How to respec in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 respec
(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

The Path of Exile 2 respec option unlocks with a certain NPC once you've progressed through the story, providing a means to get back points from your Passive Skills and start working backwards along the absolutely giant skill tree that puts Yggdrasil to shame. With so many skills though, it's easy to get buyer's remorse and want to undo and rebuy your passives along the way. 

With that in mind, we'll lay out how to unlock the ability to respec your passive skills in Path of Exile 2 below, as well as what the costs of doing so are - nothing's free, after all.

How do you respec passive skills in Path of Exile 2?

Path of Exile 2 respec

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

To respec in Path of Exile 2, you need to progress the main plot until the point where the Hooded One appears at the Clearfell Encampment hub area. The Hooded One allows you to respec your Passives at any point, though there is a cost involved for doing so. Every skill point you respec will cost you gold, a cost dependant on how deep the skill is in the skill tree, so this is a system you don't want to use too liberally, or else risk becoming a rather poor adventurer.

To unlock the Hooded One and the respec system, you need to progress the main plot until you reach the Mysterious Shade quest and beat the Lachlann of Endless Lament boss fight. This should happen for most players somewhere between level 10 and level 15, roughly 4-5 hours into the game after you conclude the tutorial and beat the  Path of Exile 2 Bloated Miller, depending on your behaviour and skill level. 

Want more help in POE2? Find out our tier list of all the best Path of Exile 2 classes here, or if you missed it until now, find out how to beat the Path of Exile 2 Devourer boss fight and squash the big bug for good.

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.