Alchemy Shard: What Does It Mean in Path of Exile 2?

An Alchemy Shard is a fragment of an Orb of Alchemy: collect a full stack and it turns into a whole orb. It is a real item in the original Path of Exile, but in Path of Exile 2 you do not normally get Alchemy Shards. The game files contain one, yet PoE2 databases mark it as not obtainable, and disenchanting gives other shard types. In PoE2 you collect Orbs of Alchemy as whole drops.

How Shards Work in Path of Exile 2

PoE2 uses shards as small pieces of basic currency. They stack in your inventory and convert into a full orb automatically when the stack is complete. Each shard type below takes 10 shards to make one orb:

• Transmutation Shard. You get one for disenchanting a magic item. A stack becomes an Orb of Transmutation.
• Regal Shard. You get one for disenchanting a rare item, or two if the rare has six or more modifiers. A stack becomes a Regal Orb.
• Chance Shard. You get one for disenchanting a unique item. A stack becomes an Orb of Chance.
• Artificer's Shard. Comes from salvaging gear that has rune sockets at the salvage bench, which unlocks after the Finding the Forge quest in Act 1. A stack becomes an Artificer's Orb, which adds a rune socket to an item.

Disenchanting is done through town vendors, starting with Una by the campfire in the Clearfell Encampment in Act 1. It destroys the item, and which shard you get depends only on the item's rarity. Normal (white) items cannot be disenchanted for shards.

What the Orb of Alchemy Does in PoE2

An Orb of Alchemy turns a normal or magic item into a rare item with four random modifiers. It has worked on magic items since patch 0.3.1, but any modifiers the magic item already had are lost. The orb can drop anywhere, and it is one of the main ways to make early rare gear from a good base type.

Alchemy Shards in the Original Path of Exile

In Path of Exile 1, Alchemy Shards are a long-standing currency fragment, and twenty of them combine into an Orb of Alchemy. They come from vendor recipes, by selling certain items to NPCs, and they are also one of the shard types Harbingers drop, an encounter that first appeared in the 2017 Harbinger league. A PoE1 Orb of Alchemy only works on normal items. Much of the advice on the web about "alch shards" comes from PoE1 and does not apply to PoE2.

Tips

• In PoE2, disenchant magic and rare items you do not need instead of selling them for gold when you are short on Transmutation or Regal Orbs.
• Rares with six or more modifiers give two Regal Shards (a change made in patch 0.1.0c), so check the modifier count before you disenchant.
• Save Orbs of Alchemy for item bases you actually want to use or sell, such as high item-level bases.
• When you read a crafting guide, check whether it is written for PoE1 or PoE2. Currency rules differ between the games.

FAQ

Can you get Alchemy Shards in Path of Exile 2?

Not through normal play as of the current version. Disenchanting gives Transmutation, Regal and Chance Shards instead.

How do I get Orbs of Alchemy in PoE2?

They drop as whole orbs from monsters and containers across the game. You can also trade for them with other players or at the currency exchange.

How many Alchemy Shards make an orb in PoE1?

Twenty. The stack converts into an Orb of Alchemy automatically. Current PoE2 currency rules are listed on the Path of Exile 2 community wiki.