How to Save Currency while Waystone Crafting in PoE 2

Hey, it's Neolost here, and if you're like me, half mad scientist, half broke Exile, you're always looking for ways to squeeze more power out of your maps without setting your divine count on fire. Waystone crafting in Path of Exile 2 is both an art and a financial black hole if you're not careful. But good news: I’ve cracked a method to dramatically reduce the currency investment while still crafting top-tier maps for different farming strategies. Let me walk you through it in our guide to PoE 2: How to Craft Waystones without Wasting Currency.

PoE 2 Top Three Map Archetypes I Craft For

When I sit down to craft, I’m not thinking about one type of map, I’m aiming for flexibility. I split my mapping goals for saving currency while Waystone Crafting into three buckets:

1. Citadel Farming Maps

These are your jackpot maps—optimized for waystone drop chance. We're talking nearly 300% drop rates if the stars align. These are the ones you either run when you're feeling lucky or flip for some sweet profit.

2. Ritual Farming Maps

Perfect for that juicy Ritual loot and t16 loop. These are built around high pack size, monster mods, and high item quantity. It’s all about squeezing the most out of each altar.

3. Magic Find Maps

Good ol’ MF maps—typically with anoints like Paranoia, Envy, and Guilt. If a map starts rolling well for rarity and rare monster count, I switch gears and prioritize MF instead.

Step-by-Step: Saving Currency While Still Crafting Waystone Heat

Here’s how I cut corners without cutting quality.

Step 1: Don’t Anoint Until You Know What You’ve Got

I used to slap on a Distilled Emotion anoint right from the start. Not anymore. Now, I wait until I’ve rolled and evaluated the map. If it’s got high pack size, rarity, and the right suffixes, only then do I drop the anoint. This alone saves a lot of regret, and a lot of regrets cost chaos.

Step 2: Use Omens to Influence Outcome—but Know Their Limits

Omens can help lean a map toward a specific theme, but they’re not miracle workers. I’ve started using them sparingly, only when I see potential. I prioritize:

• Increased Waystone Drop Chance suffixes

• Pack size + Rare monsters (for MF)

• Monster density and challenging mods (for Ritual)

Remember: You can control the slam only so much. The rest is just feel.

Step 3: Craft in Bursts—Don’t Overcommit

I used to queue up a whole stack of maps and slam them blindly. Now? I craft 2-3 at a time. This lets me adapt on the fly. Did one roll as an MF god-tier? Great—pivot to that. One rolled terribly? Junk it. This reduces wasted currency from trying to brute-force one outcome.

Step 4: Recognize Multi-Role Maps

Sometimes you roll a map that could go several ways. Maybe it’s got high rarity, high pack size, and a decent suffix. That’s your golden egg. You could:

• Run it as MF

• Flip it for Citadel chasers

• Pivot it into a Ritual farm

These maps are like wild cards—don’t just pigeonhole them into one farm.

The Example Builds: Three Real Maps I Crafted

Let me break down three actual maps I crafted during a recent stream:

Map #1: The Citadel King

• Mods: 290%+ waystone drop chance

• Notes: One "bad" mod—monsters have increased movement and attack speed. Sounds scary, but it doesn't add one-shot mechanics. Totally worth.

• Result: Sold for over 30c within hours. Crafted another identical one and will flip again.

Map #2: The Magic Find God-Roll

• Mods: Increased pack size, rare monsters, rarity

• Bonus: Hit quant and rarity on Vaal corruption

• Notes: This one could have gone either way (ritual or MF), but the quant/rarity sealed the deal.

Map #3: The Ritual Grimoire

• Mods: T16, chilled ground (free Vaal Axe procs!), magic/rare monster packs, extra monsters

• Notes: Used post-Visions of Paradise maps to keep t16s flowing. Great altar drops and synergy with dextral/sinestral omens.

Final Crafting Tips to Avoid Bleeding Chaos Orbs

Let’s get real. If you’ve spent more time in your hideout than in actual maps because you're out of Chaos Orbs again... yeah, I’ve been there. Here’s how to keep your bank account alive while still pushing out high-value maps.

Only Vaal Maps When It’s Actually Worth It

Listen, not every map deserves to be Vaal’d. I used to think, “Hey, this might hit Quant!” and slam the orb like I was spinning a slot machine. Spoiler: 80% of the time, I was just turning a solid map into a brick.

