PoE2 Energy Shield Gloves Craft: Greater Exalt Beats Perfect
For a PoE2 Energy Shield gloves craft with maximum Energy Shield, ES% and maximum Mana (T2+) as prefixes, Omen of Sinistral Exaltation + Greater Exalted Orb was the cheapest method at 105 div per item (div = Divine Orb). Perfect cost 201 div and the plain Exalted Orb 423 div. Catalysts can't be used on gloves.
Zundamon
If I'm aiming for high tiers, I should just use the best one, the Perfect Exalted Orb, right?
Metan
That's what most people think. It skips the low-tier misses, so hits come easier.
Metan
But on ES gloves, Greater was the cheapest. Perfect cost almost twice as much, and the plain one four times as much.
Zundamon
Perfect loses?! I need to know why.
The Gloves
First, the gloves we compared and how we crafted them.
Zundamon
Which gloves did you use?
Metan
Sirenscale Gloves. They're Intelligence gloves with 54 Energy Shield, requiring level 80.
Metan
At Item Level 82, it's the regular base with the highest ES.
Zundamon
What does the item look like at the start?
Metan
A Rare with a Fractured "+2 to Level of all Projectile Skills" suffix, plus one random mod.
Metan
The cost of fracturing isn't included.
| Target (prefixes only) | Tier | How it's treated |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Energy Shield | T2+ | Target |
| Increased Energy Shield % | T2+ | Target |
| Maximum Mana | T2+ | Target |
| Suffixes | Anything | Made later, so ignored |
Zundamon
And how do you craft it?
Metan
It's the cheapest method from Don't Hoard Your Misses, "annul misses at once", flipped to the prefix side.
| Step | What to use | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chaos Orb | While no target is on the item |
| 2 | Orb of Annulment (no Omen) | Right away, once a non-target prefix appears |
| 3 | Omen of Sinistral Exaltation + Exalted Orb | To add a missing target. This is the Exalted Orb we compared as plain, Greater and Perfect |
Zundamon
Can't you weight the targets with a Catalyst, like on a ring?
Metan
No. Catalysts are for "a ring or amulet" only (poe2db's description).
Metan
The ExileDesk engine also refuses a Catalyst on gloves: "Catalysts: Rings and Amulets only."
Metan
Without Catalyst Quality, the Omen of Catalysing Exaltation is out too. So a plain Omen of Sinistral Exaltation is all you have.
Result: Greater Exalted Orb Is Cheapest at 105 div
We ran 300 crafts on the engine for each Exalted Orb type.
| Omen of Sinistral Exaltation + | No runes | Serle's Triumph + Kolr's Hunt | Worth it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exalted Orb | 423 div | 598 div | No (most expensive) |
| Greater Exalted Orb | 105 div | 194 div | Yes (cheapest either way) |
| Perfect Exalted Orb | 201 div | 307 div | No (almost twice Greater without runes) |
Zundamon
Greater is cheapest with or without runes!
Metan
Here's how many orbs each one used, without runes.
| Omen of Sinistral Exaltation + | Finished | Cost per item | Chaos Orb | Annulment | Exalted | Lost all targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exalted Orb | 99.7% | 423 div | 2,682 | 242 | 244 | 111 times |
| Greater Exalted Orb | 100% | 105 div | 654 | 63 | 65 | 26 times |
| Perfect Exalted Orb | 100% | 201 div | 423 | 43 | 45 | 17 times |
Zundamon
With only 300 runs, couldn't that be luck?
Metan
Greater's average has a margin of error of ±11 div. The gaps between the three are far bigger than that, so it's settled.
Why Greater
Perfect and plain lose for different reasons.
Perfect loses on price
Zundamon
Perfect uses the fewest orbs. Why does it lose?
Metan
The price. A Perfect Exalted Orb costs about 2.9 div (2,046 Exalted Orbs) each.
Metan
Going Perfect cuts Exalted Orbs from 65 to 45, and Chaos Orbs from 654 to 423.
Metan
But the Perfect Exalted Orbs alone cost 132 div per run. That's far more than what you save.
Plain loses on misses
Zundamon
The plain Exalted Orb is cheap. How does it end up at 423 div?
Metan
It has no minimum modifier level. So even in the target families, low tiers roll often.
Metan
Anything below T2 is a miss, so you annul it at once. That Annulment can take out a target you already landed.
Zundamon
And if every target is gone, it's back to Chaos Orbs...
Metan
Right. That happened 111 times per run, and Chaos Orbs alone cost 277 div.
| Exalted Orb type | Why it loses / wins | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | Too many misses | Annulling low tiers takes targets with it; Chaos Orbs alone cost 277 div |
| Greater | Right in between | Minimum modifier level 35 cuts low tiers, and it's cheap at about 13 Exalted Orbs each |
| Perfect | Price | Hits come easier, but the Perfect Exalted Orbs alone cost 132 div per run |
Zundamon
Greater cuts the low tiers and stays cheap. It's right in between!
Runes Make It 1.8 Times
The +2 Projectile mod on these gloves is a Marksman mod that only appears with the rune Kolr's Hunt socketed. So we reran with the finished item's runes: Serle's Triumph (+1 suffix) and Kolr's Hunt.
| Omen of Sinistral Exaltation + | No runes | Serle's Triumph + Kolr's Hunt | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exalted Orb | 423 div | 598 div (96.7% finished) | Still the most expensive |
| Greater Exalted Orb | 105 div | 194 div | About 1.8 times, still the cheapest |
| Perfect Exalted Orb | 201 div | 307 div | Still loses to Greater |
Zundamon
Why do runes make it more expensive?
Metan
With Kolr's Hunt, Marksman mods also join the prefix pool: projectile damage, projectile speed and curse effect.
Metan
More non-targets means Chaos Orbs rose from 654 to 1,275, and Greater Exalted Orbs from 65 to 107.
Zundamon
Does an Annulment ever remove a suffix that isn't Fractured?
Metan
Not once in either setup. During the Chaos phase the item has two mods, so once a target lands no non-Fractured suffix is left.
Zundamon
What if I make the suffixes afterward? How much is that?
Metan
With Critical Damage Bonus and Arcane Surge, it's about 1,350 div per item, including the 194 div prefixes (83% finished).
Metan
So the suffixes are most of the cost.
Not yet verified (3)
- All results come from the ExileDesk engine. Mod names and tiers included, they have not been compared with Craft of Exile or in-game results.
- Prices are the ExileDesk server's market prices (2026-10-20 16:00 UTC).
- Rune costs (Serle's Triumph about 3.0 div, Kolr's Hunt about 1.0 div) are not included.
For ES glove prefixes, the Greater Exalted Orb was the cheapest. Perfect isn't always best; weigh the hit rate against the price.
Where the Numbers Come From
Show sources (3)
- All results come from the ExileDesk engine, one craft at a time. 300 runs per method, capped at 2,000 div per run.
- Prices are the ExileDesk server's market prices (2026-10-20 16:00 UTC; 1 div = 696.93 Exalted Orbs). Rune costs (Serle's Triumph about 3.0 div, Kolr's Hunt about 1.0 div) are not included.
- Mod names and tiers come from the engine's data. Not compared with Craft of Exile or in-game results.
Try It Yourself
You can apply the same moves to Sirenscale Gloves on the crafting bench.
Related posts
VOICEVOX: Zundamon / Shikoku Metan
Character art: Shikoku Metan / Zundamon standing art by Sakamoto Ahiru