Path of Exile – How to Use the Bench to Craft Off-Colour Sockets

Quick Guide to Crafting Off-Colour Sockets

This is a cheap method for getting a lot of off colours (3+) on an item without spending hundreds of chromatic orbs. This method works on all types of items including uniques though it will cost a lot of jeweller’s orbs if you want to do it on 5 or 6 sockets. It technically also works on corrupted items but it will cost a mountain of vaal orbs so less advisable.

If you do not know what an off-colour is, gear is more likely to roll socket colors matching their requirements so an item that only needs strength to equip is more likely to roll red socket (dexterity = green sockets, intellegence = blue). So an off-colour is one the item does not want to roll naturally like blue sockets on a pure strength item for example.

Note: This method will require you to break the links of your item. if it is already 6l, you will need to link it again. Linking a 3-4 socket item isn’t that expensive though so less of an issue there

Before you begin, check the Vorici Chromatic Calculator to see how many chromatic orbs it would cost to craft normally. For a 4L item, anything under roughly 30-40 chormatics, you should just do what it suggests.

1. Identify exactly what colours you want on your item.
2. Pick 2 off colours to start with
3. Use the “Two Sockets” craft on the bench
4. Use the “At Least Two x Socket” craft or “At Least One x and One y Socket” craft to match the 2 off colors you picked in step 2.
5. Use the “Three Sockets” craft.
6. If this new socket is the next off colour you want, proceed to step 7. If not, use the “Two Sockets” craft again and repeat from step 5.
7. Use the “Four Sockets” craft.
8. If this new socket is the last colour you want, you are done. If not, use the “Three Sockets” craft again and repeat from step 7.
   • If you were crafting a 5 of 6 socket item, you can continue in this same fashion using the 5 and 6 socket craft though as stated above, those get expensive.

Additional Info

The crafts mentioned above for up to 4 socket crafts can be found in act 4. Colour crafts in Mines level 1 and sockets in The Grand Arena in case you don’t have them.

The cost of socket crafts gets more and more expensive the bigger the socket count we are manipulating so this is why we want to get the off-colours out of the way early so that the more expensive crafts are more likely to go our way.

Example

Let’s assume you want 3 red sockets and 1 blue socket on a pair of Sorcerer Boots. These boots require 123 int to equip so are very likely to roll blue sockets. Looking at the Vorici calculator, it would take about 143 chromatic orbs on average. We will reduce that cost heavily by using this method.

To Step Through

1. We already said we want 3 red sockets and 1 blue socket (rrrb for short)
2. Our off-colours will be the red sockets based on the int requirement.
3. Use the “Two Sockets” craft on the bench to set it to 2 sockets.
4. Use the “At Least Two Red Sockets” craft
5. Use the “Three Sockets” craft.
6. Did it roll a 3rd red socket? if yes, we are good and can move on to step 7. If no, we will craft “Two sockets” again and repeat from step 5.
7. Use the “Four Sockets” craft.
8. Is the last socket blue? If so, we are done, if not craft “Three Sockets” and repeat from step 7. As this item heavily favors blue sockets, it shouldn’t take many attempts to get the last socket correct.

I appreciate your time and hope this little tutorial was helpful.