only one, and then complete the trade. After that, deliver a private message to each seller who sent an invite and explain that you’ve already purchased the item from someone else. Don’t leave the other sellers hanging!
Purchase a Quad Stash Tab
The Quad Stash Tab has a storage capacity equal to four premium stash tabs (hence the name). So, if you are planning to sell a ton of items, perhaps the Quad Stash Tab is better suited for your needs. You can set prices individually or in bulk similar to a single Premium Stash Tab.
Let the Buyer Know for Any Changes in Price
One common strategy PoE 2 players employ is that they set the price relatively low and then adjust accordingly based on the number of replies they are getting. If you need to change the price of an item for whatever reason, it’s common courtesy to let prospective buyers know about the adjustment.
Suppose you’ve set the price for an Ingenuity belt at two Divine Orbs. A week later, the price of said unique item increased to four Divine Orbs. If yours is still using the old price and someone interested messages you, let them know that the average price for that particular item has gone up, prompting you to adjust it to market standards.
In most cases, the buyer will tell you that they’re no longer interested in making the trade. However, if you’re selling something valuable at a reasonable rate, then they might be amenable to the price increase.
Request the Seller to Come to You
If you are still leveling up and you’re not deep enough in the campaign just yet, then talk to the seller and have them come to you.
Oftentimes, sellers will wait for you in their hideouts, which is good because there are no level or campaign restrictions there. However, if they are in some place in Act 3 and you’re still in Act 1, you cannot teleport to their location. That’s why telling them to come to you because of that is not a bad thing.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Clarification
Some players would put a price on an item that is not a whole number, such as 1.5, 3.5, 10.5, etc. In most cases, that “0.5” value means that you add another PoE 2 currency like Regal Orbs or Orbs of Alchemy, in addition to whatever currency they originally wanted as payment.
To make sure that the trade pushes through, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification as to what the “0.5” value means. The seller is often happy to explain to you what you need to know. After all, who doesn’t want to earn, right?
Make Reasonable Offers
If the seller puts a negotiable price on an item, do not give them an offer that is laughably bad. Do your due diligence and check for similar items on PoE 2 trade so that you can make a reasonable offer that the seller cannot refuse.
Always remember that the seller goes out of their way just to make time to initiate a trade. Don’t waste that opportunity!
Never Enter the Seller’s Portals
Trading in Path of Exile 2 necessitates the engagement between the buyer and the seller. There’s no auction house or anything of the sort, which would have automated this process.
Anyway, when you see that the seller has portals opened up, it is common sense to never enter any of them. That is because the seller might want to get a quick buck, so they’ve opted to leave whatever they were doing just to trade with you.
Always Express Gratitude
When you complete a trade, never forget to say thank you. Expressing gratitude might seem insignificant, but it brightens the day of the person you’ve initiated a trade with. A simple “TY” or thank you should suffice.
Final Thoughts
Trading in Path of Exile 2 is a bit cumbersome compared to other games. This is intended because GGG wants you to engage with other players somehow, and this is one way of doing that. Despite its complexity, you will get the hang of it sooner rather than later.
We hope that you’ve found our PoE 2 trading guide helpful! Be sure to bookmark this page so that you can come back to it for advice in the future.
In the meantime, if you are looking for items but don’t have anything valuable to trade, you can head to our PoE 2 Store and we’ll help you sort this one out!