PoE2 Body Armour Crafting: ES, Evasion & Mana Chests

🎯 The core idea

Body armours are one of the most profitable things to craft in Path of Exile 2 if you stop wasting omens on them. Buy cheap item level 82 three-socket bases, open them with Annulment and Augmentation until two T1 modifiers stay, fracture the right one, build the side the fracture is on first, and only spend purple omens on the very last missing modifier.

• free costs nothing
• cheap small cost
• setup needs preparation
• grind pays off slowly
• skip the thing to stop doing

What body armours actually sell for

free This is my sales history filtered to Vile Robes: 410, 672, 230, 369, 140, 145 and 1,470 Divine Orbs, about a month into the league. I craft almost only items I can price in the hundreds or thousands, and those prices are high mostly because of league inflation, not because they appear out of thin air.

What drives the price of a body armour:

A typical sellable chest is one of these:

• full resistances
• full resistances with spirit
• two resistances plus one of: energy shield recharge rate, deflection, or armour that also applies to elemental damage

Bases, item level and why 82 locks your suffixes

setup The bases I craft in this video, with their base stats from poe2db:

Use three-socket bases. At this point in the league there is no point crafting two-socket bases. You save a little currency per craft but end up with a much cheaper result, and three-socket item level 82 bases now drop often and cost very little.

Why item level 82. The tier table on poe2db (the screenshot) shows the reason:

An item level 82 base can roll T1 elemental resistances, about 15 more total resistance than a lower base. There is also a second reason, covered below: three T1 resistances (modifier level 82) lock the suffixes against Omen of Whittling.

Opening an expensive base: Annulment and Augmentation

cheap On a 20-Divine base you don't gamble. You Augment and Annul in a loop: Orb of Augmentation, judge, Orb of Annulment, Augmentation again. Keep going until the magic item holds two useful T1 modifiers. Those are either a hybrid + a resistance, a spirit roll + a resistance, or any T1 flat or % ES roll + a resistance.

skip Never use a resistance essence on a high-end base. A resistance will appear anyway, so the essence is a half measure that spends the guaranteed slot on something you'd get for free. To make the item rare, use a Perfect Regal Orb (minimum modifier level 50 on poe2db), because it can roll T1 energy shield or a T1 resistance. Then check the values with Alt.

The hybrid trap. A hybrid prefix on a Vile Robe caps your energy shield. The flat part of the hybrid is only +26 to +30 at T1, while the separate flat roll is +91 to +96 and the separate % roll is 101–110%. If a hybrid lands before the item goes rare, you've ruled out a top-energy-shield chest.

Fix a low resistance with Fluxes before fracturing. Blazing, Chilling and Crackling Flux convert the other elemental resistances to their element (poe2db), and each conversion lands on a new value. I alternate two of them until the single resistance is high. Only do this with one elemental resistance on the item.

Then fracture. A Fracturing Orb needs a rare item with at least four modifiers (poe2db), so desecrate first to reach four, then fracture. Before you fracture, make sure the item has at least one T1 modifier you'd want locked.

Fracture first, then build the matching side

setup Where the fracture lands decides the order of the whole craft:

Omen of Dextral Exaltation makes the next Exalted Orb add only suffix modifiers (poe2db, shown in the screenshot). Combined with Omen of Greater Exaltation, which adds two modifiers, both new modifiers go into suffixes.

Spend omens only on the last modifier. Until only one modifier is missing, use plain Orbs of Annulment and Chaos Orbs, which cost almost nothing. A purple omen plus a Perfect Chaos Orb is expensive, so don't use them while the prefixes aren't even done. If you have two perfect resistances and one junk resistance but unfinished prefixes, just Annul.

When the game baits you. A Chaos Orb with Omen of Whittling removes the lowest-level modifier. On an unfinished item that usually removes the wrong thing and moves a suffix into a prefix. Keep it for the end.

