

Huge Thanks to Drakier who helped me solve my formating issue :)

Thanks to kopustas for reminding me to format the Thread properly.

If you have any Question/Suggestions, feel free to post them below.



Introduction:

Spoiler Some days ago I realized I was getting really bored on farming Maps or Piety or any of the cenventional Stuff. This was when I decided to try out Strongbox Farming, I imagined having some fun while also checking out the new league's special Property to it's fullest extent. After trying out a few different things, especially regarding what Strongboxes to roll I can present to you some very important tips if you want to try it out for yourselfes.

Now the important question: Is it viable for farming currency?

The answer: (Yes) If you are doing Strongbox farming only in an rather low level area it will be very very slow though. But you don't have to ONLY farm currency using this guide you can get the best out of Strongboxes everywhere





Changelog:

Spoiler cleared up formating thank to kopustas

Added Maps as possible farming location @Peterlerock

Added your suggestions @Madcow1120

Edited the passage accordingly @Gulruon

Added a bunch of BBCode for Bulletins and resolved a huge error on my part due to help of Drakier

Restructured and rewrote a little bit to make it more of a general Strongbox guide

@SkyCore Addded some more locations

@super_fluous (reddit) Added rolling +levels on Jeweller's in 70+ Maps

@ABM_HeLLsBeLLs I added a little Advanced Crafting guide and rolling Mirrored on Cartographer's boxes



The 4 1/2 "W" questions



What

Spoiler The basic principle of Strongbox farming is to try and roll good mods on Strongboxes to get the best possible loot out of it. For this here are some basic things about Strongboxes you should know:

Strongboxes act just like Items wich means you can use nearly any kind of Currency on it (no Armourer's Scraps, Whetstones, Mirrors

Just as a magic Item magic Strongboxes can have 2 Mods: one Prefix (affecting the way the Strongbox behaves, Monsters Spawn/Ice Nova/etc) and one Suffix (wich affects the loot)

Likewise for items a rare Strongbox can have 3 Pre- and 3 Suffixes wich can be rolled using Orbs, for this see the advanced Crafting Section



Who

Spoiler There are no "real" properties your Character MUST fulfil. I would recommend being at least level 62+ to make everything a little faster and safer (for you Invasion guys).

The second thing that helps quite a little is having some Increased Item Rarity for getting better Monster Loot (personally I sit at about 170% wich yields decent results).

Item Rarity does NOT effect the direct drops from Strongboxes however it DOES effect the spawned monsters

For that extra speed I'd recommend having two Quicksilver Flasks (you can roll it with "of Adrenaline" for even more speedy goodness).

Last thing is, being able to clear big mob packs really fast, best while running (like Searing Bond, Trapper, etc.) also greatly increases your speed since you will be able to refill your Flaks much more efficiently





Where

Spoiler



You can focus on only farming boxes for this I recommend the City of Sarn, since it is by far the easiest to run and find boxes out of all possibilities

Spoiler



When you reach the Sarn Encampment entrance, go thorugh Ctrl+click and create a new instance, when you reach the other side at the Waypoint port to Sarn Encampment, open the Waypoint there and likewise create a new instance



A little nifty trick is to Leap Slam over the wall near the entrance to the Sarn Encampment.



Because the City of Sarn is only Map level 61 certain Items cannot drop there, see the list here: Execution is pretty easy you go into City of Sarn run it along in a little Zig Zaggy line. Use your flasks, if you find a big pack, kill it fast to refill them.When you reach the Sarn Encampment entrance, go thorugh Ctrl+click and create a new instance, when you reach the other side at the Waypoint port to Sarn Encampment, open the Waypoint there and likewise create a new instanceA little nifty trick is to Leap Slam over the wall near the entrance to the Sarn Encampment.Because the City of Sarn is only Map level 61 certain Items cannot drop there, see the list here: http://bit.ly/1mVby1t



