Top 10 Path of Exile Leveling Uniques

Leveling is a fundamental step in your Path of Exile journey, and it’s something you’ll need to repeat every time a new league starts or whenever you roll a fresh character. Because of that, it’s crucial to do it as smoothly and efficiently as possible. The campaign itself is divided into two main parts and spans across ten acts. Leveling also covers the early stage of maps if you aren’t able to equip your end-game defining gear yet. Throughout the process, you will need to consistently swap to stronger items. You can’t simply equip the most powerful gear at level one — every item comes with certain level requirements. While rare items often serve well, the real focus here is on Uniques. Leveling Uniques stand out for their practicality during progression, though price is also a factor. At league start when currency is scarce, these are often the most in demand. The actual values on modifiers don’t matter much for leveling Uniques, except for a few that matter in later stages.

Below, we will provide you with general leveling advice and highlight the most impactful Unique items for this phase. There are countless Uniques that can help while leveling, but here we selected the Top 10 Leveling Uniques in Path of Exile. Some of these can be obtained right after you begin, while others will comfortably carry you into maps. Our focus is on items that are broadly useful regardless of class or archetype. If you’re interested in build-specific setups, check the dedicated Leveling Guides at the end of this article.

Remember, this isn’t a ranked list except for Tabula Rasa, which holds a unique spot as the single most iconic leveling item in the entire game. It works on every build and class. Many other strong items exist, but we’ve left out ones with very niche requirements or those that are overly complex to obtain. We’ve also intentionally excluded weapons since they are replaced frequently while leveling, making it hard to crown just one as “best.”

Tabula Rasa (Body Armour)

Tabula Rasa – Easily the most well-known (and arguably the best) leveling unique in Path of Exile. During the first days of a new league it skyrockets in price, and finding one early can make you incredibly rich. Its true strength comes from granting a 6-link setup with white sockets available at level 1, letting you stack support gems onto any skill. Keep in mind though that mana costs get very high with multiple support gems early on. This robe has no level requirement, no stats, just pure socket power.

• Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden)
• Item has 6 White Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

Goldrim (Helmet)

Goldrim – One of the best leveling helmets in the game thanks to the huge Elemental Resistance bonuses. This helmet can carry you deep into the endgame campaign without needing upgrades. Because resistances become critical in later acts, this unique is a safe and reliable choice until you transition into your permanent gear.

• +(30-50) to Evasion Rating
• 10% increased Rarity of Items found
• +(30-40)% to all Elemental Resistances
• Reflects 4 Physical Damage to Melee Attackers
• Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Thrillsteel (Helmet)

Thrillsteel – A strong option if you already have sufficient Elemental Resistances covered elsewhere. It grants permanent Onslaught, which translates to 20% increased Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed. With such a buff, nearly every build can benefit — even summoner builds still get great value from the movement speed alone.

• Onslaught

String of Servitude (Belt)

String of Servitude – This belt comes in many variants, but the one to look out for is the Elemental Resistance version. With the implicit modifier tripled, it can give you a massive 48% to all Elemental Resistances. This makes it a phenomenal belt for leveling, though it is generally expensive and can be hard to acquire during the early days of a new league. It’s still worth considering since it can be worn at level 1.

• <(1-2) Random corrupted implicit modifiers>
• Implicit Modifier magnitudes are tripled
• Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Wanderlust (Boots)

Wanderlust – A very budget-friendly option. These boots provide a solid 20% movement speed and valuable Mana Regeneration. They pair extremely well with Tabula Rasa for casters struggling with mana. Freeze immunity is also helpful in specific campaign zones such as The Brine King’s Reef. While they eventually get outclassed by rare boots with 30–35% movement speed, they remain excellent early-game footwear.

• +5 to Dexterity
• +(10-20) to maximum Energy Shield
• (20-40)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
• 20% increased Movement Speed
• Cannot be Frozen

Seven-League Step (Boots)

Seven-League Step – Another top-tier leveling boot option, but these are for players with more currency to spare. They give unmatched movement speed at 50%, helping you blitz through the campaign. The drawback is the complete lack of defenses, forcing you to compensate with other gear. Expensive, but powerful.

