The Orb of Annulment and Orb of Scouring are both currency items in Path of Exile designed to modify item affixes, but they serve very different purposes with distinct mechanics.
The Orb of Annulment removes a single random modifier from a magic or rare item without changing the item’s rarity. This orb is valuable for fine-tuning an otherwise strong item by removing an unwanted affix. However, because the removed mod is random, using it carries risk — a prized modifier might be lost instead of a detrimental one. It’s best employed on near-perfect gear with one or two bad mods, where the potential reward of improving the item outweighs the risk of losing a good mod. For many crafters, this precise function often makes it as valuable as other forms of poe 2 currency circulating in the economy.
The Orb of Scouring, on the other hand, removes all random modifiers from a magic or rare item in one go, effectively resetting it to a "clean slate" while preserving the item’s sockets, links, quality, and implicit modifiers. After scouring, the item’s rarity may downgrade — a rare item with all mods removed may become magic or even normal depending on how many mods remain. This makes the Orb of Scouring ideal for completely restarting crafting on an item, removing all affixes so that new ones can be crafted from scratch.
A key difference is that the Orb of Annulment modifies one mod at a time, allowing for surgical removal and gradual refinement, while the Orb of Scouring wipes the slate fully, requiring more effort to rebuild the item’s stats. This surgical precision versus full reset defines their use cases.
In Path of Exile 2, the Orb of Scouring no longer exists, reflecting a streamlining of the crafting system. The Orb of Annulment remains available and plays an outsized role as the primary mod removal tool. Without Scouring Orbs, players must focus more on strategic use of Annulment Orbs and crafting approaches that minimize bad mods from the start.
Use the Orb of Annulment when you want to carefully remove one bad modifier from a mostly perfect item and risk losing only one mod. Use the Orb of Scouring when you want to fully reset an item’s random mods and start crafting fresh, but expect a rarity downgrade. With the removal of Orb of Scouring in PoE 2, mastering smart, cautious Annulment Orb use is essential for successful modifier management and advanced crafting. Many advanced players even buy poe 2 currency specifically to secure Annulment Orbs in bulk for high-stakes crafting projects.