The second thing you can do is Semi Strongbox/Loot Farming, for this you require a higher level area than City of Sarn for better Drops. The recommendations i've got for that were Sceptre of God and the Library/Archieves



You can go even higher level by running low/mid level Maps (as high as you feel comfortable doing) and get even better loot as well as getting some XP and viable Cartographers Boxes Now this question caused quite a bit of discussion because there are different types of Strongbox Farmers, tips for the specific locations will be added as soon as I have gathered enough informationYou can focus on only farming boxes for this I recommend the City of Sarn, since it is by far the easiest to run and find boxes out of all possibilitiesThe second thing you can do is Semi Strongbox/Loot Farming, for this you require a higher level area than City of Sarn for better Drops. The recommendations i've got for that were Sceptre of God and the Library/ArchievesYou can go even higher level by running low/mid level Maps (as high as you feel comfortable doing) and get even better loot as well as getting some XP and viable Cartographers Boxes





hoW

Spoiler



How to roll the Strongbox Mods

Spoiler Equipment: Orbs of Transmutation, Orbs of Alteration, Orbs of Augmentation, Scolls of Wisdom

White Boxes: Use a Transmute on them to make them magic, continue there

Blue Boxes: If it is unidentified, use a Wisdom Scroll. Then follow these Steps:Use an Orb of Alteration, if you don't get the mod you want continue using them. Everytime you only get one out of Prefix/Suffix use a Orb of Augmentation. If you are satified with the Mods open the box

Rare Boxes: Identify them so you don't get oneshot by Ice Nova/Explosion and then kill everything, for crafting, again see the Advanced Section

Unique Boxes: You know, go brag about it and then open they are cool





Arcanist’s Strongbox:

Spoiler

This is one of the best Strongboxes down the line because you can get all kinds of currency from it, from Chromatics to Mirrors

For me the best roll is +addional Items (“of Abundance”) since increasing the amount of Items greatly increases the currency you get. You should try getting a number of 6-8 additional Items.

Note: because someone asked it on Reddit, afaik Rarity does NOT effect what currency you get from Arcanist's Strongboxes Currency that does not effect QualityThis is one of the best Strongboxes down the line because you can get all kinds of currency from it, from Chromatics to Mirrors





Armourer’s Strongbox/Blacksmith's Strongbox:

Spoiler

Arguably pretty bad Strongboxes since you can only drop weapons and armour from it, there are a few mods though that CAN work

”of Complexity”: 1-2 additional Sockets, Possibility to get a 6 Socket Item that you can vendor for Jewellers

”of Singularity”: Additional Unique Item: Nice mod, but hard to roll (generally takes about 20-40 Alterations), Since you can sell most Uniques for at least 10 Alterations (Maybe Crown of Thorns) you can at least make some money back there

(“of Unity”): Contained Items are fully linked: Can work out to give you a 5/6 link but not worth it IMO

”of Quality”: If you happen to get a 20% roll here you can vendor the dropped Items for Whetstones and Armour Scraps, otherwise you can sell Items with a addded Quality of 40 to get Whets/Scraps

You can always sell the Rares you get or use them for the Chaos Recipe Armour/WeaponsArguably pretty bad Strongboxes since you can only drop weapons and armour from it, there are a few mods though that CAN work





Artisan’s Strongbox:

Spoiler

Probably my second least favourite Strongbox

”of Abundance”: +additional Items you can get some more of dem Armour Scraps and Whetstones…

”of Treasures”: Increased Rarity: More Rarity increases the likelyhood of getting Glassblowers and GCP’s Currency Affecting Item QualityProbably my second least favourite Strongbox





Cartographer’s Strongbox:

Spoiler

Sadly (well for the sake of not ruining Map drops) outside of Maps you can only drop level 66 Maps so no luck for you here. But if you are inside Maps this is the dream box for every player.