The Well of Souls and blocking junk modifiers

setup A key trick in my crafts is blocking. A modifier family that's already on the item can't roll again. So before you Exalt for the last prefix, desecrate the item and reveal a junk modifier at the Well of Souls, for example life or thorns. While that junk sits on the item, the Exalt can't roll it.

Why life is the one to block: in my experience life has roughly twice the weight of other modifiers. I see about 13,000 for maximum life against about 7,000 for thorns. That makes life the most likely result of any Exalt. poe2db doesn't show modifier weights from the game files, so treat these numbers as mine, not official.

The loop:

1. Desecrate (bone) and reveal a junk prefix such as life at the Well of Souls.
2. Exalt. Life can't roll, so you get something else.
3. Remove the desecrated life: Omen of Light + Orb of Annulment removes only desecrated modifiers (poe2db).
4. Desecrate again with an Ancient Rib. On armour, the normal desecration often gives the high-tier modifier you need. It's also cheaper than Omen of Light + Annulment every time.

Reading tiers in the Well. The Well doesn't show tiers yet, so memorise the numbers or check poe2db:

• Flat ES: 91+ is T1, 81–90 is T2, 75 is T3.
• % ES: 101%+ is T1. 93% is only T2.

Sometimes it takes ten reveals. That's normal: the last modifier is where the game "trolls" you.

How item level 82 resistances lock the suffixes

setup This is why the ES chest finished quickly. With three T1 elemental resistances (modifier level 82) plus T1 energy shield prefixes, every good modifier on the item is a higher level than the one junk modifier left. Omen of Whittling makes the next Chaos Orb remove the lowest-level modifier. So you can keep removing the junk until a better modifier lands, without ever touching a resistance.

On an item level 81 base that doesn't work. T2 resistances are modifier level 71, below the % ES prefix (75), so Whittling could hit them.

Rerolling only the last suffix. On this Vile Robe the last suffix was energy shield recharge rate. To reroll it I combined Omen of Dextral Erasure (the next Chaos Orb removes only suffixes, poe2db), Omen of Whittling and a Chaos Orb. Each click costs about 25–30 Divines, so decide first whether the modifier is worth replacing. A price check showed similar chests with recharge rate at about 700 Divines. It's an acceptable third suffix, though it sold better when it was "faster start of recharge".

My rule: I'd keep any resistance, even T3. I wouldn't keep "two resistances and junk".

Finishing the energy shield chest

cheap Before any quality step, Divine Orb the item until the prefixes and resistances roll near the top of their ranges. In this video one Divine rolled the prefixes perfectly.

Then:

• Vaal Armourer's Infuser: raises quality past 20%, up to +10%, with a chance to corrupt. It only works at maximum quality (poe2db). Once the values are maxed, I use them until they stop. A corruption doesn't ruin the item: it keeps its modifiers and just can't be changed. This one stopped at 27% quality.
• Perfect Iron Runes: I upgraded the runes at the crafting bench. They give +20% increased armour, evasion and energy shield (poe2db).

The result: 1,169 energy shield, 133% total resistance, full T1. I listed it at 399 Divines after spending about 180–200 Divines including the base. At the end of the video I expect it to sell at the listed price.

Price-checking before you list

free I price-check with PoE Overlay II (screenshot) and on trade, the same way every time:

1. Search for your exact modifiers.
2. Lower the resistances and the defence stat slightly, so similar items show up.
3. Remove filters such as "cannot change prefixes" when they hide comparable items.

Trade rarely has an exact match for a full T1 chest, so you estimate from slightly worse items.

Selling. Chests sell slower than helmets, boots or rings. Part of the reason is that half the players wear the unique Doryani's Prototype. Items can sit for 14–16 hours and then sell, often at the weekend. I relist and drop the price by 5–10 Divines a day instead of panic-selling.

Sleek Jacket: the cheap hybrid base

cheap A Sleek Jacket costs about 3–4 Divines, so the opening is different. Annul and Augment only until you have one useful modifier, then make the item rare and fracture straight away. Spending more on Annulments than the base is worth makes no sense.

