Campaign Difficulties and Permanent Stat Bonuses

The campaign in Path of Exile 2 offers the possibility of obtaining many permanent buffs that help boost and improve your character’s stats. These bonuses come from defeating optional bosses, completing side quests, or interacting with special objects. However, many of these upgrades are easy to miss, as they are not always marked in the quest log.

This guide covers all Path of Exile 2 permanent stat bonuses from the campaign that are currently available in Acts 1-3 on both Normal and Cruel difficulties to help you make sure that you do not leave any optional powergain behind. 

What Are Permanent Buffs?

Permanent buffs provide lasting stat increases to your character, such as:

• Increased elemental resistances.
• Additional passive skill points for Weapon Specializations.
• Improved survivability with extra life or spirit.
• Unique build-specific bonuses.

Unlike temporary effects, these buffs remain active throughout your adventure! Acquiring them often involves exploring optional areas, completing side quests, or defeating hidden bosses.

Summary of Permanent Buffs

By the end of your story playthrough, you can get the following Path of Exile 2 permanent stat bonuses from the campaign:

• Weapon Set Passive Skill Points: 24 points
• Elemental Resistances: +20% to Fire, Cold, and Lightning
• Spirit: +100
• Maximum Life: +20
• Increased Maximum Life: +8%
• Choice-Based Buffs:
  • Swappable:
    • +30% increased Charm Charges gained
    • +15% increased Mana Recovery from Flasks
  • Swappable (Cruel):
    • +30% increased Charm Charges gained
    • +15% increased Life Recovery from Flasks
  • Permanent (cannot be changed):
    • +25% increased Stun Threshold
    • +30% increased Elemental Ailment Threshold
    • +25% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
    • +10% Chaos Resistance
    • +5 to all Attributes
    • 15% reduced Slowing Potency of Debuffs on you

Act 1

Act 1 introduces a variety of buffs, including elemental resistance, skill points, and life bonuses.

Location	Objective	Reward
Clearfell	Defeat Beira of the Rotten Pack	+10% Cold Resistance
Hunting Grounds	Defeat Crowbell	+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
Freythorn	Defeat The King in the Mists	+30 Spirit
Ogham Farmlands	Retrieve Una’s Lute and deliver to Una	+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
Ogham Manor	Defeat Candlemass, The Living Rite	+20 Maximum Life (Normal); 8% increased Maximum Life (Cruel)

Tip for New Players: Keep an eye out for Ritual encounters in Freythorn to summon The King in the Mists. Missing this boss means missing the valuable Spirit buff.

Act 2

Act 2 introduces the first optional choice mechanics, where you can select one of several buffs that can significantly impact any build.

Location	Objective	Reward
Keth	Defeat Kabala, Constrictor Queen	+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
Valley of the Titans	Deliver Kabala and Sun Clan Relics to the altar	Choice between: +30% increased Charm Charges gained or +15% increased Mana/Life Recovery from Flasks (can be swapped)
Deshar	Deliver the Final Letter to Shambrin	+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
Spires of Deshar	Interact with the Sisters of Garukhan Shrine	+10% Lightning Resistance

Tip for Veterans: Focus on Charm Charges for builds relying on crowd control or utility. Mana Recovery is ideal for builds with heavy skill spam.

Act 3

Act 3 ramps up the stakes, offering powerful buffs but introducing choices that cannot be changed later.

Location	Objective	Reward
Jungle Ruins	Defeat Mighty Silverfist	+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill Points
The Azak Bog	Defeat Ignagduk, The Bog Witch	+30 Spirit (Normal); +40 Spirit (Cruel)
The Venom Crypts	Deliver the Venom Vial to Servi	Choice between: +25% increased Stun Threshold +30% increased Elemental Ailment Threshold or +25% increased Mana Regeneration Rate (cannot be changed)
Jiquani’s Machinarium	Defeat Blackjaw, The Remnant	+10% Fire Resistance
Aggorat	Sacrifice the Sacrificial Heart at the altar	+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill Points

Note: The Venom Draught choice is permanent, so pick the bonus that best complements your build.

Map Icon Indicators

The campaign map includes helpful symbols that display where you can get permanent buffs:

• Skulls: Optional bosses.
• Skulls with a plus: Bosses that grant a permanent buff.
• Chests: Valuable loot.
• Pouch: Notable loot.
• Shrines: Interactive locations that immediately grant bonuses upon activation.
• Other Symbols: Side quests.

To locate the bosses that grant permanent buffs in Path of Exile 2, simply take a closer look at the in-game map. Bosses that offer buffs are marked with a skull icon that has a small plus sign next to it. If the icon is grayed out, it means you have already defeated that boss.

Tip for New Players: Use the Underground Map (accessible via the toggle on the right side within the map interface) to make sure that you do not miss objectives hidden below ground.

Good to Know!

Swappable Buffs: In Act 2, the choice between increased Charm Charges and Mana Recovery can be changed by revisiting the altar in the Valley of the Titans.

Permanent Choices: In Act 3, the selection of buffs from the Venom Vial is irreversible, so make sure you choose something that fits your build.

Cruel Difficulty: Upon completing the initial three acts, the game transitions to Cruel difficulty, offering another opportunity to acquire all these buffs. Note that some rewards may differ in this mode. More on that below.

Cruel Difficulty

Cruel difficulty revisits the same acts with harder challenges and slightly altered rewards:

• Candlemass: Grants 8% Increased Maximum Life instead of +20 Life.
• Ignagduk, The Bog Witch: Grants +40 Spirit instead of +30.
• Venom Draught Choices: Includes new options like +10% Chaos Resistance or +5 to All Attributes.

Note: Ideally, you should plan ahead for Cruel difficulty rewards to avoid redundant or conflicting buffs with your build goals.

Crafting Benches and Utility Unlocks

Some campaign objectives unlock necessary crafting tools:

• Salvaging Bench: Unlocked in Ogham Village by delivering Smithing Tools.
• Reforging Bench: Unlocked in The Molten Vault after defeating Mektul, The Forgemaster.

If you are looking for more help with builds, crafting, or other endgame mechanics, check out our related guides below!