Anointing changed completely in Path of Exile 2. If you played the first game, forget everything about Oils and Cassia — in PoE2 you anoint an amulet with Distilled Emotions, the same currency that drops from Delirium. Anointing lets you allocate a passive tree Notable directly onto your amulet, for free permanent power that doesn't cost a single passive point. This guide covers exactly how to anoint in patch 0.5.4, the 10 Distilled Emotions and how to get them, how to read which emotions a Notable needs, and a list of the best amulet anoints worth chasing.
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Quick answer: how do you anoint an amulet in PoE2?
TL;DR — Right-click any Distilled Emotion to open the Instilling window, drop your amulet in the top slot and three Distilled Emotions in the slots below, and click Instill. That applies a passive-tree Notable to the amulet. To find which three emotions a Notable needs (and the order), open the passive skill tree, hover the Notable, and press Alt (R3 on controller). Distilled Emotions drop from Delirium, Simulacrum, and the Currency Exchange. Re-anointing just overwrites the old one.
Key facts up front:
- The currency is Distilled Emotions, not Oils. There are 10 types, from common to rare.
- Every anoint uses exactly 3 emotions, and the combination + order decides which Notable you get.
- Anointing only works on amulets. The Notable is a real passive-tree node, granted without spending a skill point.
- Check before you buy: hover the Notable in the tree and press Alt to see the exact 3-emotion recipe (Game8).
- You can re-anoint — anointing again replaces the amulet's Notable. You can't remove an anoint to leave it blank, only overwrite it, and you can't anoint a corrupted, mirrored, or sanctified amulet — do it before you Vaal.
What is anointing in PoE2, and what changed from PoE1?
In Path of Exile 1, anointing meant taking Oils to Cassia (from the Blight mechanic) and applying them to an amulet or ring. Path of Exile 2 scrapped that entirely. There are no Oils and no Blight-based anointing. Instead, anointing is folded into the Delirium reward system: you spend Distilled Emotions to instill a Notable passive onto your amulet.
The payoff is the same idea as before — a free, permanent Notable that behaves exactly like allocating that node on the tree, except it costs you zero passive points. On a well-built character that's effectively an extra 25% increased crit, a big flask cluster, or a defensive Notable you'd never be able to path to normally. Because the amulet slot is the only gear slot that can hold an anoint, a good anoint is one of the highest-value, lowest-effort upgrades in the game.
Why it matters: a passive point is the scarcest resource in PoE2. An anoint hands you a full Notable's worth of stats for free. On a min-maxed build, the right anoint is worth several passive points you get to spend elsewhere — which is why chase anoints trade for real PoE2 currency.
The 10 Distilled Emotions (and how they scale)
Every anoint recipe is built from three of these ten Distilled Emotions. They range from common (drop constantly) to rare (chase-tier), and the rarer a Notable's recipe, the more expensive it is to anoint. From most common to rarest:
- Distilled Ire — the most common; the "cheap filler" emotion in most budget recipes.
- Distilled Guilt
- Distilled Greed
- Distilled Paranoia
- Distilled Envy
- Distilled Disgust
- Distilled Despair
- Distilled Fear
- Distilled Suffering
- Distilled Isolation — the rarest; recipes needing it are the priciest anoints.
You can also upgrade emotions: combining three of the same lower-tier Distilled Emotion at the Reforging Bench produces one of the next tier up (The Gamer). That matters when a recipe calls for a rarer emotion than you have on hand.
How to anoint an amulet, step by step
- Pick your Notable first. Open the passive skill tree, find the Notable you want on the amulet, hover it, and press Alt (R3 on controller). The tooltip shows the exact three Distilled Emotions and the order required. Write it down — order matters.
- Gather the three emotions (drops, Reforging Bench upgrade, or buy them — see below).
- Open the Instilling window by right-clicking any Distilled Emotion in your inventory (Square/X on controller).
- Place your amulet in the slot at the top of the window.
- Place the three Distilled Emotions in the lower slots, in the correct order. As you fill them, the window previews the Notable you'll get — verify the name and description match what you wanted.
- Click Instill. The anoint is applied. Done.
