When a new Path of Exile 2 league kicks off, prices are all over the place and you feel every Chaos you spend, so anything that saves currency is worth a look, especially if you are trying to stretch your stash alongside some cheap poe 2 currency on the side. The goal here is not some mirror-tier museum piece, it is a Siege Crossbow that makes grenade builds feel ridiculous for a pretty modest budget. The reason we stick to the Siege base is simple: the implicit is huge for this setup, and since grenades do not care about attack speed, you dodge one of the most annoying stats to roll. You end up focusing only on the numbers that really move your damage, not wasting time trying to fix attack speed that barely helps.
Getting The Right Siege Base
You want an item level 82 or higher normal Siege Crossbow, and that part matters more than people think. If you settle for a lower level base, the best physical prefixes, like Merciless, just never show up. At this stage you are living in the vendor row, throwing Perfect Orbs of Transmutation and Perfect Orbs of Augmentation at the bow over and over. Most rolls will feel bad, and that is fine, you are just fishing for Tier 1 or Tier 2 increased physical damage. If you land something like a juicy projectile skill mod but miss the high physical, do not get attached to it. List it on trade, take the profit, and grab another blank Siege Crossbow. The whole trick is starting from the right magic base, or the rest of the craft feels like pushing uphill.
Essence Slam And Abyss Setup
Once you finally see that strong percentage physical mod on a magic Siege, it is time to lock it in with a Greater Essence of Abrasion. That slam turns the bow rare and forces a Tier 3 flat physical damage line, which works perfectly with the big increased phys you already hit. The combo of flat and percent gives you a weapon that feels good way earlier than you would expect for the cost. After that, you move into the Abyss part of the process. Bring a Preserved Jawbone, an Omen of the Liege, and an Omen of Sinistral Necromancy, then double-check the Omens are actually active before you do anything else. Using Desecrate, you hunt for the 101–121% increased grenade damage prefix, which is one of those rolls that does not look flashy on paper but makes grenade builds jump in power.
Skill Levels, Risk, And Finishing Touches
From there you decide how brave you are feeling with your currency. If your stash looks healthy, you can run an Omen of Dextral Crystallisation on the bow to keep it safe, then hit it with a Perfect Essence of Battle for guaranteed +5 to attack skills. It costs more, sure, but you know exactly what you are getting and you avoid the heartbreak of bricking a nearly finished weapon. If you are short on currency or just like gambling, you can skip the protection and start slamming Greater Exalted Orbs, hoping to roll +5 or even +7 skills. Sometimes you high-roll and feel like a genius, sometimes the bow turns into vendor trash, that is just how this game goes.
Final Polish And Realistic Expectations
Once the big mods are sorted, you clean things up. Use Blacksmith's Whetstones to cap quality, then fix your sockets with Artificer's Orbs until the colours and links match your grenade setup. A Saqawal's Rune of the Sky can slot in nicely if your build wants it, giving you a bit more edge without rewriting the whole tree. At this point you have a Siege Crossbow that comfortably carries grenade content without needing to buy game currency or items in u4gm PoE 2 Currency every time you want an upgrade, and if you are feeling extra bold you can toss a Vaal Orb at it for that tiny chance at something absurd, just do not pretend you were not warned when it all goes wrong.