Now, I only Vaal when a map has something that already makes it valuable, like triple suffixes with top-tier mods for Magic Find or Ritual.

If it’s already looking juicy, that’s when it might be worth taking the gamble. Otherwise? Save that Vaal for something better. Gambling on mediocrity is just lighting currency on fire.

Think of Vaal orbs like espresso shots—only take them when you're going in with a purpose. Randomly corrupting every halfway-decent map is how you go broke fast.

Don’t Chase a Single Farm Like a Headless Chicken

One of the biggest mistakes I made early on was tunnel-visioning on Magic Find. I’d spend hours trying to force a map to work just for MF—and if it didn’t, I’d reroll it again and again... and again. That’s a one-way ticket to Chaos Orb poverty.

Instead, I’ve learned to pivot. Sometimes a map rolls into a banger Ritual setup. Sometimes it’s pure Waystone gold for Citadel farming. Other times, yeah, it hits those juicy rare monster packs and screams “MF me.”

Point is—let the map tell you what it wants to be. Don’t argue with it. You’ll make way more currency (and keep your sanity) if you allow yourself to be flexible and farm across all three strategies. You’re not just a Magic Finder or a Ritual Farmer. You’re a Map Whisperer now.

Adapt As You Go—Crafting Isn't Static Anymore

This is probably the most important mindset shift I’ve made. Back in PoE 1, crafting was a lot more binary—you slammed your mods, and you either got what you wanted or didn’t.

In PoE 2, it’s dynamic. One prefix can swing a map from “meh” to “yo, that’s a Ritual juicer.” One suffix can turn your standard Citadel map into a 300% Waystone legend. You have to be ready to change lanes mid-craft.

I don’t even anoint until the very end now. Why? Because you never know how the map is going to land. Maybe it was meant to be Magic Find. Maybe it’s Ritual. Maybe it’s something in between.

Crafting today is about reading the map and making a smart call, not trying to brute-force your original plan. That flexibility is what separates people who profit from people who rage-quit with 12 Chaos left and a stash full of trash.

Tips for Saving Currency while Waystone Crafting in PoE 2

Section	What You’re Doing	What to Watch Out For	Currency-Saving Tip
Map Crafting Strategy	Choosing between MF, Ritual, Citadel builds	Forcing maps into one role too early	Let the map dictate its final purpose. Don’t lock in an anoint too soon.
Anointing	Using Envy, Guilt, Paranoia depending on goal	Wasting oils on a bad base	Anoint after slams. Don’t waste good oils on unworthy maps.
Using Omens	Targeting suffixes for drop chance or monster packs	Burning omens on mid-tier rolls	Save your rare omens for maps that already show promise.
Slamming Mods	Hoping for synergy between prefixes/suffixes	Gambling blindly or rerolling maps to death	Know when to stop. One prefix can change a map's value—don’t overinvest.
Vaal Orb Usage	Corrupting high-potential maps for Quant/Rarity rolls	Bricking decent maps by being too eager	Only Vaal when the base roll is excellent. Otherwise, just sell it.
Diversifying Farms	Swapping between MF, Ritual, Citadel depending on what the map rolls	Forcing one strat no matter what	Embrace variety. It saves currency and prevents burnout.
Reading the Rolls	Letting suffixes like “Waystone Drop Chance” or “Extra Rare Monsters” steer the ship	Ignoring great mods just to chase your “original plan”	Adjust your plan on the fly—map crafting is dynamic in PoE 2.
Finalizing Builds	Using Visions of Paradise and rerunning efficient setups	Running out of usable T16 maps for follow-ups	Use lower-tier maps to build stock before popping Vision. Rotate strategies smartly.

Conclusion

So there you go, that’s how I’ve been crafting maps lately in PoE 2—and I’ve been saving a ton of currency while doing it. The secret sauce? Be flexible. Let the map tell you what it wants to be. Don’t force a ritual farm on a map that’s clearly screaming “I’m a Citadel jackpot!”

Crafting this way not only stretches your chaos and divines further, but it also keeps things fresh and exciting. One map could be garbage. The next? Your ticket to a dozen waystones or a 50c flip.

So go ahead—craft smarter, not harder. And don’t forget: if you’ve got a spicy roll, maybe don’t run it. Flip it to a lunatic instead. 

See you soon, and may you touch some grass!

—Neolost, from PoE2Currency, signing out!