Path of Exile II has introduced significant changes to how auras, trigger gems, and minions function. These mechanics are now linked to a new resource called Spirit, essential for summoning skeletons or enhancing yourself with various auras.
Although Spirit is crucial, there are limited ways to enhance this resource. This guide provides a concise overview of how Spirit operates in PoE2 and details all available methods for acquiring Spirit during your journey, including items to equip and specific Ascendancies that grant Spirit through upgrades.
Updated December 30, 2024, by Charles Burgar: This guide has been revised to include all Spirit drops from bosses encountered during the Early Access campaign. We’ve added boss names, locations, and map icons to facilitate locating these Spirit boosts.
What Is Spirit?
In Path of Exile 2, Spirit is a new resource that you use to reserve auras, trigger gems, and summon minions—unlike before, Mana is not spent on reserving auras. Initially, you won’t have any Spirit, but you can increase this resource throughout your adventure by collecting certain boss drops and equipping specific items.
Your Spirit will be automatically reserved when you activate any trigger gem or aura from your skill set. If your Spirit reserves are insufficient, you can’t activate that skill or gem. There’s no limit on the number of auras or gems you can equip, provided you have enough Spirit to support them.
Minions operate somewhat differently. To summon them, you must go to the skill tab and allocate Spirit to the skill gem. This will display a minion count where the damage per second (DPS) meter typically is, next to the gem level indicator. Clicking the plus icon will use Spirit to summon additional minions.
Leveling your minion gems can help lower the Spirit cost for summoning.
How To Increase Your Spirit
Initially, you won’t have any Spirit to allocate, but you can increase your Spirit reserves in several ways:
- Equip a sceptre.
- Defeat optional bosses.
- Look for “+Spirit” bonuses on your equipment.
- Choose the Infernalist Ascendancy.
Sceptres And Affixes
The easiest way to boost your Spirit in the early game is to equip a sceptre in your off-hand. A sceptre provides +100 Spirit as an inherent bonus and can also come with “+Spirit” affixes to further enhance your Spirit capacity. Solar Amulets also offer innate Spirit capacity.
Some items, particularly body armor, can have Spirit affixes. Keep an eye out for these items as you progress through the campaign.
Optional Bosses
During the Path of Exile 2 campaign, specific bosses drop items that grant permanent statistic boosts when consumed. A few of these drops will offer permanent Spirit increments. Be sure to clear any nodes marked with a plus icon on the world map. Defeating these bosses for the first time will yield a permanent buff for your character.
There are three optional bosses that will provide permanent Spirit enhancements:
| Boss | Act | Spirit |
|---|---|---|
| The King In The Mists Freythorn |
Act 1 | +30 Spirit |
| Ignagduk, The Bog Witch The Azak Bog |
Act 3 | +30 Spirit |
| Ignagduk, The Bog Witch The Azak Bog |
(Cruel) Act 3 | +40 Spirit |
By collecting all three buffs, you can gain 100 base Spirit for your character. To increase it further, you’ll have to look for suitable equipment and Ascendancy nodes.
Infernalist
If you’re interested in creating a summoner, consider trying the Witch’s Infernalist Ascendancy. The first node, Beidat’s Will, boosts your Spirit for every 25 maximum Life you have. This node consumes a portion of your maximum Life but can significantly increase your Spirit, which is useful for maximizing your auras and minions in your build.
