How to respec passives in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2’s huge passive tree system can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you can respec, and reset your build, so that you have a loadout you can be proud of. The reasons for respeccing are many, as well. You may decide a choice you made earlier isn’t worth it, or perhaps a balance patch throws your plans off. Whatever the reason, you will have the option, relatively early, to start redoing your passive skills.

However, it’s going to get pretty costly to do this. Thankfully, Path of Exile 2 introduced Gold as a currency, so you can use that for your respeccing needs. If you want to rebuild your passive skill list, here’s what you need to know.

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How to reload and respec passive skills in Path of Exile 2

You can respec your passives in Path of Exile 2 by visiting The Hooded One. You will rescue him during the events of Act I — it won’t take too long to unlock him. A few hours of gameplay at the most, and he’ll be a regular member of your camp as you progress deeper into this free-to-play game. However, his services are most certainly not free.

The system is a bit slow, but you can completely "rebuild", with enough time, patience, and gold (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

While it is free to use The Hooded One to identify items, respeccing your passive skills in Path of Exile 2 costs Gold. The amount of Gold respeccing takes goes up with each player level, meaning higher-level characters will find it much more expensive to rebuild their passive trees. However, thecost does not increase with each respec, so there's no worries of exponentially increasing costs every time you change tacks.

You have to reset nodes in order though — going from the higher points in your skill tree down to the lower ones. Once you're satisfied with the number of nodes you've chosen to reset, hit the accept button, and you can freely spend those points again.

However, it doesn’t appear that you can respec the whole tree at once — you have to painstakingly go back and reset one node at a time, and then confirm them. It’s a very tedious system that hopefully will change in the future.

Note that pure stat nodes (those marked with a plus) are an exception to this rule. You can change any stat node to reassign it to a different stat at the cost of a single node's respec without touching the rest of your setup. This lets you quickly adjust your build if you're a few points shy of reaching critical stat requirements for Skill Gem levelups or a new gear.

You can respec as many times as you want — provided you have the Gold to pay The Hooded One.

In the Early Access phase of the game, the system feels a little clunky to use. However, it can change or be improved by the developers before the final build goes live. No matter which Act of the game you’re in, as long as you have access to The Hooded One, you can visit him, and request to respec your passives in Path of Exile 2.

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Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features

• All Path of Exile 2 Keystone Passives (known so far)
• Path of Exile 2 release time: When does Early Access begin?
• Is Path of Exile 2 on Xbox Game Pass?