Suggestion: Rune-Based Itemization

I would like to suggest a different direction for PoE 2 itemization and crafting.

Right now, many items feel too binary. Either an item drops with the right base, right affixes, right tiers and good rolls, or it is basically useless.

Crafting often does not solve this problem either. In many cases, it feels like another layer of gambling. You can try to improve an item, but without the right Omens or other rare deterministic tools, you are often just risking the item becoming worse or completely unusable.

This is especially painful because Omens are exactly the kind of tools that make crafting feel less random, but they are often too rare to be a reliable part of normal progression. As a result, mid-tier crafting can feel less like building an item and more like playing a crafting lottery. In trade, the answer is often “just buy a better item”.
In SSF or self-found play, that is not a real solution.

I think PoE 2 would benefit from a more modular item system where items are built and improved over time instead of being mostly finished random packages.

The core idea would be:

Base item = item identity
Rune sockets = affix slots
Affix runes = prefix/suffix power
Rune capacity = item power budget
Salvage = value from bad drops
League mechanics = source of specific rune types

A base item would still matter. It would define things like weapon type, base damage, attack speed, implicit modifiers, armour/evasion/energy shield and item level. But most of the affix power would come from socketed affix runes.

For example, a two-handed mace could look like this:

Titan Maul
Item level: 78
Rune sockets: 5
Rune capacity: 34

Socketed runes:

* T2 Increased Physical Damage Rune — cost 8
* T3 Flat Physical Damage Rune — cost 6
* T2 Attack Speed Rune — cost 7
* T4 Stun Buildup Rune — cost 4
* T4 Strength Rune — cost 3

Total: 28 / 34 capacity

This would not be a perfect weapon, but it would be a good progression item. Later, the player could replace the T3 flat physical rune with a better one, or replace the Strength rune with something more useful. That creates gradual progression. Instead of waiting for a completely new weapon to drop, the player has a weapon project.

Rune capacity would be important because it would stop every item from simply using all the strongest affixes at once. Stronger runes would cost more capacity.

For example:

* T1 +Level of Melee Skills Rune — cost 12
* T1 Increased Physical Damage Rune — cost 10
* T1 Attack Speed Rune — cost 9
* T1 Flat Physical Damage Rune — cost 9

If a weapon has 34 capacity, the player has to make choices. They cannot just socket every best rune without sacrifice.

This would create more interesting item decisions:

Do I build pure DPS?
Do I invest into stun or armour break?
Do I take +skill level and sacrifice other stats?
Do I use cheaper runes to unlock a useful combination bonus?

Rune capacity should scale mainly with item level.

For example:

* item level 20 weapon: 10 capacity
* item level 40 weapon: 18 capacity
* item level 60 weapon: 26 capacity
* item level 80 weapon: 34 capacity

This creates natural progression. Higher item level bases would not only have better base values, but also enough capacity to support stronger rune combinations. Rarity should not be the main source of capacity. A magic, rare or unique item of the same item level could have similar base capacity, but they would use that capacity differently.

Rare items would have more flexibility.
Unique items would have fixed identity.

For uniques, I think fixed unique effects plus open rune sockets should roughly equal the normal six-affix item budget.

For example, a rare item could have:

* 3 prefix rune sockets
* 3 suffix rune sockets

A unique item could have:

* 1 special mechanic or granted skill
* 1–2 fixed unique affixes
* fewer open rune sockets

Example:

Fury of the King
Unique two-handed mace

Fixed identity:

* Grants Demon Bear

Fixed affixes:

* Bear Skills deal increased Fire Damage
* Gain Rage while in Bear Form

Open rune sockets:

* 1 prefix rune socket
* 2 suffix rune sockets

So the item would still follow the same approximate power budget:

1 special mechanic + 2 fixed affixes + 3 flexible rune sockets = 6 item power slots.

This would make uniques easier to balance. A unique would give identity and a special mechanic, while a rare would give maximum flexibility. This is important because many unique-granted skills are visually cool and build-defining, but they often lose to rare weapons because the weapon slot is too important for DPS. If the unique weapon cannot scale properly, it becomes a bait item: fun in maps, but weak against bosses. With limited rune sockets, a unique weapon could still be improved without becoming better than every rare weapon.

