markdown_diff - PoEDB, Path of Exile Wiki sp

# Orb of Alchemy

An Orb of Alchemy is a currency item that can be used to upgrade a piece of normal equipment to rare.

## Item acquisition

Orbs of Alchemy are uncommon currency items that can be dropped by slain monsters, chests, and destructible containers. They also drop from Arcanist's Strongboxes.

Orbs of Alchemy can also be obtained by combining 20 [[Alchemy Shard]], which are in turn obtained by selling identified magic and rare items with certain modifiers to any vendor.

## Spending

Orbs of Alchemy can used to upgrade a normal item into a rare item. The resulting rare has randomly chosen affixes and has a random number of affixes (ranging from four to six [three to four if used on jewels]). Common use cases include upgrading good normal items (especially those with appropriate linked sockets) during the questing phase of a character's development, upgrading a normal map in order to take advantage of the large item quantity bonus from having up to six affixes, and upgrading strongboxes. Orbs of Alchemy are rarely used in the crafting of high-end rare items because it is easier to start with a good magic item and instead use a [[Regal Orb]] to upgrade it to a rare.

Orbs of Alchemy can also be used to purchase various items from vendors, including maps, skill gems, and unidentified rare items.

Furthermore, Orbs of Alchemy are also useful for a very large number of crafting bench recipes.