Trading can be a very lucrative and useful activity in Path of Exile. When done properly players can obtain powerful items, helpful resources, and amass large fortunes in their stashes. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t do much to help players understand what to trade, how to trade, and what things are worth.

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Fortunately, there are some key basics to get players started. The market fluctuates on a daily basis and will often be influenced by which event is going on and which League the player is in. For players interested in trading, here’s everything you need to know.

Chaos Orbs Are The Closest Thing To Currency

Path Of Exile Chaos Orb Helmet

Path of Exile is different from most RPGs in that there isn’t a set currency like gold, credits, or isk that appear in other games. Instead, things are valued in relation to other items in the game. The merchants will trade items for items and the same is true for the player base.

That being said players have generally agreed upon Chaos Orbs as being the standard all items are compared to. Chaos Orbs are a useful resource that are highly sought after by the player base as they randomize an item’s modifiers. End game players will literally use hundreds if not thousands of these to craft the perfect set of gear, reroll maps, and other uses. They’re great as a currency as they’re only obtained via crafting or occasional monster drops which naturally prevents runaway inflation.

Poe.trade Is The Meat Of Trading

Path Of Exile Poetrae

The primary tool for players to learn what’s being traded is to use the website Poe.trade. Here players can post items they’re either offering or looking for and how much they think the trade is worth. The site will also show which league the trade is offered in and players can search for items down to very specific stats.

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All trades will start here so players should become very familiar with how this site works and how to use it. Players interested in pursuing trading seriously should take some time to learn how to set up their own offers and purchase orders.

Trades Are Done Manually

Path Of Exile Trade

Path of Exile does not have an in-game mechanic or setup to accommodate trading. The only way to trade with other players is to make contact directly and meet up at a hideout to do the trade. Without Poe.trade, this would involve watching chat like a hawk to see if someone is talking about items you're interested in and trying to make contact. It’s far better and more efficient to use Poe.trade to find the trade first.

Once the player has found someone on Poe.trade that has a trade they’re interested in they’ll have to make contact. Players need to click the ‘whisper’ button to copy their in-game information and then past it into the in-game chat. This allows the player to communicate directly with the player in-game without needing to meet them or see them post something in-game.

This works a lot better if the player is in-game as meetups can only occur between two active players. If the player doesn’t hear back from the trading player after a few days it’s probably best to track down a new trade.

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