Special chests, called Strongboxes, can be found throughout Path of Exile. Unlike ordinary chests, Strongboxes are protected by monsters that must be defeated before the Strongbox will relinquish its treasures. Although Strongboxes are not technically items, they do share some special traits in common with many of Path of Exile's items. Specifically, Strongboxes have mods and, like items, these mods can be changed with the use of currency. There are several different kinds of Strongbox to find, each one providing different amounts or kinds of items.
Completing Open Strongboxes encounters is one of the PoE challenges.
The Ambush league introduced Strongboxes. By doing the following means, you can open more strongboxes.
Name | Stats | Region | Category | Distance from start |
---|---|---|---|---|
Strongbox Pack Chance |
|
Glennach Cairns | Ambush | 1 |
Twice Tempted |
|
Glennach Cairns | Ambush Notable | 2 |
Strongbox Pack Chance |
|
Glennach Cairns | Ambush | 3 |
Tamper-Proof |
|
Glennach Cairns | Ambush Notable | 4 |
Name | Zana’s league modifiers | Cost |
---|---|---|
Ambush | Area contains 3 extra Strongboxes. | 3x ![]() |
Go to a map area. The area contain 36 strongboxes where all non fixed-placed monsters are packed into.
Note: This prophecy stacks with Zana's ambush mod.
You will enter a map that holds six additional Strongboxes. The prophecy is able to stack with Zana's Ambush mod.
Scarabs are a type of map fragment. They do not open portals to new areas, but are instead used to augment existing areas with various effects.
Name | Stats |
---|---|
Rusted Ambush Scarab | Area contains 3 extra Strongboxes |
Polished Ambush Scarab | Area contains 4 extra Strongboxes |
Gilded Ambush Scarab | Area contains 5 extra Strongboxes |
Winged Ambush Scarab | Area contains 9 extra Strongboxes |
Buy PoE Currency Cheap
Strongboxes come in different base types which determine the kinds of items that can normally be obtained from them. Modifiers can further alter the loot contents, such as granting additional rare items or gems.
With 2218 strongboxes pool, done via Monstrous Treasure prophecy, users expect the following kind of distribution. Note that test was made in Tier-13 and higher maps, where Cartographer's strongboxes cannot spawn. This experiment was done in 2016, which may not reflect the current spawn rate of the game.
Base Type | Contents | Count | Spawn rate |
---|---|---|---|
Arcanist's Strongbox | Currency that do not affect quality | 96 | 4.3% |
Armourer's Strongbox | Armour, The Body, The Mayor | 132 | 6% |
Artisan's Strongbox | Currency that affect quality | 155 | 6.9% |
Blacksmith's Strongbox | Weapons | 125 | 5.7% |
Cartographer's Strongbox | Maps, The Cartographer | - | - |
Diviner's Strongbox | Divination cards | 42 | 1.9% |
Gemcutter's Strongbox | Gems, The Gemcutter | 74 | 3.3% |
Jeweller's Strongbox | Amulets, rings, belts, jewels, Hubris | 167 | 7.5% |
Large Strongbox | Assorted items (increased quantity) | 104 | 4.7% |
Ornate Strongbox | Assorted items (increased rarity) | 62 | 2.8% |
Strongbox | Assorted items | 1247 | 56.3% |
Vaal Reliquary | Assorted corrupted items, Vaal Orbs | ? | ? |
Unique | Special | 14 | 0.6% |
Like chests, increased Item Quantity from gear does not increase the number of items dropped from a strongbox. However, map quantity and the number of players do increase the number of items dropped from most strongboxes. The only exception is the Cartographer's Strongbox, where the number of players does not increase the amount of map drops.
Generally speaking, it is only recommended to spend money on crafting Diviner’s Strongbox, Cartographer’s Strongbox, and Arcanist’s Strongbox.
It drops Divination cards. It has a high value. Use Orb of Alchemy +
Chaos Orb or
Orb of Alchemy +
Orb of Scouring to get desired mods. Choose the cheaper one and look for “Contains additional Divination Cards” mods.
It drops Maps, The Cartographer.
It drops currency that do not affect quality. Use Orb of Transmutation,
Orb of Augmentation, and
Orb of Alteration to it. Craft for (30 to 60)% increased Quantity of Contained Items, Contains (3 to 8) additional Items. Notice that the more you invest crafting, the less profit you will have.
It drops currency that affect quality: Blacksmith’s Whetstone,
Armourer’s Scrap,
Glassblower’s Bauble,
Gemcutter’s Prism, and
Cartographer’s Chisel. Use
Orb of Transmutation and
Orb of Augmentation for a chance at additional items. The expected returns are not high enough to invest
Orbs of Alchemy or
Orbs of Alteration into it.
They contain generic loot and have a low value. You can just open it to maintain clearing map speed. Or, use Orb of Transmutation and
Orb of Augmentation on endgame maps to get good mods.
It only drops weapons and has a low value. You can just open it. Or, you can use Orb of Transmutation and
Orb of Augmentation for the chance at extra monsters in higher level maps.