Outside Maps: If you happen to get a “of Quality” Box with 20% Quality you can sell the 20% Quality Maps for Chisels, but not try to hardcore roll it

In Maps: ALWAYS try to roll +4 or +5 to Chest level (“of Ascendence”) so you will get high level Maps, for going further see advanced crafting

You can also roll "of Abundance" to get more items, again aim for a 6+ roll here, but normally you get going a lot better by getting some high level maps and running them, in the process building up your Map base

"of Kalandra": this Mod gives you mirrored version of the loot, wich can greatly help to build up your Map pool, especially in lower level Maps when you don't have a lot to run this is viable MapsSadly (well for the sake of not ruining Map drops) outside of Maps you can only drop level 66 Maps so no luck for you here. But if you are inside Maps this is the dream box for every player.



Chemist’s Strongbox:

Spoiler

Well as if it was hard to guess, this is by far my least favourite one, you really don’t need more flasks… you can decide for yourself if you want to throw a Transmute at it, just run blue and rare Boxes for some extra loot.

If you happen to get Quality on a Chemist's Box you can sell the flasks for Glassblower's Baubles (1*20% flask, or multiple flasks with added Quality of 40% Flasks



Gemcutter’s Strongbox:

Spoiler

Now here is the Box you will normally make the most currency from, and as you would expect it is also the one you find least often. Note that experience with this box seems to be highly debated (again this is mostly my personal opinion)

”of Quality”: Increased Gem Quality This is the mod I always hope to get, if you can roll a 17+ here you can sell most gems for at least 10Chaos (Ambush at least)

”of Facets”: Gems have Experience: Don’t quite as good as Quality (in my opinion) since you can not change how much Exp they get, but you can get a decent amount for some levelled Gems

”of Augmentation”: Drops only Support Gems: You can get some sweet Gems like CwDT, etc. from this mod

For me it was as of now always worth sticking with Quality but you can stop at Experience if you want for the Chance to get a lvl 2/3 Empower, and other cool stuff GemsNow here is the Box you will normally make the most currency from, and as you would expect it is also the one you find least often. Note that experience with this box seems to be highly debated (again this is mostly my personal opinion)





Jeweller’s Strongbox:

Spoiler

Kind of an interesting box since you can actually get some sweet Items from it.

”of Affluence”: 1-3 rare Items: Honestly my only really recommended mod for this box. You can get some good Accessories you can sell, everything else you can use for the Chaos Recipe check: http://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/Vendor_recipes#Multiple_Rare_Items for Informations

Reddit suggested: In 70+ Maps, roll +levels and then take the white Jewelry for Alching and hope for good results Accessories (Rings, Amulets, Belts)Kind of an interesting box since you can actually get some sweet Items from it.





Large/Ornate/normal Strongbox:

Spoiler

Now to the boring and normal Strongboxes, since nobody knows for sure what Large and Ornate actually do (maybe Increased Quantity/Rarity) I can give no specific tips for that.

Not much to say here since it is pretty much the same as Armourer’s and Blacksmith’s so look there, you have the added benefit, that a Quality roll can drop Quality Gems, so this is something to look out for Every type of ItemNow to the boring and normal Strongboxes, since nobody knows for sure what Large and Ornate actually do (maybe Increased Quantity/Rarity) I can give no specific tips for that. Now this is probably the most interesting part because it includes my (personal and suggested) recommendations for the Strongboxes. If you are looking for Advanced Crafting with Chaos, Vaal Orbs, etc. look into the Advanced Crafting Section



Advanced Crafting

Spoiler

This Section includes crafting with different types of higher currency (Vaal Orbs, Chaos Orbs, Alc/Scour)



Inventory: Orb of Chance, Vaal Orb, Orb of Alchemy, Orb of Scouring, Regal Orb, Exalted Orb



Chancing Strongboxes:

Spoiler

Jeweller's Strongbox can turn into "Perandus Bank", wich amongst others contains 3 Unique Items, but is guarded by 3 Rogue Exiles!!

