These are the best leveling uniques in Path of Exile, based on usefulness and accessibility. It’s very common to see at least one drop while you’re leveling. And even if they don’t drop, most of these items can be bought cheaply. Click on the category that interests you!
Best Overall Uniques for Leveling
These unique items go well with any build in Path of Exile. And you can use them from Act 1 all the way to maps and then some. The rest of the items are dependent on your preferences and your build.
Goldrim for survival
Gives you 30-40 to all resistances, which is halfway to the cap (75%) before Kitava 1. So with just a few more items you can easily cap all your resistances, allowing you to survive much easier. It also has some extra rarity of items found, so you’ll get more rare and unique items along the way.
Tabula Rasa for power and flexibility
Is easily THE best leveling item. This unique chest has 6 white sockets, meaning you can socket ANY gems in them. And it also has 6 links, allowing you to assemble the most powerful version of a skill ASAP. I’ve sometimes used this item past level 80. And the best part is, Tabula Rasa with the right corruptions can be an endgame item too.
Lochtonial Caress for power and survival
These unique gloves let you attack and cast spells faster. But the best part are the charges you gain when killing enemies. This means more damage, more crit, and more defenses if you kill monsters quick enough.
Wanderlust (level 5) for speed and survival
These unique boots are a favorite leveling item among many players. Mainly due to the movement speed and freeze immunity. Extra movement speed means you get through areas faster and dodge enemy attacks easier. And the freeze immunity let’s you avoid the most infuriating debuff in the game. When you die while frozen, it’s usually like a car crash in slow motion.
Karui Ward (level 5) for speed and flexibility
An excellent neck item for almost any build. The movement speed gets you through areas faster. And the extra dexterity and strength makes it easier on the stat requirements for gems and other items.
Best Unique Belts for Leveling
Unique belts are situational at best, so it’s up to you if you want to use them. In most cases, it’s better to use rare belts with a good amount of resists.
Wurm’s Molt (level 8) for flexibility
This belt is best used for its extra stats, but it still loses out to Perandus Blazon. Don’t get fooled by the 0.4% leech since it can be used only with physical attacks. And even then, the leech you get from it is too tiny due to the low damage output while leveling.
Perandus Blazon (level 16) for flexibility
This belt is often used for its extra 20-30 to all attributes and 6-8% extra item quantity. More attributes means it’s easier to equip items and level up skills. And more item quantity means enemies will simply have more loot by that amount.
Belt of the Deceiver (level 20) for survival
A well-rounded leveling belt that fits into many endgame builds. There’s health, all resistances, less damage taken from crits, and intimidation aura, which makes enemies take %10 more attack damage.
Best Unique Rings for Leveling
Equipping too many unique items can make your life difficult in terms of resistances. That’s why it’s best to use rare rings with resists when leveling. But even so, there are some usable exceptions.
Praxis (level 22) for utility
This unique ring solves all your leveling mana problems in one go. Extra mana, extra regen, and reduced skill costs. In the past, players used Elreon rings with last mod, but now when it’s less accessible, Praxis is a more feasible choice.
Kaom’s Sign for survival
Some life, some strength, and an extra endurance charge to make your character bulkier. Other than that this ring is very basic and inferior to most rare rings, so if you get one, replace it asap.
Best Caster, Trapper, and Miner Unique Weapons for Leveling
Casters have it easier with weapons than attacker builds, so a low level unique can last you a long time. Here are some of the best options.
Lifesprig for power and survival
A strong unique wand that gives +1 level to socketed gems. This makes any socketed spell instantly stronger since they scale the most from gem levels. There’s also extra spell damage, cast speed, life, mana, and even some life regen when you cast spells. It’s the most complete package you can get at level 1.
Fencoil (level 4) for utility
This staff is meant primarily for trappers since it’s more of an enabler item. You put any skill gem inside it and you can now throw it as a trap. This reduces the linkage hassle and even gives an extra 50-60% to global damage and 10-20% extra life and mana to sweeten the deal.
Axiom Perpetuum (level 10) for power
This is a very powerful mace despite its low level. It gives you extra flat damage for all elements, a chunk of crit chance, and extra cast speed. A well-rounded weapon that has no useless stats.
Best Summoner Unique Weapons for Leveling
Summoner’s generally don’t need leveling weapons and are focused more on endgame weapons to maximize their damage potential. But even then, there are some good options and build enablers.
Queen’s Decree (level 27) for eternal skeletons
A decent weapon for Skeleton Summoners. Extra skeleton duration means they’ll do more work before they disappear. The extra minion life is always helpful. And 1 extra zombie, skeleton, and spectre can be useful in many other builds. This item can also upgraded into Queen’s Escape.
