While diving into Path of Exile 2, you’ll come across plenty of gear that your character can’t use. More often than not, this gear won’t match your character class. You have several options: you can sell it, break it down using the Salvage Bench, disenchant it through select vendors, or stash it for another character. These methods help you convert unneeded items into something practical, but they don’t address every type of unwanted loot you might encounter.
What do you do when you stumble upon an item that fits your character but is significantly worse than what you already have? While selling, breaking down, or disenchanting might be the usual choices, it can feel wasteful. Fortunately, there’s another option at your disposal: the Reforging Bench. This unique crafting tool enables you to trade in multiple items of the same kind for a chance to reroll their stats, and more often than not, you’ll end up with something better than what you put in. Let’s explore how to locate and use the Reforging Bench in Path of Exile 2.
Unlocking The Reforging Bench
When To Unlock The Reforging Bench
You’ll need to reach Act 3 in Path of Exile 2 before the Reforging Bench becomes available, so if you’re just starting, it’ll be a while before you can begin rerolling your items. At some point in Act 3, you’ll undertake a quest titled “Legacy of the Vaal,” leading you to a new area known as The Drowned City.
After finishing this quest, head back to the Ziggurat Encampment, and find an NPC called Oswald in the northwestern area of the map. Speak with him to initiate a quest named “Treasures of Utzaal,” which will guide you closer to unlocking the Reforging Bench.
Defeating The Molten Vault & Mektul
Follow the quest markers to reach the nearby Drowned City and enter the dungeon known as The Molten Vault. This is the perfect time to wear any gear that offers fire resistance and equip ice abilities, since you’ll be facing a wave of fiery foes. Make your way through the Vault until you confront Mektul, The Forgemaster.
It’s recommended to be around level 40 before tackling the Molten Vault.
Mektul is a formidable boss capable of inflicting severe fire damage. Luckily, he isn’t particularly fast and has long cooldowns between many of his attacks. Keep your finger ready on the dodge button and capitalize on his downtime to hit him as hard as you can. The battle is timed for four minutes; if you don’t succeed within that time, the room will fill with lava, leading to your guaranteed demise. As long as you focus on cold damage and grasp his attack patterns, you should defeat him with relative ease.
Once you’ve defeated Mektul and obtained the Hammer of Kamasa, return to town and speak with Oswald again. Just like that, you’ll unlock the Reforging Bench, allowing you to begin rerolling your loot right away. You’ll also earn an Uncut Skill Gem.
Utilizing The Reforging Bench
Requirements & Rerolls
From now on, you’ll find a Reforging Bench in every major town, and you can also place one in your hideout if you choose. To use it, approach and interact with it like any other crafting station.
To utilize the Reforging Bench, you’ll need to place three items of the same type and rarity (for instance, three regular axes) into one side, which will be merged into a new item of the same type but with new stats. Keep in mind that the original items will be destroyed in the process. The output item’s quality depends entirely on the ones you put in; don’t expect something like a Soul Core by putting in gear. Here’s a list of the items eligible for use with the Reforging Bench:
- Weapons, armor, or accessories of the same type and rarity
- Unique items
- Catalysts
- Essences
- Soul Cores
- Precursor Tablets
- Distilled Emotion
- Runes
- Relics
- Waystones of the same tier
Keep in mind that you’ll always need three of the input items, and you will always receive just one. Although most rerolls are random, Waystones and Distilled Emotions will yield items of higher tiers. Additionally, certain restrictions apply when using the Reforging Bench: for instance, corrupted items cannot be used.
Most rerolled items will need to be identified through the Hooded One or with a Scroll of Wisdom before you can fully understand their capabilities.
Lastly, note that the item level of the resulting item will match the lowest-level item you sacrificed. For best results, aim to use three items of similar levels to avoid wasting two high-level items just to get a single low-level one.
Now, you should be well-equipped with the knowledge to begin rerolling items at the Reforging Bench. The rest will come from your experiments, discovering what outcomes you receive in Path of Exile 2.
