In Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2), everyone wants that one amazing item. You know the kind: the perfect rare helmet with six linked sockets, the chest armor with ideal mods, or the wand that boosts every spell you use. At first, I thought I needed to chase these “perfect” items to enjoy the game. But after hundreds of hours, I realized something important — perfect items come with a price, and sometimes, they just aren’t worth the stress.

Let’s be real: perfect PoE 2 items are incredibly rare. You either need to spend a mountain of currency like Divine Orbs, Exalted Orbs, or Chaos Orbs, or get super lucky. Most of the time, I spent weeks trying to craft or trade for one piece of gear that barely gave me a 5% damage increase. That’s when I started asking myself, “Why am I doing this? Am I having fun?”

The truth is, I wasn’t. I was just grinding maps over and over, ignoring cool builds and content, all for items that barely made a difference. So I changed how I played.

Here’s what I did instead — and what you can do too if you want to enjoy PoE 2 without losing your mind:

1. Aim for “good enough,” not perfect.
   Instead of hunting for a chest with six perfect affixes, I started using items that gave me the stats I needed — even if they weren’t best-in-slot. For example, getting 80% elemental resistance is more important than squeezing out 3% more spell damage. A rare item with life, resistances, and one damage mod is usually more than enough to clear all content.

2. Buy PoE 2 items smartly.
   Instead of spending hours crafting or farming, I began to buy PoE 2 items that were already useful. Use trade filters on official trade sites to look for gear with the exact stats you need. Many great items are cheap because they aren’t perfect, but they work just fine for your build. I’ve bought entire sets of gear for under 50 Chaos Orbs that helped me beat endgame bosses.

3. Use currency wisely.
   Stop wasting Divine Orbs on rerolling minor stats. Save your high-value orbs like Exalted and Divine for trading big upgrades or crafting essentials. Chaos Orbs are great for buying PoE 2 items directly from other players. Sell the junk you find and turn that into useful currency — even Scrolls of Wisdom add up over time.

4. Focus on fun, not perfection.
   Once I stopped stressing over items, I started trying more builds. I played a Flameblast totem build with average gear and cleared all maps. I built a tanky Juggernaut with random uniques I had lying around and still enjoyed the game. It reminded me that PoE 2 is about creativity, not just chasing numbers.

So if you’re feeling stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed in PoE 2, take a step back. Ask yourself: “Do I need perfect items? Or do I just need the right ones for me?”

Buy PoE 2 items that support your build, even if they’re not flawless. Save your currency for what really matters. And most importantly, play the game your way — because sometimes, “good enough” is actually perfect.