Queen’s Escape (level 38) for speed demon minions
The upgraded version of Queen’s Decree. It has an 80-100% increased minion movement speed, meaning any minions you have become way more efficient.They’ll simply spend less time walking and more time killing monsters. And this boost feels especially great on Summon Raging Spirits.
Clayshaper (level 41) for more golems
The Golemancer weapon of choice, allowing you to summon one extra golem, making all golems slightly tankier, and even giving a free stone golem skill. Equip two of these and you get 2 more golems.
Best Summoner Unique Items for Leveling
There aren’t many summoner specific unique items, but even in small quantities they can be a great help and enable some really powerful builds.
Sidhebreath for stronger and faster minions
A neck item that massively improves the effectiveness of any summoned monster. These are minor increases in speed, damage, and health, but make clearing areas considerably faster and safer. And it works best with Summon Raging Spirits!
Bones of Ullr (level 22) for more Specters
For the longest time, these were the only spectre count increasing boots in the game. And the additional movement speed, life, and mana makes them appealing enough to use in the endgame. So if you’re unlucky with crafting rare spectre boots, this is an exceptional fallback. Not to mention, the level mod is global, so it affects any gem anywhere in your gear!
The Baron (level 26) for strength scaling Zombies
A super stylish hat that also enables The Zombie Baron build. Thanks to the strength scaling, you’re tankier, zombies get really strong, and even though it got slightly nerfed, you can clear any content in the game. Best of all, it’s cheap and you can equip it at level 26.
Aukuna’s Will (level 31) for sturdier and more explosive Zombies
A pair of gloves that increases the tankiness of zombies, let’s you summon them without corpses, and use any corpse targeting skill on them, such as Detonate dead or any offering skill.
Wraithlord (level 34) for tankier spectres
If you’re having trouble keeping your spectres alive, this item will help them survive well into the maps. The 1000 extra health and 1% regen is no joke.
Alberon’s Warpath (level 49) for stronger Skeletons and Zombies
A decent leveling item both for Skelemancers and Zombie Barons. The former benefits greatly from the added damage. And the latter gets boosted from the increased strength.
Best One-handed Unique Axes for Leveling
The strongest one-handed weapon type in terms of flat damage. And in leveling uniques this strength is often supported by culling effects and speed increases.
The Screaming Eagle (level 6)
Decent damage, some life, and extra movement speed. Equip two of these bad-boys paired with a Karui Ward and a pair of Wanderlust’s. That way you’ll be zooming through areas and destroying everything along the path. And best of all, it can be upgraded into The Gryphon with a prophecy.
Dreadarc (level 16)
Loads of damage with auto-cursing action, but less movement speed than TSE. You can dual wield these as well and keep shredding your way through Wraeclast. It can be potentially upgraded into a Dreadsurge, but it’s fairly difficult to do since you need to kill the map version of Piety.
Relentless Fury (level 29)
Decent damage for its level, culling strike (execute enemies below 10% health), and onslaught on kill. Even though there’s no built-in movement speed, onslaught more than makes up for it.
The Gryphon (level 32)
An upgraded version of The Screaming Eagle. It simply does everything better. More damage and even more movement speed when you kill enemies.
Best Two-handed Unique Axes for Leveling
The strongest two-handed weapon type in terms of flat damage. Much like with its one-handed counterpart, culling effects extra damage, and speed is a common theme in leveling uniques.
Limbsplit (level 13)
Decent damage, adequate speed, and a culling strike effect to make fights shorter. It also procs the "Gore Shockwave", which is on par with other melee attack skills and benefits from any support gems inside the weapon, but is held back by its internal cooldown (1 second), meaning you shouldn't rely on this as your primary attack skill. The upside, however, is that you don't actually need socket links on this weapon, just the sockets themselves. As soon as you socket 6 support gems, you get a free 7-link. It can also be upgraded to The Cauteriser at level 40.
Reaper’s Pursuit (level 33)
An exceptional two-handed axe with a 100% chance to hit, the culling strike effect, extra rarity for more rare and unique items, and even movement speed on full life.
The Cauteriser (level 40)
The upgraded version of Limbsplit. Don’t be fooled by the average DPS since its greatest strength is the extra conversion effect. It gives you 70% of physical damage as extra fire damage. So even though it has around 230 DPS on average, the total is almost 400 DPS. Not to mention, the Gore Shockwave deals tons of extra damage with its free 7-link potential. Don't rely on it as your main attack skill though due to its internal cooldown (0.93 seconds)!
Kaom’s Primacy (Level 58)
A sidegrade for The Cauteriser. It can potentially be deadlier, but can be hard to use to its full potential since it relies on the Rage mechanic. That's why you need to play as a crit build or a berserker (or both) to make this item truly shine. And it's not readily available on league starts due to it only dropping from Divination cards and Legion League maps/areas.
