Path of Exile: Heist preview — Everything you need to know

Grand Heist rewards

After grabbing items in the vaults of Path of Exile‘s Grand Heists, you’ll finally earn your rewards. Bear in mind that these are from the Grand Heist activity only and not part of the regular world drops.

Replica unique items

Think of all the unique items you’ve discovered or heard about in Path of Exile. Next, imagine what they’d be like if they somehow had different capabilities. That’s what replica unique items (or replicas) are. These are just some of the rewards you’ll find via one of the vaults in a Grand Heist’s wing.

Here’s an example of the Replica Iron Commander bow where it uses strength instead of dexterity, and it affects Shrapnel Ballista instead of Siege Ballista:

Next, here’s the Replica Ambu’s Charge. The effect causes you to lose HP, but it allows you to recharge endurance more often:

Note: These are just two of 100 replica unique items that you’ll find in Path of Exile: Heist’s main activity.

Experimented base types

I’m willing to bet that Path of Exile players will just abbreviate this as EBTs. But, what are experimented base types? Well, think of basic weapon types and imagine if they deal a different kind of damage — that’s what experimented base types are. There’s one EBT for each weapon type and several varieties for jewelry.

Here’s the EBT for the bow (which has built-in fire damage instead of physical damage):

Alternate Quality gems

Alternate Quality gems are, technically, the Path of Exile gems with which you’ve grown accustomed. However, just like replicas and EBTs, there’s a twist. Increasing their quality will tend to boost a different kind of stat or effect. There are around 900 of these; roughly one to three for every skill and support gem in the game.

Once example is Cast on Critical Strike which normally increases crit chance. The alternate quality version of this, meanwhile, provides more attack damage:

Heist trinkets and Heist enchantments

Path of Exile: Heist will also introduce a new equipment slot for trinkets. This new equipment slot, probably the first since the game’s release many years ago, let you equip items that buff your capability during heists only. They’re not meant to compromise or become detrimental to your actual build.

You’ll see two examples below:

• Armageddon Shine – increases the rarity of items, the chance for them to be corrupted, and divination cards too.
• Ancient Glimmer – increases drop chance of markers, maps, and scarabs; a chance for Regal Orbs to be replaced by Exalted Orbs.

These are ridiculously powerful effects that can completely change the way you approach Path of Exile‘s RNG-based loot system, earn even better rewards, or even make you a millionaire if you’re lucky with the drops.

Lastly, some of the rewards you find in vaults might be Heist Enchantments. You’ll see a couple of examples below (take a look at those juicy bonuses):

The idea behind Path of Exile: Heist is to present a refreshing, high-stakes activity. You need to be on your toes, deciding on the fly if you still need to continue exploring, or if you need to make a break for it. Plus, it’s also a means to build your own party as a solo player to see how far you can go. Some enemies found in the heist maps were also originally created for Path of Exile 2, so you might notice distinct visual upgrades and special effects.

But, there are a few more things we need to talk about. We still need to discuss new and reworked skills that are included in this league. Head over to part three of our Path of Exile: Heist preview.