So, what exactly is Spirit in POE 2? Unlike Mana, which fuels spell casts, or Life, which POE2 Currency determines your survivability, Spirit is a long-duration resource tied to sustained abilities. These include powerful minion summons, enduring self-buffs, and some advanced utility effects. Managing Spirit efficiently allows your character to maintain constant enhancements, making it vital for endgame scaling and advanced build crafting.

Spirit operates on a fixed maximum value, much like Mana or Energy Shield. However, increasing your maximum Spirit is trickier. You can't just slap on more Intelligence gear and expect a boost. Instead, players must carefully select specific passive nodes, gear affixes, and skill supports that directly raise Spirit capacity. In this regard, Spirit becomes a specialized mechanic—one that rewards planning and deep investment.

If you’re running a minion-focused build, for example, Spirit becomes the backbone of your strategy. Many strong minion skills in Path of Exile 2 consume Spirit rather than Mana. Because these summons remain active until they’re killed or resummoned, the Spirit cost is more of a long-term investment than a repeating drain. That said, if you don’t manage it well, you’ll run out of space for additional effects like auras or other persistent buffs.

Some Ascendancy classes and skill gems offer unique ways to boost Spirit. For instance, classes that specialize in summoning or time-based mechanics may have passive skills that increase maximum Spirit by a flat amount or percentage. Identifying these early in your build planning can open up powerful synergies and enable more complex setups.

Gear also plays a significant role. Certain amulets, rings, and unique items come with modifiers that increase maximum Spirit, Spirit regeneration, or reduce Spirit costs. These are invaluable when trying to scale into the late game. Using POE 2 Currency like Orbs of Alchemy or Chaos Orbs, you can enhance rare gear to roll these modifiers, tailoring your equipment to buy POE 2 Exalted Orbs complement your Spirit-heavy setup.