Best Unique Bows for Leveling
Bow uniques have been the endgame centerpiece of many leagues. But even though most of them have been nerfed into the ground, there still exist many decent leveling options.
Silverbranch (level 1)
Adequate damage, decent speed, and equippable from level 1. A decent starting weapon that far outshines most rares. It can also be upgraded into Silverbough later on.
Roth’s Reach (level 18)
A bow with respectable damage. It shines in clearing mob packs thanks to its chaining effect, making leveling go a tad bit faster.
Death’s Harp (level 32)
A strong bow that gives you an extra arrow, allowing you to clear monster packs easier even without LMP or GMP. While it’s best-suited for crit builds, any bow build can use it. Death’s Harp can also be upgraded into..
Death’s Opus (level 44)
The upgraded version of Death’s Harp. It has more damage and now fires two additional arrows, which is equal to having an LMP support. But to fully make use of the 50% extra crit multiplier, you have to play a crit build.
Best Unique Quivers for Leveling
One advantage that bow builds hold over any other build – an extra item slot in the form of a quiver. Quivers can make or break a bow build, but many of them can also be used while leveling.
Asphyxia’s Wrath (level 10)
Additional attack speed, extra cold damage, and auto-spread curses are a recipe for even easier monster clearing and smoother leveling. Recommended for any physical bow users.
Hyrri’s Bite (level 10)
An alternative for AW when you’re having trouble with stats, giving you a decent chunk of attributes. It also helps with survival thanks to the life on hit effect. It also can be further upgraded into Hyrri’s Demise, which is meant for attribute-scaling bow builds. And best of all - you can get this Unique quiver super easy through a vendor recipe!
Drillneck (level 36)
Decent life, moderate attack speed, adequate damage, and increased pierce effects. It’s a quiver that’s usable well into the end-game. And is also a popular item to corrupt with Vaal Orbs for +1 arrow. (success not guaranteed)
Best Unique Claws for Leveling
The fastest overall weapon type in the game. So if speed is your game, try out claws. And there are quite a few options you can use while leveling too.
Last Resort (level 3)
A decent claw unique for its level, showing it’s true strength when you’re on low life. Even though you’ll replace it very quick, consider it a failsafe for when you’re close to dying. The sudden burst of life and damage will help ensure your survival.
Wildslash (level 12)
Even though the damage is fairly average, this claw weapon makes movement skills, such as whirling blades, really fast. You’ll get around quicker, find monsters quicker, and level quicker too.
Mortem Morsu (level 34)
A great leveling claw weapon that has tremendous attack speed and crit chance. And thanks to the poison effect, not just regular monsters, but also bosses will melt really quick. (Chaos resistance is the lowest on them)
Ornament of the East (level 46)
Excellent damage, 100% hit chance, and nifty bonuses for socketed skills, preferably movement skills, such as whirling blades. One of the best claw uniques for leveling.
Best Unique Daggers for Leveling
A well-balanced weapon type that is good at everything, but isn’t really the best at anything. Is the go-to choice for many poison builds. And has plenty powerful leveling uniques.
Goredrill (level 5)
A decent unique dagger that bleeds enemies on crit. Thanks to the high crit chance, enemies will bleed often. And that’s when it truly shines, giving you extra damage against bleeding enemies. Can also be upgraded into a Sanguine Gambol later on in maps.
Bloodplay (level 15)
A fairly strong unique dagger that also bleeds enemies. It has a decent crit chance, but the attack speed on this dagger does all the work.
Mightflay (level 35)
An exceptional dagger that is not only strong, but also helps you survive with its life on hit effect. Equip two of these and become an immortal assassin for at least the 10 next levels.
Best One-handed Unique Maces for Leveling
Slower than most one-handed weapon types, but extremely effective at dishing out consistent stuns thanks to its base-types. This can also be felt in many leveling uniques.
Gorebreaker (level 10)
A great unique mace that stuns most enemies in that level range. Equip two of these to chain-stun some of the earlier bosses with the right build.
Brightbeak (level 20)
What this mace lacks in damage, it makes up for in speed, having one of the highest base attack speeds in the game, sitting at 2.10. Any attack or mobility skill you use with it becomes crazy fast. And it works exceptionally well with on hit effects, such as life gained per hit. Additionally, there are also resists to make capping them easier.
Flesh-Eater (level 32)
A well-rounded mace with decent damage, speed, and life leech. It also causes bleeding on hit, giving you extra life leech against bleeding enemies.
Frostbreath (level 50)
A seemingly average mace that becomes really strong against chilled enemies, giving you double damage against them. While the effect doesn’t stack, you can use two of these quite far into the maps if you don’t have anything better. As long as you deal enough cold damage to chill enemies, that is.