It drops Amulets, rings, belts, jewels, and Hubris. Use
Orb of Transmutation and
Orb of Augmentation in regular endgame maps. Some maps(tier 12 to tier 15) drop Steel Rings, Opal Ring, and Crystal Belts. These can be worth quite a lot. Therefore in these maps, use
Orb of Alchemy on white Jeweller’s Strongbox.
It drops Gems and The Gemcutter. Use
Orb of Transmutation and
Orb of Augmentation in endgame maps for a chance at “Contained Items have (1 to 20)% Quality” and “Contained Gems have Experience”. Meanwhile, you can use
Orb of Alteration to get decent mods.
It drops Armour, The Body,
The Mayor. Basically, use
Orb of Transmutation and
Orb of Augmentation in low tier endgame maps. Use
Orb of Alchemy on white Armourer’s Strongbox in high-level maps looking for large numbers of additional items bonus points for “Contains Mirrored Items”. If you get the above, use a
Vaal Orb to corrupt all the Armour in the box for a chance at 6 links.
The strongbox behaves exactly like an ordinary item in your inventory. Items that affect rarity or change modifiers can be used on strongboxes as well.
The following are the most common PoE currency that can be used in a strongbox.
Currency | Function |
---|---|
![]() |
Improves the quality of a Strongbox. Each ![]() |
![]() |
Upgrades a normal strongbox to a magic strongbox |
![]() |
Enchants a magic strongbox with a new random modifier |
![]() |
Reforges a magic strongbox with new random modifiers |
![]() |
Upgrades a normal strongbox to a rare strongbox |
![]() |
Removes all modifiers from a magic or rare strongbox |
![]() |
Reforges a rare strongbox with new random modifiers |
![]() |
Upgrades a magic strongbox to a rare strongbox |
![]() |
Corrupts a strongbox, modifying it unpredictably |
It is often worth carrying some currency items with you, so you can modify any strongboxes you happen to come across. The difference between a normal Strongbox and a well-crafted magic Strongbox can be quite significant.
An Engineer’s Orb is a currency item that can be used to improve the quality of a strongbox. More quality means more item quantity. Right-click
Engineer’s Orb then left-clicks a Strongbox to apply it. Each
Engineer’s Orb increases a normal strongbox by 5% quality, a magic strongbox by 2% quality, and a rare strongbox by 1% quality. The maximum quality is 20%.
Scarab is a kind of map fragment. Instead of opening a portal to a new area, they are used to extend the existing area with various effects.
Item | Stats |
---|---|
Gilded Ambush Scarab | Area contains 5 extra Strongboxes |
Polished Ambush Scarab | Area contains 4 extra Strongboxes |
Rusted Ambush Scarab | Area contains 3 extra Strongboxes |
A Sextant is a currency item that can be used on a Watchstone to add a special modifier to all the maps on the region where the Watchstone is socketed.
Name | Lvl. | Stats |
---|---|---|
MapAtlasStrongboxesAreCorruptedAndUnided | 1 | 3 uses remaining Strongboxes in Areas are Corrupted Areas contain an extra Strongbox Strongboxes in Areas are at least Rare Rarity |
MapAtlasStrongboxMonstersEnrageAndDrops | 1 | 3 uses remaining Strongbox Monsters have 500% increased Item Quantity Strongbox Monsters are Enraged Areas contain an extra Strongbox |
MapAtlasStrongboxesAreCorruptedAndUnided2_ | 1 | 3 uses remaining Strongboxes in Areas are Corrupted Areas contain 2 extra Strongboxes Strongboxes in Areas are at least Rare Rarity |
Monstrous Treasure is a prophecy. You will travel to a map where the monsters lie in wait, open the boxes they guard and slay them all.
There is a technique for understanding strongboxes and effectively crafting them: prefixes are all “bad” because they make strongboxes more difficult, and suffixes are all “good” because they change the loot inside (both have exceptions, but this is the general rule). If you find a magic strongbox with “Freezes you when activated” on it, and you use an Orb of Augmentation, you will definitely get a mod that can improve your loot. Meanwhile, if you find a magic strongbox with an improved loot modifier, the
Orb of Augmentation will always make the box harder for no reason.
There are different types of strongboxes, only Diviner’s Strongbox, Cartographer’s Strongbox, and Arcanist’s Strongbox are worth a lot of investment. Others may be better or worse, but remember that you want a good return on your investment. A basic strongbox with the appropriate affixes is usually less than a couple of Chaos Orbs. A Diviner’s Strongbox or Cartographer’s Strongbox with three suffixes is worth far more than average. Before spending all your currency in a strongbox, find out what each strongbox will drop and what its value will be.
There are different basic types of strongboxes, which determine the type of items that are usually available from them. Modifiers can further change the amount of loot, such as (1000 to 2000)% increased Rarity of Contained Items.
