Understanding gear progression during the campaign is vital for smooth leveling in PoE 3.26. Your damage PoE Currency and survivability depend more on gear than raw character level, so keeping it up to date is key.
Focus on life and resistance stats early. Prioritize armor or evasion gear with high life rolls, and use crafting benches when available to add missing stats. This becomes especially important after Act 5 and 10 when resistance penalties kick in.
Weapons should be upgraded every 5–10 levels. For spellcasters, look for increased spell or elemental damage. For melee and ranged users, focus on high physical DPS. Use essences or vendor recipes to create temporary power boosts.
Don’t neglect jewelry. Rings and amulets provide resistances, attributes, and damage bonuses. An Onyx Amulet with high stat rolls can solve many attribute requirements while boosting overall power.
Keep an eye on gem links. Early on, even a 3-link with the right support gems (e.g., Added Lightning Damage, Elemental Proliferation) can outperform a 4-link with weak supports. Plan your gem colors based on sockets available.
Helmets, gloves, and boots often get overlooked. Movement speed on boots is a top priority. Helmets with resistances and life are very common and easy to craft. Use Essences PoE PC Currency of Greed for guaranteed life rolls.
Learning when to replace gear and how to use currency efficiently during the campaign will make your leveling experience not just faster, but far less frustrating.