Path of Exile 2: Headhunter Unique belt, explained
There are 13 Unique Belts in Path of Exile 2, Headhunter arguably being the most interesting among them. This is one of the more expensive Uniques out there. So if you want to buy it out in a trade league, the current going rate in the official trade site is anywhere from 7 to 9 Divine Orbs (and almost threefold if you're on the hardcore trade league).
But why is the Headhunter so exorbitantly priced in Path of Exile 2, and where can you farm one yourself? These are the two questions we'll explore in this guide.
What does the Headhunter unique belt do in Path of Exile 2?
The Headhunter belt in Path of Exile 2 is a returning Unique from the first game. Other than the peripheral affixes, its main draw is still the same: temporarily inheriting monster modifiers.
In Path of Exile 2, monsters have rarity and modifiers in the same tiering system as items. Rare monsters are a lucrative source of loot when you find them randomly during campaigns — they remain important in endgame mapping for the same reason.
With Headhunter, you gain all the modifiers of a Rare monster on kill and retain them for up to 20 seconds. As you get deeper and deeper into mapping in Path of Exile 2, these Rare monsters become more juiced-up, meaning the Headhunter essentially gives you a snowballing effect four out of five times. With the Keystone passive Deadly Evolution on the Atlas Skill Tree, you add two more modifiers (flat addition) to the Rares, making its effect even more potent.
So, is the Headhunter worth it? There is, of course, an opportunity cost you must consider. Headhunter rolls with +STR and DEX attributes, so it's good for martial classes or ones that don't naturally spec these attributes but want it for Skill Gem requirements. The tradeoff is that Headhunter cannot roll with Resistance modifiers, which adds some affix stress on your body armor and Rings.
There is also the occasional instance of some modifiers backfiring, occasionally resulting in borderline hilarious deaths. However, instances of these are few and far between, making Headhunter overall a solid mapping choice if you pair it up with a mobility tool like Blink.
How to get the Headhunter unique belt in Path of Exile 2
Unlike some of the similarly priced expensive Uniques, Headhunter in Path of Exile 2 does not drop from any specific boss. It can be a random world loot drop. That said, as its high pricing suggests, it's a rare one to get. Since there's nowhere you can focus-farm for it, lucky players may chance upon it while mapping (with better chances in t10+ maps).
A relatively more surefire way to get Headhunter is via Orbs of Chance usage. Headhunter's base item type is Heavy Belt, which starts dropping from Cruel Act 2 onwards, with a minimum effective item level of 50. Using an Orb of Chance on a White-rarity unmodded Heavy Belt has a very small chance of converting it to Headhunter.
There is no exact estimation of the odds, but according to POE Ladder, the chance is 0.3%, or roughly once every 300 attempts. Note that this is based on a modest sample size, so the real odds might be different.
Check out our other guides on the game:
- Path of Exile 2 Skill Gems and Gemcutting guide
- Path of Exile 2 Endgame systems guide
- Path of Exile 2 Item Crafting guide
- Path of Exile 2 Runes and Sockets guide
- Path of Exile 2 Defense guide: Energy Shield, Armor, and Evasion explained