Cartographer's Strongbox can turn into "Empyrean Apparatus", wich contains 3 Unique Maps

Armourer's Strongbox can turn into "Kaom's Cache" from wich you get a guaranteed Kaom's Item but wich is guarded by a pretty strong monster You can use Chance Orbs on Cartographer's, Jeweller's and Armourer's Strongbox to try and get their Unique counterpart for Information about these check the Path of Exile Wiki: http://bit.ly/1jGiXCR



Regal Magic Strongboxes: Spoiler Pretty straightforward here: if you get a really good roll on a Strongbox (e.g. 20%Quality Gemcutter's) you can Regal it to further improve your loot



Chaos Bombing; Alt/Scouring: Spoiler There are a few Situations where I actually do this: I find a Rare Gemcutter's Box with very bad rolls, or I'm in a high level Map and get a Rare Cartographer's Box in wich case I use some Chaos Orbs to get More Loot from it.

I haven't really tried it out for other boxes but I doubt it will really repay you in most other cases



Exalted Orb: Spoiler Honestly this one is only theory since I dind't try it out yet, but I can't think of any situation where using an Exalted Orb could be worth it, maybe for telling Global you have Balls



Vaal orb:[Spoiler]Now this is an interesting one, Vaal Orbs can Corrupt the Items in the box, altering their Mods but remember this doesn't necessarly have to be good. I got a suggestion from Reddit to add rolling +items and then using a Vaal Orb on Jeweller's boxes for the Chance of getting 6 Mod Jewelry.

As Chris Wilson correctly stated though, " Surely that's only the portion of them that get the "reroll as rare with six mods" outcome? The ones that get "do nothing" or "change implicit" won't get six mods, right? I added this due to a lot of suggestions but watch out here since in don't have any expertise on this topicThis Section includes crafting with different types of higher currency (Vaal Orbs, Chaos Orbs, Alc/Scour)Inventory: Orb of Chance, Vaal Orb, Orb of Alchemy, Orb of Scouring, Regal Orb, Exalted OrbChancing Strongboxes:Regal Magic Strongboxes:Chaos Bombing; Alt/Scouring:Exalted Orb:Vaal orb:[Spoiler]Now this is an interesting one, Vaal Orbs can Corrupt the Items in the box, altering their Mods but remember this doesn't necessarly have to be good. I got a suggestion from Reddit to add rolling +items and then using a Vaal Orb on Jeweller's boxes for the Chance of getting 6 Mod Jewelry.As Chris Wilson correctly stated though,



End Notes Spoiler If you made it through here congrats, I hope you learned something. Maybe you will try it out maybe not but you can also use the tips for rolling the Strongboxes you find while playing normally. I really hope you enjoyed this little Guide.



Regards

Homados/BurnDemZombies



tl;dr Really... read the topic and then decide if you want to read through it or not no need to shorten it down other than: Much Strongbox, such Wow



Disclaimer:

I don’t take any responsibility for misspellings of any kinds as well as bad english since I’m not a native speaker. Most of the given Information is not verifyable since it is based completely on my own flavour and the scientific method: make a theory, try it out, fail, rinse and repeat.

Ok just to prevent any comments on it, I'm by no means an expert here and pretty much just want to share this with you guys. But I have done this for a little bit of time now so I have some Experience.Huge Thanks to Drakier who helped me solve my formating issue :)Thanks to kopustas for reminding me to format the Thread properly.If you have any Question/Suggestions, feel free to post them below.RegardsHomados/BurnDemZombiesReally... read the topic and then decide if you want to read through it or not no need to shorten it down other than: Much Strongbox, such WowI don’t take any responsibility for misspellings of any kinds as well as bad english since I’m not a native speaker. Most of the given Information is not verifyable since it is based completely on my own flavour and the scientific method: make a theory, try it out, fail, rinse and repeat. Last edited by Homados on May 14, 2014, 9:38:48 AM