Welcome to the flask Guide for Beginners, Path of Exile has an extensive flask system that goes beyond restoring Life and Mana. Unlike most ARPGs, they provide temporary buffs and immunities to your character. The game is balanced around active flask usage, so having a proper flask setup that compliments your build is vital for success. Let's learn about the different types, how they work and more!
How Do Flasks Work?
In Path of Exile, flasks are rechargeable consumables. Each flask can store charges that are mainly restored by killing monsters. Using a flask depletes some of these charges to grant you its effect. Multiple effects of the same type don't stack, so it's better to use a variety of flasks that synergize with your build.
There are three main types of flasks:
- Life Flasks: recover your Life over a duration, but stop once it's full. E.g. Divine Life Flask
- Mana Flasks: recover your Mana over a duration, but stop once it's full. E.g. Eternal Mana Flask
- Utility Flasks: grant you buffs over a duration. E.g. Quicksilver Flask, Granite Flask
Which Flasks Should You Use?
While this depends on your build, there's some generic choices that can be followed. Early on you don't have many options so a good flask setup for beginners is two Life Flasks and two Mana Flasks. Unlike Utility Flasks, they have multiple versions to provide a relevant amount of recovery for your level range and should be upgraded once new ones are available. One of the vendors in town sells flasks for your level range if you can't find them as drops. As you progress through the campaign, you get offered various Utility Flasks as quest rewards to build up your flask setup.
Here's a list of good flask choices and which quests you get them from:
- Quicksilver Flasks give you a movement speed boost. You get two from the Mercy Mission (Act 1) and Great White Beast (Act 2) quests early in the game, which should be used throughout the entire campaign.
- Granite Flask is incredible for mitigating incoming Physical Damage. It also synergizes with Molten Shell to get a larger shield buff. You can get it from The Key to Freedom (Act 5) quest.
- Jade Flask is great for avoiding incoming attacks. You can get it from The Silver Locket (Act 7) quest.
- Having a Quartz Flask is a good addition to a variety of builds. The Phasing it grants lets you move through enemies to avoid getting body-blocked to death. It comes from the Safe Passage (Act 10) quest.
When Should You Use Your Flasks?
Since your flask charges are limited, you need to be smart with your flask usage. Don't just spam them!
Use your Life Flask once your life falls below 50%. Keep your Mana Flask ready to counter the mana expenditure when you spam your skills. Utility Flasks should have as much uptime as possible. If they run out during a bossfight, consider using a Portal Scroll to go back to town in order to refill them.
Flask Automation
Enchant your Utility Flasks with Instilling Orbs to automate their effects. Most players choose to use the Crafting Bench to apply Used when Charges reach Full to all their Utility Flasks.
- This costs 5 Instilling Orbs and 5 Glassblower's Baubles per Flask.
Modifiers & the Menagerie
Flasks can have additional modifiers that increase their efficacy or further buff your character if they are magic rarity. Immunities to various ailments are crucial and can be target crafted through the Menagerie. This place gets unlocked after capturing beasts for Einhar in Act 2 and can be accessed through any Waypoint. There you can find the Blood Altar, which lets you sacrifice beasts for a multitude of crafts.
Use the Menagerie to add the followings mods to your Flasks, in this order of importance:
- Life or Mana Flask of Sealing (Bleed & Corrupted Blood immunity if used while Bleeding)
- Utility Flask of the Deer (Freeze & Chill immunity)
- Life or Mana Flask of the Antitoxin (Poison immunity if used while Poisoned)
Learn more about how to deal with dangerous Ailments with our Defenses for Beginners!
Summary
- Flasks require charges to be used that get refilled by killing monsters or returning to town.
- There are Life Flasks, Mana Flasks and Utility Flasks.
- Life and Mana Flasks need to be constantly upgraded as you level up.
- A good Utility Flask setup can be acquired through quests.
- The Menagerie allows you to target craft valuable immunity modifiers to your flasks.
Congratulations on completing the flask guide for beginners! For further information, you can find an in-depth guide about Flasks here.
Credits
Written by Enki
Reviewed by Raxxanterax, Wudijo