• 50% increased Movement Speed
• Level Requirement reduced by 100 (Hidden)

Praxis (Ring)

Praxis – Best used once you can make use of 5–6 links on Tabula Rasa. This ring provides great Mana sustain, often eliminating mana costs entirely for attacks or spells. It’s cheap, accessible, and extremely handy for spellcasters who struggle with mana consumption early on.

• +(20-30) to maximum Mana
• +(30-60) to maximum Mana
• Regenerate (3-6) Mana per second
• -(8-4) to Total Mana Cost of Skills
• 8% of Damage taken Recouped as Mana

Atziri's Foible (Amulet)

Atziri's Foible – A superb leveling amulet that offers bonuses to mana, regeneration, and even reduces attribute requirements on items and gems. This reduction is especially valuable when you don’t yet have enough Dexterity, Strength, or Intelligence to meet gem requirements. It’s arguably the best all-around leveling amulet.

• (20-30)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
• +100 to maximum Mana
• (16-24)% increased maximum Mana
• (80-100)% increased Mana Regeneration Rate
• Items and Gems have 25% reduced Attribute Requirements

Astramentis (Amulet)

Astramentis – Attribute requirements can bottleneck your progression, especially if your build uses multiple skill gems with heavy stat needs. Astramentis solves this instantly by giving a huge boost to all Attributes. On top of that, remember the base bonuses Attributes provide: life, accuracy, evasion, mana, and energy shield. It’s not cheap, but very effective.

• +(10-16) to all Attributes
• +(80-100) to all Attributes
• -4 Physical Damage taken from Attack Hits

Brutal Restraint (Jewel)

Brutal Restraint – Historic Jewels surprisingly have no level requirement. The “Balbala” variant in particular is famous for granting “The Traitor” Keystone, enabling insane Flask sustain. Place it near a Keystone socket on your passive tree and you can essentially have permanent flask uptime with just a Quicksilver or Silver Flask. This trick is relatively unknown but incredibly strong for leveling.

• Denoted service of (500-8000) dekhara in the akhara of (Asenath-Balbala-Nasima)
• Passives in radius are Conquered by the Maraketh
• Historic

General Tips on how to Upgrade your Weapon

Which stats should you prioritize? Movement Speed and Elemental Resistances are essential. After Act 5, resistances are penalized by -30%, and again by another -30% after Act 10. Ensure you’re upgrading your gear to compensate. Maximum Life is always valuable, though it mainly comes from rare items and passive tree points early on. Damage, of course, is equally important. At the start of a new character, grab a basic weapon for your class and upgrade along the way. This strategy will get you to around level 70–80, when your main build-defining gear becomes available. All weapon upgrades here can typically be acquired with basic self-found PoE currency, especially Essences. Here’s a breakdown:

• Spell damage/Caster class – Start with Lifesprig and you can use it up to around level 30. Later, upgrade to a stronger spell damage wand of your preference. Common options include Axiom Perpetuum (level 10), Ashcaller (Fire Spells – level 12), Reverberation Rod (level 24), or Storm Prison (Power Charges – level 24). Dual-wielding wands for extra bonuses is also viable. Staff users may prefer The Searing Touch (level 62) for Fire Spells.
• Ranged/Bow users – Attack builds depend heavily on their weapon. Fortunately, many cheap unique bows are excellent. Quill Rain (level 5) is top-tier early. Storm Cloud (level 9) works for Lightning/Elemental builds. Doomfletch (level 28) is another strong option. For physical bow builds, rares or Lioneye’s Glare (level 66) are best.
• Melee physical class – Redbeak or Last Resort (claws) work well early. The general rule is to upgrade to the highest Physical DPS weapon you can find every 10 or so levels. Two-handed axes are highly recommended, as most unique axes offer strong upgrades once wieldable.
• Summoner – This archetype is unique since spell damage or weapon base stats don’t matter much. Instead, focus on survivability and sockets for your minion skills. Hybrid setups using Absolution or Dominating Blow are effective during leveling.