• If the Fracturing Orb hits the useful modifier: keep crafting calmly.
• If it hits junk: throw the base away. An Omen of Putrefaction reroll won't save it: the item gets up to six unrevealed modifiers and is corrupted, but the junk fracture stays.

Fracture on a suffix means resistances first. With a fractured suffix, you won't get three perfect prefixes by just throwing Exalts at it. Build resistances first with Omen of Dextral Exaltation + Omen of Greater Exaltation.

Cheap way to replace one bad suffix. Say you have a junk suffix, a good resistance and another good modifier. Activate Omen of Dextral Crystallisation, so the next Perfect or Corrupted essence removes only suffixes (poe2db), and use an Essence of the Abyss. It removes a suffix (50/50 which one) and adds Mark of the Abyssal Lord. It doesn't always work on the first try. If a good modifier gets removed, Annul and roll it again with Chaos Orbs. The base is cheap, so losing good modifiers five or ten times in a row is fine as long as you don't spend omens.

Sleek Jacket result: hybrid without life

setup On this base the key prefix is the hybrid without life: % increased evasion and energy shield plus a flat roll. A hybrid with life is a weak tier, so skip it. I also blocked thorns and life at the Well before the final Exalts.

• The trap: don't keep a low spirit roll like 53 while the resistances aren't finished.
• Deflection: not essential, but it clearly adds value, like spirit. Keep it if you catch it.
• Divining: hybrids are hard to Divine. I aimed for a balance of about 1,850 evasion to 530 energy shield.

The finished jacket has 1,794 evasion and 533 energy shield at 20% quality, with T1 resistances, deflection and a fractured evasion roll. I spent almost nothing beyond Annulments, Chaos Orbs and Exalts. It was listed at 535 Divines, though these bases sell slower than Vile Robes.

My 30% rule. If an item reaches 30% quality through Infusers without corrupting, I always throw a Vaal Orb on it, aiming for a fourth socket. A Vaal Orb "modifies an item unpredictably and corrupts it" (poe2db). In practice there are four outcomes: nothing changes, an extra socket, a corrupted enchantment, or a ruined item.

Slipstrike Vest: the evasion chest

setup On the evasion base I fractured 110% increased evasion (T1). Then I used Omen of Whittling + a Perfect Chaos Orb early, against my own advice, because the item already had good modifiers. It paid off: two T1 resistances plus deflection. Deflection is what this base calls evading part of the damage. Those are close to ideal suffixes.

Then the prefix loop, with Exalts and blocks:

1. Block junk (thorns, life) at the Well.
2. Exalt. If it isn't a T1 hybrid evasion or T1 flat evasion, remove it with Omen of Sinistral Crystallisation + Essence of the Abyss (prefix-only), then desecrate and reveal again.
3. Don't take T1 flat energy shield when the game offers it mid-loop. You're blocking junk on purpose so the next Exalt lands what you need.

It's a flip: you move modifiers back and forth until the game gives you the one you want. A T2 hybrid evasion is forgivable on this base, but it's better to finish properly when the suffixes are already this good.

Slipstrike Vest result and the armour base

setup The finished vest on the right: 3,646 evasion at 30% quality, with 110% increased evasion, flat evasion, a T1 hybrid, two T1 resistances and deflection. With three runes and 20% quality you want at least 3,320–3,330 evasion on this base. Evasion has a huge range, so Divining it is harder than on hybrids.

I reached 30% without corrupting, so by my rule I threw the Vaal Orb: nothing changed. It's listed at 680 Divines. With a fourth socket I think it would have sold for 1,200–1,300. Whether to gamble is your call.

On the left is an older craft, a Warlord Cuirass. Its implicit lets a share of your armour also apply to elemental damage taken. That's a strong defensive stat for players on armour-heavy builds right now, because more of the incoming damage is reduced by armour.

Warlord Cuirass: crafting for armour

cheap The armour base works exactly like the others. Don't open the item until you hit a T1 armour or T1 life roll. Fix the single resistance with Fluxes first, so a good resistance is also a good fracture target. Then desecrate up to four modifiers and fracture.