Existing currency could still be used in this system.

The current crafting orbs would not need to disappear. They could become the cost for inserting, replacing, upgrading or modifying runes.

For example:

Transmutation / Augmentation type currency could be used for low-tier rune insertion or basic socket changes.
Regal / Exalted type currency could be used to add or replace mid-tier runes.
Chaos type currency could reroll or replace a rune within the same category.
Divine type currency could be used for high-tier rune replacement, improving rune values, or rerolling values inside the same tier.
Vaal / corruption currency could interact with rune sockets, capacity or corrupted-only runes.

The important part is that the cost should scale with the tier of the rune.

Replacing a T5 rune should be relatively cheap.
Replacing a T3 rune should be expensive.
Replacing a T1 rune should be very expensive and maybe require rare currency or league-specific materials.

This keeps high-end crafting valuable and difficult, but makes low and mid-tier progression much more accessible.

For example:

Replacing a T5 physical rune could cost basic crafting currency.
Replacing a T3 physical rune could cost Regal/Exalted-level currency.
Replacing a T1 physical rune could require Divine-level currency or a special league material.

This would preserve the value of existing currency while giving players more control over how they improve items.

Corruption could also interact with this system.

Possible corruption outcomes:

* add +1 rune socket
* add rune capacity
* create a corrupted-only rune socket
* reduce the capacity cost of one socketed rune
* lock all runes permanently
* destroy one rune socket
* change one socket type

For example:

Corrupted:
+1 Rune Socket
Runes cannot be removed from this item This would keep corruption as a risk/reward system, but it would be more interesting than only “brick or jackpot”.

Salvage would also become more meaningful.

When dismantling an item, the player could choose one outcome:

1. Extract socket crafting currency
Used to add, modify or change rune sockets.

2. Attempt to recover one socketed rune
Safe for low-tier runes, risky or expensive for high-tier runes.

3. Break the item into random rune shards
Based on the item’s runes, item level and base type.

This would make bad drops less useless.

Current feeling:
“This item is not an upgrade, so it is trash.”

Suggested feeling:
“This item is not an upgrade, but it still has something I can use.”

That is a big difference.

League mechanics could also have clearer itemization identities through specific rune types.

For example:

Breach could drop attack speed, chaos, on-hit or high-risk runes.
Ritual could drop omen, curse, sacrifice or recovery runes.
Expedition could drop armour break, stun, explosive or big-hit runes.
Delirium could drop ailment, damage over time or ramping damage runes.
Essence content could focus on deterministic rune upgrades or rune tier improvement.
Bosses could drop rare high-capacity bases or special rune modifiers.

This would make target farming more meaningful. If I want a specific type of rune, I know which content to farm. That would be much better than every mechanic just dropping a different version of generic loot.

There could also be rune combination bonuses.

For example:

Physical Rune + Bleed Rune + Attack Speed Rune
Bonus: Bleeding you inflict deals damage faster.

Fire Rune + Rage Rune + Slam Rune
Bonus: Every third Slam creates an aftershock.

Armour Rune + Stun Recovery Rune + Life Rune
Bonus: Gain reduced damage taken for a short time after being stunned or blocking a hit.

These bonuses should not always be pure DPS. Some should be defensive, utility-based or playstyle-changing. This would make itemization more interesting than simply stacking the highest numerical damage affixes. The goal of this system would not be easy perfect items.

There should still be limits:

* top tier runes should be rare,
* replacing high tier runes should be expensive,
* moving runes between items should not be free,
* uniques should have fewer flexible sockets,
* some rune combinations should be mutually exclusive,
* special runes should require specific league mechanics or bosses,
* corruption should still be risky.

The goal is not deterministic mirror-tier gear. The goal is reliable mid-tier progression and better item agency.

Current item loop:

Find a full item with the right base, right affixes, right tiers and right rolls. If not, trade it or throw it away.

Suggested item loop:

Find a good base, socket useful runes, salvage bad drops, improve runes over time, farm specific mechanics for specific rune types, and slowly build your item. For me, this would fit PoE 2 better than adding more isolated crafting systems. It would make item progression feel more like building your gear, not just waiting for the game to drop the correct answer.