Path of Exile Crafting 101: What is Alt Spamming?

Part of Path of Exile's endgame is to craft your own pieces of gear to turn your mediocre character into a monster-slaying titan. Today, we're going over "Alt Spamming" and why it's important to learn if you want to dip your toes into the world of crafting in PoE.

What Is It?

Alt Spamming is a term in Path of Exile that refers to using Orb of Alteration until you get your desired affixes (or mods). It is typically used in conjunction with Orb of Transmutation to turn a normal (white) item into a magic (blue) item. This is because the Orb of Alteration can only be used on magic items to reforge them with new random modifiers.

Now, why would you engage in Alt Spamming if there are many ways to craft items? Orb of Alteration is pretty cheap and it's quite accessible early on. Although some mods take a long time to appear, using Orb of Alteration is still cheaper than other crafting methods in the game.

How to Use It for Crafting?

So, what is the usual process of crafting using the Alt Spamming method? Before we begin, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. First, a magic item can only have up to two affixes. Second, some mods can only appear on certain crafting bases (ex. Increased damage with bows only appears on quivers). And third, mods that can roll on an item are heavily based on RNG; you can get lucky and potentially roll your desired affixes in just a few tries. There's also a possibility that you won't get your preferred mods even after spending 1,000 Orbs of Alteration.

Anyway, to get started, think about what specific affix you want to roll for your build. Next, decide which item you want to use as a crafting base. Let's say you want to craft an Opal Sceptre for your Righteous Fire build and you want it to have a "+1 to level of all Fire Spell Skill Gems" mod. In this context, the Opal Sceptre is your crafting base.

Now, get yourself an Opal Sceptre by looting one from the enemy or purchase it from someone using the trade website. If your Opal Sceptre is still a normal/white item, use an Orb of Transmutation to turn it into a magic/blue item. Then, simply use Orbs of Alteration until you get the said affix.

However, if your Opal Sceptre is rare/yellow, use an Orb of Scouring to turn it into a normal/white item. After that, use an Orb of Transmutation and start spamming Orbs of Alteration until you get the desired mod.

According to the Craft of Exile database, "+1 to Level of all Fire Spell Skill Gems" has a weight of 250, meaning this mod is quite rare and you'll need incredible massive luck to get it in 1,000 Orbs of Alteration or less.

Once you've finally rolled the said mod, what are the next steps? You have two options.

First Option

1. Use a Regal Orb to turn the magic/blue item into a rare/yellow item. At this point, the item can now have up to six affixes (three prefixes, three suffixes).
2. Use Exalted Orbs until five of the six affixes are filled.
3. If you are happy with the results, you can go to your crafting bench and craft the last affix to complete the item.

Second Option

1. Use a Regal Orb to turn your crafting base into a rare item.
2. Use Exalted Orbs until five of the six mods are filled.
3. If you're not satisfied with the outcome, use an Orb of Scouring and start the process all over again.
4. Alternatively, you can use an Orb of Annulment and hope that the undesired mod is removed. Then, just use an Exalted Orb again to get a new random mod (hopefully, one that you actually like).
5. After that, finish the item by crafting the last mod on the crafting bench.

Now that you know what Alt Spamming is, are you going to try it out on your build?

Path of Exile is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.