The single most common mistake is wrong order: the same three emotions in a different sequence can produce a different Notable, so always confirm the preview text before you commit (Mobalytics). To change an anoint later, just repeat the process — the new anoint replaces the old one. A standard amulet holds one anoint and can't be blanked, only overwritten; a couple of special bases (the Twisted and Distorted amulets) roll with two Notables, in which case re-anointing swaps a random one. And finish anointing before you corrupt: you can't anoint a corrupted, mirrored, or sanctified amulet.
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How to get Distilled Emotions
Anointing is only as cheap as your emotion supply, so know your sources:
1. Delirium (your main supply)
Distilled Emotions are the core reward of the Delirium mechanic — run maps into the Delirium fog and clear enough monsters within the timer to bank emotions. This is the bread-and-butter farm; the deeper and faster you push the fog, the more (and rarer) emotions you bank. Full method in our PoE2 Delirium Farming Guide.
2. Simulacrum
Clearing Simulacrum waves rewards Distilled Emotions in bulk, weighted toward the rarer tiers — the best way to stockpile the expensive emotions the chase anoints need. See the PoE2 Simulacrum Guide.
3. The Reforging Bench
Combine three of the same emotion into one of the next tier up. This is how you convert a pile of common Ire into the rarer emotions a specific recipe demands, instead of grinding for the exact drop.
4. The Currency Exchange & trade
Every Distilled Emotion is tradeable. If you just want one specific anoint, it's almost always faster to buy the exact three emotions on the Currency Exchange or trade site than to farm them — price-check on poe.ninja first. Note that Distilled Emotions are also used to instill Waystones for more map loot, so demand (and price) stays high — see our Distilled Emotions Guide for the instilling side.
Best PoE2 amulet anoints (popular recipes)
There are hundreds of anointable Notables — you can anoint almost any Notable on the tree — but these are the ones players chase most. Recipes are the three Distilled Emotions in order:
- Life from Death — Recover 3% of Life on Kill — (Greed, Greed, Greed)
- Heavy Drinker — 30% increased Flask Effect Duration, 20% increased Life Recovery from Flasks — (Envy, Envy, Envy)
- Critical Exploit — 25% increased Critical Hit Chance — (Envy, Paranoia, Ire)
- Sharpened Claw — 25% increased Attack Damage — (Ire, Greed, Greed)
- Open Mind — 25% increased Mana Regeneration Rate — (Guilt, Guilt, Ire)
- High Alert — 50% increased Evasion Rating when on Full Life — (Ire, Ire, Greed)
- Defiance — 80% increased Armour and Evasion Rating when on Low Life — (Envy, Guilt, Ire)
- Hard to Kill — 40% increased Flask Life Recovery rate, Regenerate 0.75% of Life — (Guilt, Greed, Guilt)
Recipes and Notable values can shift between patches, so always confirm the current recipe in-game with Alt on the Notable before you spend anything.
Skip the emotion grind. Distilled Emotions come from deep Delirium and Simulacrum farming — the exact endgame content that eats hours. Stock up on PoE2 currency to buy the emotions you need, or grab a Delirium & boss carry and skip straight to the anoint. timesaver.gg — instant delivery, best rates.
FAQ
What currency do you use to anoint in PoE2? Distilled Emotions. There are no Oils in Path of Exile 2 — the PoE1 Oil-and-Cassia system was replaced. Every anoint uses three Distilled Emotions.
Can you anoint rings or other gear in PoE2? No. Anointing only works on amulets. It grants a passive-tree Notable to the amulet without spending a passive point.
How do I know which Distilled Emotions a Notable needs? Open the passive skill tree, hover the Notable, and press Alt (R3 on controller). The tooltip shows the exact three emotions and the order to place them in.
Does the order of Distilled Emotions matter? Yes. The same three emotions in a different order can give a different Notable, so always check the preview in the Instilling window before you click Instill.
Can I change an anoint after applying it? Yes. Anoint the amulet again with a new recipe and it replaces the previous one. You can't remove an anoint to leave the amulet blank — only overwrite it — and you can't anoint a corrupted, mirrored, or sanctified amulet, so anoint before you Vaal.
Where do Distilled Emotions drop? Mainly from Delirium (map fog encounters) and Simulacrum waves. You can also upgrade three matching emotions at the Reforging Bench or buy them on the Currency Exchange / trade site.