Best Two-handed Unique Maces for Leveling
Often slow, but extremely powerful with the ability to stun bosses for a long time. And those slow hits and great stuns can also be found in unique leveling maces.
Hrimnor’s Hymn (level 17)
A fairly powerful mace that has an easy time stunning enemies. It also has a decent speed for a two-handed mace. And it even gives you life leech for extra survivability. It can also be upgraded into Hrimnor’s Dirge later on.
Geofri’s Baptism (level 27)
An exceptional unique mace with a high DPS. It’s fairly slow, can’t crit, but the high damage more than makes up for it. And it also can be upgraded into Geofri’s Devotion.
Hrimnor’s Dirge (level 36)
The upgraded version of Hrimnor’s Hymn. It’s even more powerful and also gives you 50% of physical damage as cold damage, easily destroying most enemies in that level range.
Geofri’s Devotion (level 61)
The upgraded version of Geofri’s Devotion. It has an increased DPS and absorbs curses, shooting projectiles out at enemies. Unfortunately, it retains the same weakness of never critting and can only be upgraded in maps.
Best One-handed Unique Swords for Leveling
Possibly the best one-handed weapon type in the game in crit scalability, speed, and base damage. And some of that power carries over to leveling uniques.
Redbeak (level 1)
Decent damage, fast attack speed, boost your damage when you’re low on life, and is equippable level 1. If this is not an excellent starter weapon, I don’t know what is.
The Princess (level 10)
A really fast unique sword for its level with a decent amount of physical damage. It also gives you extra cold damage, so you can often freeze and chill enemies to make survival easier.
Aurumvorax (level 17)
A unique rapier that is equal parts deadly and defensive. It has a decent amount of damage and speed, but it also gives you 40-60% to all resistances. So with just one Aurumvorax and a Goldrim you could cap you resists for Part 1.
Lakishu’s Blade (level 28)
Fast, strong, and makes you more resistant to stuns. The built-in multistrike is also useful in making a budget 4-link item. If you don’t have access to a Tabula Rasa, that is.
Innsbury Edge (level 47)
A fairly powerful unique sword with a decent base damage, attack speed, and extra chaos damage. The only downside is that the sword will make your character insane - you’ll hear and see things that don’t make sense. Not just the game world, but also the chat.
Scaeva (level 60)
An exceptional unique sword with insane amounts of flexibility. Based on the socket color it gives different effects, extra speed, extra crit multi, range, and leech. So you can really tailor it to your build and needs. And the DPS on it is good enough to last you till red maps at the very least.
Best Two-handed Unique Swords for Leveling
The fastest two-handed weapon type. Mean for players that enjoy strong attacking power without losing much speed and mobility.
Shiversting (level 14)
A strong two-handed sword that provides freeze immunity. This can work as a replacement for Wanderlust if you can’t get them.
Rigwald’s Charge (level 44)
A powerful two-handed sword with a high attack speed and extra movement speed. While most two-handed weapons tend to slow you down, this one will make you faster than one-handed weapon users.
Doomsower (level 65)
An awesome unique sword that works well into the lategame. It has a decent speed, a high DPS, extra effects damage from socketed red gems, extra stats from the implicit, and the chance to get a free Vaal Pact Keystone!
Best Unique Shields for Leveling
The Unique shields in Path of Exile are a weird bunch. Most of them are either too high level so you can only use them for your final late game build. Or they’re worse than rare shields so there’s really no point in using them for leveling. Luckily, there are a few exceptions.
Lycosidae for more consistent attack builds (level 11)
An awesome unique shield with decent defensive stats that help a ton early on. The main reason it's awesome, however, is the "Your Hits Can't Be Evaded" line. It effectively makes your chance to hit 100%, meaning you don't have to use "Resolute Technique" or stack accuracy, allowing you to invest more heavily into crit stats. This shield will take you through all 10 Acts of the campaign and a large portion of the Atlas!
Trolltimber Spire for immortal totem builds (level 17)
A sleeper OP unique shield that carries totem users to the endgame. It has a ridiculous amount of defensive potential with the armor, flat life, regen, and life leech. It also gives some nice AoE for your attack totems, meaning you'll clear packs better due to wider reach. All around an awesome unique shield!
Brinerot Flag for infinite mana regen (level 23)
A decent unique shield for any and all spellcasters looking to use shield charge. (use two wands, scepters, or rune daggers if you're not) You get some extra cast speed for dps and energy shield for survival. But most importantly, you get tons of mana regen and a free Arcane Surge proc when using warcries, meaning you can free up a gem slot and use it to get even more dps!
What’s your favorite (leveling) unique?
There are hundreds of uniques in PoE, but only a fraction are useful. Whether it’s for leveling, endgame, or messing around with some wacky build that may or may not work. All these things considered, what’s your favorite unique in the game? Mention it in the comments below and thanks for reading!