In the video the fracture missed, so I threw the base away. That's normal, and that's why you buy cheap bases.

With the pattern from the three previous crafts you can finish any armour piece. Aim for one of these:

• three resistances and good prefixes
• two resistances plus armour that applies to elemental damage, the armour equivalent of deflection on evasion chests

Feathered Raiment: the mana-stack chest

grind The last chest is for Mind over Matter mana stackers. They take damage to mana before life and scale damage with mana, for example on Archmage. Some players avoid the Mind over Matter keystone and its mana-recovery penalty by getting the effect from gear instead. This chest gives them:

• % increased maximum mana
• energy shield
• as many resistances as possible
• % of damage taken from mana before life from the Abyss, ideally at the full 20%

The setup. Socket Medved's Tending first. It's a rune that is socket-bound to body armours and lets them roll Soul modifiers (poe2db), which include % maximum mana and spirit. It takes one socket, and all the normal modifiers can still roll.

The craft.

1. Chaos Orb until % increased maximum mana appears.
2. Divine it to 20%. 19% is acceptable if you want to save Divines.
3. Fracture it. This is the hard part. Landing the mana and then hitting it with the fracture costs about 100 Divines on average, by my rough count. It's often cheaper to buy a base that already has a fractured % mana roll.
4. Add flat and % energy shield prefixes, the resistances, and finally the "damage taken from mana before life" desecrated modifier, rolled to 20%.

Without % mana this chest is just a normal spirit chest on a weaker base. In the video I didn't land % mana, so I finished it with T1 energy shield, spirit and three T1 resistances and listed it at 452 Divines as a test. I don't expect it to sell as well. Similar mana chests with % spirit go for around 2,000.

Summary: my crafting rules

free

How this guide was fact-checked

The source. This guide is based on Unstoppable BTW's video "How to Craft the Best Body Armours and Sell Them for Big Profit in Path of Exile 2", uploaded on 16 October 2026. That video is YouTube's English auto-dub of his Russian original from 3 October, and the dub garbled many item names. Every name was checked against the Russian original and against poe2db's English and Russian pages:

• "Vaal Regalia" is the Vile Robe
• "melding orbs" are Fluxes
• "Omen of blanching" is Omen of Putrefaction
• "crystallized life force" is Omen of Dextral/Sinistral Crystallisation
• "Warlord's Mark" is Mark of the Abyssal Lord
• "refine omen" is Omen of Whittling
• "Bear's Tendency" is Medved's Tending
• the "Veiled Orbs" used for quality are Vaal Armourer's Infusers

Confirmed on poe2db:

• base stats of the Vile Robe, Sleek Jacket, Slipstrike Vest, Warlord Cuirass and Feathered Raiment
• every tier in the tables
• the effects of Omen of Dextral Exaltation, Omen of Dextral Erasure, Omen of Dextral/Sinistral Crystallisation, Omen of Light, Omen of Whittling, Omen of Putrefaction, Perfect Regal Orb, Perfect Chaos Orb, Fracturing Orb, Essence of the Abyss, Vaal Armourer's Infuser, Vaal Orb, Perfect Iron Rune and Medved's Tending

From my experience only:

• every price
• the modifier weights for life (13,000) and thorns (7,000), which poe2db doesn't expose
• the four Vaal Orb outcomes
• the ~100 Divine average cost of fracturing % mana

Correction to the dub: the dubbed audio asks for "+111% increased energy shield". The T1 range on poe2db is 101–110%, and the 93% roll in the video is T2.

What this guide doesn't answer

• Exact current prices: they move every week and reset with each league.
• Every branch of the Mark of the Abyssal Lord and blocking loops: this video shows the common cases. The rest I show on stream.
• A finished % mana Mind over Matter chest: the % mana fracture didn't land in the video.
• Helmets, boots and gloves: the same principles apply, but the modifier pools differ. My helmet guide covers energy shield helmets in detail.