Vaal Orbs are a key part of the endgame crafting loop in Path of Exile 2, necessary for crafting some of the most broken pieces of gear in the entire game which cannot be obtained any other way.
Using a Vaal Orb is always a double-edged sword, however, as corrupting an item is essentially a high-risk, high-reward gamble between securing a positive result, a negative result, or nothing at all. Vaaling can—and will—brick your items in a dozen different ways if it goes wrong. And it will go wrong. This is because there are multiple possible outcomes of using a Vaal Orb on an item in PoE 2, and only a few of them are beneficial. Here’s the breakdown.
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Updated April 11, 2025, by Hamza Haq: As of Patch 0.2.0 of Path of Exile 2, a new method of using a Vaal Orb has been added to the game that was not present previously, allowing players to apply the corruption effect on Essences. The article has been updated with this information.
All Vaal Orb Outcomes in PoE 2
There are four possible outcomes of using a 
Vaal Orb on an item. They are:
- Nothing happens.
- Adds a corrupted modifier.
- Rerolls existing modifiers.
- Adds a Socket.
A Vaal Orb will only ever have one out of the four possible outcomes, never a combination of two or more.
Nothing Happens
Using a Vaal Orb on an item has the possibility of leaving that item unchanged other than adding a corrupted tag to that item. While the stats and modifiers of the item remain the same, you cannot use any Currency on the item again, including Vaal Orbs, because of the corrupted tag.
Adds a Corrupted Modifier
Vaal Orbs can add a new affix to an item—pulled from a selected list of corrupted modifiers—even if it has the maximum number of possible affixes already. This is beyond useful if you hit something critically important but merely an okay result if the added affix is nothing special. This modifier appears as an implicit above the rest of the modifiers.
Vaaling is the only way to obtain Jewels with 5 modifiers in PoE 2.
Rerolls Modifiers
Like Divine Orbs, Vaal Orbs have the ability to reroll all (or some) modifiers of an item, but in a different way. Where Divine Orbs can only reroll an item’s modifiers within the maximum upper and lower limit of possibility, Vaal Orbs do not have that constraint. A Vaal Orb has the ability to push an item’s modifier above (or below) the maximum modifier limit.
Where Divine Orbs can reroll modifiers of any item, Vaal Orbs can only do so on Unique items.
For example, a Temporalis has a modifier, “Skills have -# seconds to Cooldown,” and the range for this modifier is -2 to -4. With Vaal Orb, it’s possible to exceed that limit and obtain a Temporalis that has -4.1 seconds to cooldown, a feat a Divine Orb will never be able to accomplish.
Adds a Socket
Vaal Orbs can add a single socket to an item. This is the only way to obtain three socket weapons and armor pieces that can only have two sockets at most. Even the Morior Invictus Grand Regalia, a Unique body armor with four sockets, can be corrupted to obtain five sockets.
Adding a socket is only a possibility for items that can have a socket in the first place. Amulets, Rings, Belts, Flasks, and Rings cannot have a socket.
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What Happens When You Vaal Orb a Skill Gem in PoE 2
Skill Gems and Spirit Gems have a special outcome pool whenever a Vaal Orb is used on them. There are six possible outcomes:
- Gains a level.
- Loses a level.
- Gains a support gem slot.
- Loses a support gem slot
- Loses 2-10% Quality.
- Gains 2-10% Quality.
The main reasons to use a Vaal Orb on a Skill Gem are to aim to get a 5-link or 6-link without having to use a Greater Jeweler’s Orb or 
Perfect Jeweller's Orb or to get a Level 21 Gem
Corrupted Skill and Spirit Gems can still be leveled up after being Vaaled, but you cannot add quality to them anymore.
What Happens If You Vaal Orb an Essence in PoE 2
What many players may not realize is they can use a Vaal on a trapped Essence monster before freeing it. Doing so can have multiple desirable outcomes.
- Increase the number of Essences.
- Reroll all Essences to a different type.
- Upgrade Essences to Greater Essences, or a Greater Essence to a Corrupted Essence.
Notably, using the Vaal Orb on a Greater Essence is the only way to obtain Corrupted Essences. There are four types of Corrupted Essences: Essence of Hysteria, Essence of Delirium, Essence of Insanity, and Essence of Horror. Each comes with a unique effect that is not found anywhere else.
Essences found in the unique map, Silent Cave, can also be corrupted, making it the most efficient way to farm Greater and Corrupted Essences in the game.
What Does Omen of Corruption Do in PoE 2
The Omen of Corruption is an Omen obtainable through Rituals that does one thing and one thing only: removes the chance of nothing at all happening when you use a Vaal Orb. Doing so makes both good and bad options more likely to occur, hence the item description. It is almost always a good idea to use an Omen of Corruption on an item in order to remove a useless outcome from the pool. However, these omens are quite expensive in the currency exchange and should only be used on items that have the potential to become extremely valuable.
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Important Things To Do Before Using Vaal Orb in PoE 2
A lesson players learn early but often forget is that using a Vaal Orb is always, always, the final step in the crafting process. This is because after a Vaal Orb is used on an item, it cannot be modified further using any form of Currency. If Vaaling a valuable piece of gear to make it better, always remember to:
-
Use
Exalted Orb
to unlock all affixes.
-
Use
Artificer's Orb
to add Sockets.
- Increase Quality to +20% (or +50% for Breach Rings).
- Add Anoints to Amulets using Distilled Emotions.
If you want, you can also use 
Chaos Orb, 
Divine Orb, or 
Orb of Annulment on the item before Vaaling because you cannot change a corrupted item in any way after the fact.
There are only two exceptions to this rule:
- A corrupted Skill Gem/Spirit Gem can still be leveled up afterward.
- Socketed Runes or Soul Cores can be replaced with other Runes or Soul Cores.
Path of Exile II
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- December 6, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
- Developer(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Franchise
- Path of Exile
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
