The holidays are looking absolutely stacked for ARPG fans, especially with the arrival of Path of Exile 2: The Last of the Druids. While everyone is understandably hyped about finally getting their hands on the Druid class—honestly, who doesn’t want to shapeshift into a Bear or Wyvern?—I’m way more interested in the gear potential. Patch 0.4.0 is introducing Incursion 2.0 via the Vaal Temple, meaning we get to build our own dungeons again and face off against Atziri, the Red Queen. But let’s be real: we’re here for the loot. If you are currently planning your league starter and looking for specific PoE 2 Items to make your build viable, the new reveals are going to shake up the meta significantly. It’s not just about raw stats anymore; the unique mechanics on these items open up playstyles we haven't really seen before.

Druid Leveling and Endgame Chase

If you’re planning to main a Druid, the leveling experience looks pretty smooth thanks to the Amor Mandragora. It’s a unique animal talisman available around level 25 that rewards you for spending Rage. It adds a nice duration buff to skills like Volcano, letting you pump out more fiery projectiles before the spell expires. However, the real chase item for endgame builds is undoubtedly the Fury of the King. This talisman is just cool; it visually transforms your Bear form into a fire demon. Mechanics-wise, it converts 80% of your physical damage to fire and applies Exposure, shredding enemy resistances by 20%. It even generates Glory automatically, so you can spam Ancestral Cry without worrying about resources. The downside is a 15% reduced attack speed, but let’s be honest, you can easily counter that with a few Soul Cores or decent gear upgrades later on.

Atziri's Powerful Drops

For those of us not playing Druid, Atziri drops some serious power that makes the boss fight worth the headache. The Atziri’s Rule staff is a must-have for spell projectile builds. It summons Mirrors of Refraction that copy your projectiles seven times in a nova pattern. If you’re running Spark or Fireball, you’re going to cover the entire screen in seconds. It also boosts corrupted gem levels, which is massive if you get a lucky level 21 gem from the temple corruption room. There’s also the return of Drillneck for bow users. In PoE 2, this item allows projectiles to return to you after piercing two enemies, a mechanic that’s incredibly rare right now. It also gives a defensive boost by converting Evasion into Deflection, which might just save your squishy Ranger from getting one-shot during a boss fight.

Farming Strategies

So, how do you actually get this stuff without burning out? The Druid talismans seem to be world drops, so I’d recommend slapping on some Item Rarity gear—even basic Gold Rings help—and running maps as fast as possible. For Atziri’s Rule and Drillneck, you have to grind the Vaal Ruins and kill the Queen herself. You’ll want a build with high mobility, like a Werewolf or a Lightning Arrow Deadeye, to navigate the temple layout quickly. It’s going to be a grind, but these items look well worth the effort. Of course, if the RNG gods aren't on your side, you could always decide to PoE 2 Items buy from other players to speed things up, but there is something satisfying about finding it yourself.