Base Type | Contents | Spawn rate |
---|---|---|
Arcanist’s Strongbox | Currency that do not affect quality | 4.3% |
Armourer’s Strongbox | Armour, ![]() ![]() |
6% |
Artisan’s Strongbox | Currency that affect quality | 6.9% |
Blacksmith’s Strongbox | Weapons | 5.7% |
Cartographer’s Strongbox | Maps, ![]() |
– |
Diviner’s Strongbox | Divination cards | 1.9% |
Gemcutter’s Strongbox | Gems, ![]() |
3.3% |
Jeweller’s Strongbox | Amulets, rings, belts, jewels, ![]() |
7.5% |
Large Strongbox | Assorted items (increased quantity) | 4.7% |
Ornate Strongbox | Assorted items (increased rarity) | 2.8% |
Strongbox | Assorted items | 56.3% |
Unique | Special | 0.6% |
Like a chest, the modifier “increased Item Quantity” equipped by items does not increase the number of items dropped from the strongbox. However, the number of maps and players do increase the number of items dropped from most strongboxes. The only exception is the Cartographer’s Strongbox, where the number of players does not increase the number of map drops.
Generally speaking, most prefixes make farming more difficult. Prefixes can release more monsters or bounce traps, making ambushes more dangerous. Certain prefixes are very bad and you should avoid using it, such as “Freezes you when activated”.
Name | Lvl. | Stats |
---|---|---|
Arctic | 8 | Freezes you when activated |
Contaminated | 8 | Spreads Caustic Ground Chest plays warning sound (Hidden) |
Contested | 12 | Guarded by a Rogue Exile |
Frigid | 1 | Casts Ice Nova Chest plays warning sound (Hidden) |
Incandescent | 1 | Ignites you when activated |
Intimidating | 10 | Guarded by a pack of Magic Monsters Items will not drop until all Bloodline Daemons are killed. (Hidden) |
Menacing | 35 | Guarded by 3 Rare Monsters Items will not drop until all Bloodline Daemons are killed. (Hidden) |
Ossified | 2 | Summons Skeletons Items will not drop until all Bloodline Daemons are killed. (Hidden) |
Putrifying | 4 | Detonates nearby corpses Chest plays warning sound (Hidden) |
Rallying | 35 | Guarded by a stream of Monsters |
Reaper's | 1 | Revives nearby dead Monsters with Onslaught |
Scorched | 10 | Casts Firestorm Chest plays warning sound (Hidden) |
Unstable | 1 | Explodes Chest plays warning sound (Hidden) |
Vibrating | 25 | Casts Lightning Storm Chest plays warning sound (Hidden) |
Whispering | 15 | Casts a random Curse when activated |
In general, most suffixes are good and increase the number or quality of your looting. The suffix can change the contents of the loot in different ways, such as granting additional items or increasing the number of sockets on the item, such as the modifier (30 to 60)% increased Quantity of Contained Items.
Suffix | Lvl. | Effect | Strongbox,Large Strongbox, Ornate Strongbox, Armourer's Strongbox, Blacksmith's Strongbox |
Jeweller's Strongbox | Arcanist's Strongbox, Artisan's Strongbox | Gemcutter's Strongbox | Cartographer's Strongbox | Diviner's Strongbox |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
of Abundance | 1 | Contains (3 to 8) additional Items | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
of Affluence | 8 | Contains (1 to 3) additional Rare Items | ![]() |
![]() |
- | - | ![]() |
- |
of Ascendance | 1 | +(1 to 5) Chest level | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
of Augmentation | 12 | Only contains Support Gems | - | - | - | ![]() |
- | - |
of Bounty | 1 | (30 to 60)% increased Quantity of Contained Items | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
of Complexity | 20 | Contained Items have (1 to 2) additional Sockets | ![]() |
- | - | - | - | - |
of Corruption | 1 | Contains an extra Vaal Gem | - | - | - | ![]() |
- | - |
of Curiosities | 4 | Contains (1 to 5) additional Magic Items | ![]() |
![]() |
- | - | ![]() |
- |
of Facets | 40 | Contained Gems have Experience | - | - | - | ![]() |
- | - |
of Kalandra | 40 | Contains Mirrored Items | ![]() |
![]() |
- | - | - | - |
of Quality | 1 | Contained Items have (1 to 20)% Quality | ![]() |
- | - | ![]() |
![]() |
- |
of Singularity | 45 | Contains an additional Unique Item | ![]() |
![]() |
- | - | ![]() |
- |
of Treasures | 4 | (1000 to 2000)% increased Rarity of Contained Items | ![]() |
![]() |
- | - | ![]() |
- |
of Unity | 40 | Contained Items are fully Linked | ![]() |
- | - | - | - | - |
of Wisdom | 1 | Contains Identified Items | ![]() |
![]() |
- | - | ![]() |
- |
of Prophecy | 1 | Contains (2 to 4) additional Silver Coins | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
of the Vaal | 1 | Contains additional Divination Cards that give Corrupted Items | - | - | - | - | - | ![]() |
of Reward | 1 | Contains additional Divination Cards that give Currency | - | - | - | - | - | ![]() |
of Renown | 1 | Contains additional Divination Cards that give Unique Items | - | - | - | - | - | ![]() |