The Red Queen’s showing her face again in 0.4, and it doesn’t land like a cute throwback. It changes what people actually chase, what they vendor, and what they build around. If you’re already browsing PoE 2 Items to map out upgrades, you’ll notice the same pattern: the Atziri loop rewards commitment, not casual dipping in for one kill.

Atziri’s Drop Pool

The headline is still Atziri herself, because her loot pool is the kind you plan a character around. Atziri’s Contempt is a pronged spear that screams “hit-based physical” but then drags fire and lightning into the conversation, plus those Bloodstone Lance effects that make bosses feel a lot less comfy standing still. It’s also not the sort of unique you just stumble into. You either learn the fight, gear for it, and farm it, or you don’t see it. That changes the market fast, because supply is basically skill-gated.

Caster Toys and Socket Weirdness

If you’re playing spells, Atziri’s Rule is the shiny lure. The corrupted gem level angle is already strong, but the real hook is Mirror of Refraction, because it gives you a new lever to pull when you’re trying to solve clear plus single-target without swapping half your kit. Then there’s Atziri’s Splendour, and yeah, it’s odd in a way only PoE can be. It takes Soul Cores instead of normal gems, and it treats them like they’re slotted into a random gear type. Some folks will hate that RNG. Others will run it again and again because one lucky roll can feel like you just cheated the system.

Staying Alive and Gambling Your Tree

Defense got its own toys too. Atziri’s Step coming back matters more than people admit, because converting some Evasion into Deflection changes how “spiky” damage feels, and not getting Light Stunned off deflected hits saves you in those messy moments where you can’t even see what tagged you. And then there’s Flesh Crucible. It’s the classic “one more pull” item: a random Keystone passive, paired with a painful drawback that might kneecap your life, damage, or defenses. Folks will say they’re done gambling, then roll it anyway.

Druid Talismans and Everyday Utility

Druid players got real build shapers with the talismans. Fury of the King pushes Bear setups toward fire, turning physical into fire and feeding Glory without you babysitting it. The Flesh Poppet is pure chaos: you shapeshift and copy a random nearby enemy modifier, which sounds flaky until you’re in dense packs and suddenly you’ve stolen something disgusting. Outside the Atziri hunt, Lavianga’s Spirits is quietly huge for anyone tired of piano flasks, and Drillneck makes archers feel clever again with pierce into returning projectiles that scale as the arrow keeps doing work. If you’re trying to gear without burning your stash, you’ll see why people keep looking for cheap PoE 2 Items once these uniques start steering the meta.