How to unlock and use Weapon Set Passives in Path of Exile 2
Weapon Set Passives are a new Path of Exile 2 feature that allows more flexibility in your builds than ever before. Players can have two weapon sets they can swap between, but what is the benefit, when all the skill points are the same? Instead of having two very confusing skill point trees to juggle, you can take some of your skill points, and dedicate them to specific builds.
While all classes and ascensions can use this, particular builds are going to get far more out of it. For example, those who have access to the Weapon Master node in the skill tree convert 20 of their skill points into Weapon Set Passive skill points. That’s an unprecedented level of customization. But what do Weapon Set Passives actually do in Path of Exile 2? Let’s go over that.
How to unlock Weapon Set Passives in Path of Exile 2
As you progress through Path of Exile 2, you’ll come across items called the Book of Specialisation — these grant you Weapon Set Passive points. These aren’t “extra” skill points, per se’. Instead, they allow you to take skill points you already have, and devote them to specific skill trees. Let’s say you’re a Witch with a wand+sceptre skill set and a staff skill set.
You can decide that certain passive skill points would serve the staff build more, and could slot those into a different build. How you unlock Weapon Set Passives is a bit more complicated. They don’t drop off random enemies.
Each time you acquire one of those books, two of your skill points become Weapon Set Passives. You can see how many you have (and have used) in your skill tree in the top right. These Books of Specialisation come from completing certain quests and defeating particular bosses.
For example, defeating Crowbell will give you a Book of Specialisation — a mini-boss that shows up in the Hunting Grounds. Defeating this challenging foe will grant you a book upon the first defeat. Others can be found in the world as well.
How to use Weapon Set Passives in Path of Exile 2
When you have Weapon Set Passives available in Path of Exile 2, head to your Skill Tree to assign them. You can either reset passive points to reallocate or wait for the perfect time to use them.
To allocate a passive skill point to a particular weapon tree, hold down to allocate button, and you’ll see a little wheel pop up. This allows you to set it either for both trees or one weapon tree in particular - 1 or 2. By default, simply using a skill point puts it in both trees. If you want to do further customization, this will make that possible.
Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features
- Path of Exile 2 Warrior class overview: Skills, Ascendancies, and playstyle
- How to preload Path of Exile 2 (PC and consoles)
- You can dual-wield two-handed weapons in Path of Exile 2