As you explore the perilous world of Path of Exile 2, one of the rewarding mechanics you'll frequently encounter is essence crafting. Found within essence monoliths, these trapped monsters hold powerful essences used to enhance or modify gear. But with the right tool-and a bit of risk-you can push this system further by corrupting the essence. This guide walks you through how to corrupt essences and explains the possible outcomes of using this powerful crafting technique.

What Are Essence Monoliths?

Essence monoliths are special in-world encounters that trap monsters surrounded by glowing crystals, each containing a specific Essence, such as Essence of Fear, Wrath, or Greed. These monsters cannot be engaged until released, at which point they drop their essence upon defeat. Players can either release them directly or corrupt the monolith to increase the potential rewards.

How to Corrupt Essences

You'll need an item called the Remnant of Corruption to corrupt an essence.

Acquiring Remnant of Corruption

Remnant of Corruption is a consumable crafting Path of Exile 2 currency that can be obtained through:

Monster drops in higher-level zones.

Opening strongboxes or chests

Trading with other players

Delving or engaging with Essence-focused Atlas mechanics

Once you have the Remnant of Corruption, you can use it directly on the essence monolith. This must be done before activating the monolith to release the monster.

Steps to Corrupt an Essence:

Locate an essence monolith in the world.

Identify the trapped monster and the essences surrounding it.

Right-click on the Remnant of Corruption in your inventory.

Left-click on the monolith (targeting the crystal structure).

The monolith becomes corrupted, and the potential outcomes change.

Now, when you defeat the corrupted creature, it may drop a more powerful or entirely different type of essence than originally shown.

Corruption Outcomes Explained

Using a Remnant of Corruption introduces a gamble-you might walk away with a high-tier essence or lose your opportunity altogether. Here are the primary outcomes you can expect from corrupting essences:

1. Essence of Delirium

Effect: Upgrades Normal Path of Exile 2 items to Magic or a Magic item to Rare.

Special Bonus: Adds a random passive modifier that often doesn't appear through standard essence crafting.

Usefulness: Ideal for experimenting with new builds or preparing mid-tier crafting bases.

2. Essence of Horror

Effect: Upgrades a Normal or Magic item to Rare.

Special Bonus: Grants a specific build-enabling modifier, like "Socketed Gems are supported by Elemental Proliferation."

Usefulness: Highly sought-after for crafting powerful elemental gear or minion-based builds.

3. Essence of Hysteria

Effect: Upgrades a Normal item to Rare.

Special Bonus: Adds a strong Item Rarity modifier.

Usefulness: Great for farming or building MF (magic find) gear to increase loot yield.

4. Essence of Insanity

Effect: Upgrades a Normal item to Magic, or Magic to Rare.

Special Bonus: Guarantees a high-impact modifier such as "Socketed Gems have 10% increased cast speed."

Usefulness: Perfect for spellcaster builds or players seeking fast-paced, aggressive gameplay enhancements.

Additional Random Corruption Effects

Aside from the four core outcomes, corruption can also produce secondary, more unpredictable effects:

No Change

Sometimes, despite using a Remnant of Corruption, nothing happens. The essence and monster remain unchanged. This is the least desirable outcome and is considered a failed corruption attempt.

Tier Upgrade

Each essence has its tier. With corruption, all existing essence tiers may be increased by one, producing higher-quality essence drops like Screaming → Shrieking → Deafening. This outcome can significantly boost crafting potential.

Additional Essence

The corrupted essence may gain an additional type, res, lying in a monster that drops two or more different essences on death. This is a fantastic farming opportunity and can greatly improve returns.

Random Transformation

In some cases, the corruption will completely transform the essence into another random type, including the rare special essences like Delirium or Horror. This means you can turn basic essences into extremely valuable ones-but with a heavy dose of RNG.

Tips for Corrupting Essences Successfully

Know Your Target: Only use Remnant of Corruption on purple-tier (Shrieking or higher) essences. The risk is often not worth it on lower-tier white or blue ones.

Check for Multiples: When multiple essences are present, corruption outcomes can become even more potent. Look for monoliths with 3+ essences.

Keep Remnants Stocked: Always carry a few Remnants of Corruption during mapping. You never know when a valuable monolith will appear.

Plan Your Crafting: Target specific corrupted essences based on your build needs (e.g., Essence of Horror for elemental builds or Insanity for fast-paced casters).

Use Scarabs or Sextants: In the endgame Atlas, you can increase your chances of finding essence monoliths using map modifiers, scarabs, or Atlas passives.

Final Thoughts

Corrupting essences with Remnant of Corruption in Path of Exile 2 is a high-risk, high-reward mechanic that plays perfectly into the game's signature crafting chaos. Whether you're hunting build-enabling modifiers or stacking essences for trade value, understanding the outcomes of corruption can turn an average farming session into a jackpot run.