Delirium Orbs are a special currency obtained primarily through completing Delirium Mirrors, that can be applied to maps to add layers of Delirium. Adding layers to maps spawns the Delirium mechanic permanently within it and also spawns a large amount of extra monsters. It also adds a reward mechanic that drops loot in stages (thresholds) based on how many monsters you slay within the area.

Delirium Orb farming is considered by many to be the most profitable solo currency strategy in the game and provides some of the most sought after items in Path of Exile's economy.

Layers of Delirium - Up to 5 Delirium Orbs can be applied to a map often referred to as 20% (1 orb), 40% (2 orbs), 60% (3 orbs), 80% and 100%. Each additional orb increases the difficulty of the map substantially but also offer extra rewards in the form of more loot per Delirium reward threshold you reach. Additional Layers of Delirium also increase your chances of encountering 1 or even 2 Delirium bosses.

Delirium Fungus - When in Delirium maps you will notice bundles of fungus within your maps, standing on these spawns monsters which when slain contribute to the Delirium reward threshold. The more layers of Delirium the map has on it, the more fungus spawns.

Delirium Bosses- Delirium bosses have a chance to appear in all Delirium based content but increasing the intensity of Delirium layers on your map will substantially increase this chance. At certain thresholds you are guaranteed to encounter 1 and then 2 Delirium bosses which drop valuable cluster jewels and Simulacrum Splinters.

Orb Types - There are a number of varieties of Delirium Orbs each of which offer different drops when you reach Delirium thresholds. Choosing the most profitable orb to run is critical to ensuring this strategy is rewarding, players generally consider Skittering Delirium Orbs, Diviner's Delirium Orbs and Cartographer's Delirium Orbs to be the best.

Reward Thresholds - Reaching a Delirium threshold drops loot corresponding to each orb you applied to the map as well as one additional random reward, these are easily observable at the bottom of your screen. Reaching each Delirium threshold becomes more and more difficult the more you achieve going from 14 to 15 rewards is substantially harder than going from 5 to 6 rewards.

Signature Rewards - Delirium Orb farming features 2 signature rewards in addition to it's threshold rewards from orbs. Simulacrum Splinters drop frequently and with 300 you can form a Simulacrum that can be sold or ran for good profit. Cluster Jewels also drop from Delirium fogged maps and can be sold in bulk on community discord servers or using bulk selling methods on the trade site.

When running a Delirium orb strategy the majority of your loot drops from the Delirium threshold rewards which do not scale with anything but slaying additional monsters. With this in mind you can run your maps white or magic with little to no down side reducing difficulty and increasing clear speed.

Step 1 - Apply 4 profitable Delirium Orbs and combine the map with high monster density mechanics

Step 2 - Clear the map while looting your rewards focusing on speed

Step 3 - After slaying all monsters or reaching 13 rewards locate the boss and slay it, it gives you an additional reward threshold if you have the atlas passive allocated.

Atlas passives are a massive boost to Delirium Orbs and understand which ones are worth taking is essential, refer to our review below.

Increased Item Quantity - Does not directly impact the rewards offered by Delirium Orbs but increases the quantity of standard drops from Delirium monsters added to the map.

Increased Item Rarity - Does not increase the rarity of Delirium specific rewards but increases the rarity of standard drops from Delirium monsters.

Increased Pack Size - Multiplies the amount of monsters present in the map allowing for higher and easier Delirium reward thresholds.

Map Tier - Directly affects the quantity of Simulacrum Splinters dropped from enemies as well as the rarity of the rewards dropped by Delirium Orbs.

Delirium Scarab - This carab guarantees that a Delirium Mirror will appear in your map. It is currently possible to acquire 100% chance via the tree with little point investment meaning this scarab has very few use cases.

Delirium Scarab of Mania - This scarab causes the delirium reward tiles to fill 100% faster. It has a limit of 2 but due to the best Delirium Orb farming strategy focusing more on getting as many tiles as efficiently as possible. It is likely not worth using 2 to push to the deeper levels of Delirium. It is an incredibly strong scarab but has limited used cases for 2 of them.

Delirium Scarab of Neuroses - This scarab guarantees that both of the Delirium bosses will appear in your map. It has almost no use cases in trade league but is likely the best way to farm unique cluster jewels in SSF.

Delirium Scarab of Paranoia - This scarab adds 2 additional reward tiles to your Delirium with a limit of 2. Delirium Orb and Cluster Jewels drops at the end of a Delirium encounter are directly linked to the sum of all reward tiles making this a must use for any Delirium Mirror strategy.

Delirium Scarab of Delusions - This scarab causes maps dropped in the area to have layers of delirium. This means that they can drop with 20-100% delirium applied with random Delirium Orbs. This has very limited use cases.

Skittering Delirium Orb - Often considered the best Delirium Orb as it drops 2.5 scarabs per orb applied per reward threshold. Can drop rusted, polished and even gilded scarabs in higher tier maps.

Diviner's Delirium Orb - Drop Stacked Decks as well as random Divination Cards, for those interested in a little bit of gambling and spicy valuable drops this orb can be worth using.

Cartographer's Delirium Orb - Drop a large quantity of tier appropriate maps with a chance to drop Shaper Guardian, Elder Guardian, Conqueror and Vaal Temple maps. Behind Skittering Delirium Orbs this orb is considered the most consistently profitable.

For maximum efficiency run Delirium Orbs on maps with the fastest layout for your build, these are generally short open maps.

Each map in the game has a hidden value that interacts with Delirium, this value determines how much progress each monster grants toward each Delirium reward threshold. As a general rule maps with less monsters in them grant more progress. Normally these maps would be balanced around having less monsters that grant more progress but as you are able to add a large amount of monsters with league mechanics you can break this functionality in your favour.

Simulacrum Splinters - Drop frequently in stack sizes of 1 when running Delirium Orbs. Looting these smaller stacks is almost never worth your time as it takes a total of 300 to form a Simulacrum. Consider hiding low stack sizes of Simulacrum Splinters to speed up your clear speed.

Cluster Jewels - Are a common drop within Delirium Orb maps and can be worth quite a lot if rolled correctly but many cluster jewel types don't even have a chance of being valuable these types can be hidden.

Low Value Divination Cards - When running Diviner's Delirium Orbs hide less valuable Divination Cards to save you time and clutter.

Low Tier Maps - Should be hidden while running Cartographer's Delirium Orbs as they very rarely sell and even when they do they are incredibly cheap.

Written by Grimro, Milkybk_
Reviewed by Facefoot