POE currency crafting system is one of the most complex, rewarding, and at times frustrating mechanics in the ARPG genre. It offers endless possibilities, but it also eats through your currency stash faster than a Vaal Orb eats six-links. Today, we're diving into one of the cornerstone crafts for many spell-based builds: the +2 wand.

This wand is specifically geared toward arrow Glacial Cascade Elementalist builds, though the method can be adapted for other physical spellcasters. The end goal is straightforward:

 +1 to level of all spell skill gems

 +1 to level of all physical spell skill gems

 Basic multimod setup for cast speed and spell damage

 A final yolo slam for that little extra spice

There are fancier, more expensive ways to make this weapon-some involving recombinators (which I despise), others involving deep-pocket meta-crafting-but today we're sticking to a budget-friendly method that balances efficiency with results.

Step 1: Alteration Spam for +1 to All Spells

Our first target is +1 to level of all spell skill gems. This is the foundation of the wand. Without it, nothing else matters.

 We start with a simple accumulator wand. The exact base isn't critical, though lower item levels can sometimes make the process smoother since they reduce the mod pool.

 Next, it's time to spam Orbs of Alteration until we land the prized prefix.

 On average, this process takes about 1 in 1,500 rolls, though you can occasionally get lucky. Augmentations help slightly when you're missing affixes.

This step is often the most painful part of the craft-watching your stack of alterations melt away. But patience is key. In my case, fortune smiled: within just a few dozen tries, I hit +1 to all spell skill gems.

Step 2: Imprinting the Base

Once you hit the modifier, the next move is to protect your progress.

The tool here is a Craicic Chimeral beast imprint. These cost about 35 chaos orbs at the time of writing, and while they can feel pricey on a budget, they're worth every orb. An imprint essentially acts as a save point for your item: if your next steps fail, you can revert back and try again.

There's a more expensive and meticulous method involving annulments and repeated imprints to isolate the prefix, but for our purposes, we're keeping things simple. One imprint is enough to guard our progress.

Step 3: Regal and Tame the Beast

Next, we hit the wand with a Regal Orb to turn it rare. Ideally, this adds a suffix, since we want to keep our prefixes clean. But RNG is RNG, and in my case, the regal added an unwanted prefix.

This is where beast crafting comes in. By using a Farric Lynx Alpha, we can force the item to remove a prefix and add a suffix. It's a gamble, but because we have the imprint as backup, it's safe. If the beast craft removes the wrong affix, we revert.

Thankfully, it worked on the first try. My +1 to spells was intact, and I now had two suffixes in place.

Step 4: Securing the +1 to Physical Spells

Here comes the high-stakes part.

 First, we bench-craft "Cannot Roll Attack Modifiers" for 1 divine orb. This ensures that the next crafted prefix cannot be something useless like attack speed.

 Then we head to the crafting bench and use the "Augment Physical Modifier" option. This has a 1 in 4 chance of removing our +1 to spells, which would be tragic. But thanks to the imprint, the risk is manageable.

Step 5: Locking Prefixes and Cleaning Up

Now that the important prefixes are in place, it's time to tidy up:

 Craft "Prefixes Cannot Be Changed" for 2 divines.

 Scour the item. This clears unwanted suffixes while protecting our precious prefixes.

At this stage, the wand is barebones but extremely valuable. The +2 alone makes it a massive upgrade for any caster build.

Step 6: Multimod Setup

The next step is where we add flexibility: multimodding. For 2 exalts (or the current equivalent in the league economy), we unlock the ability to add multiple crafted modifiers.

The recommended crafts for this Glacial Cascade Elementalist setup are:

1.Cast Speed-A must-have for smoother skill rotation.

2.% Increased Spell Damage-A flat damage boost that scales well.

3.Non-Chaos Damage as Extra Chaos Damage-An excellent damage multiplier that pushes the DPS ceiling higher.

Unfortunately, I was short on exalted orbs, so I had to settle for slightly weaker rolls. Still, even a budget multimod setup adds a massive power spike.Step 7: The YOLO Slam

For the final touch, we add a bit of chaos to the process: a yolo exalt slam.

This step is pure gambling. You're hoping to land something like Critical Strike Multiplier or an additional damage roll. Odds are low, but the payoff can be enormous.

My slam landed physical damage over time, which wasn't ideal for my build but could be useful for someone else. That's the beauty of crafting-sometimes you make exactly what you need, and sometimes you make a valuable trade item instead.

Step 8: Quality Matters

Before pricing, it's important to squeeze out every last bit of value with weapon quality crafting. For this wand, I chose elemental damage per quality, which yielded about a 13% damage boost.

Other options exist, like crit chance per quality or area of effect, but for this specific build, elemental damage felt like the best return.

Step 9: Price Checking the Result

Now for the moment of truth: what is this wand actually worth?

The key selling points are:

 +1 to all spells

 +1 to physical spells

 Solid spell damage roll

 Cast speed

 Extra chaos damage

On the trade market, similar wands were going for around 12 divine orbs. Considering my total investment was far less-helped by some fortunate RNG-this craft was a big win.

Not only did I get a massive upgrade for my own build, but if I ever choose to sell, I'll make a healthy profit.

Final Thoughts

Crafting in buy Path of exile currency is part science, part art, and part gambling addiction. The process of making a +2 wand demonstrates this perfectly:

 The scientific side: Knowing the odds, the necessary steps, and the tools to protect your progress.

 The artistic side: Choosing which mods to add, balancing budget with performance, and tailoring the result to your build.

 The gambling side: That heart-pounding moment when you slam an exalt or trust a beast craft not to ruin everything.

For Glacial Cascade Elementalists, this wand is an absolute powerhouse. It scales your core skill gems, accelerates cast speed, and adds the damage multipliers needed to melt endgame bosses.

There are fancier, riskier methods-like recombinator crafting or meta-crafting veiled mods-but they're expensive, complicated, and in my opinion, unnecessary unless you're chasing perfection.

This budget version proves that with patience, a few divine orbs, and a willingness to risk it on a yolo slam, you can create an endgame-tier weapon without breaking the bank.

So, the next time you're staring at your stash tabs wondering what to spend your chaos on, consider rolling the dice on a +2 wand. Who knows-you might just craft the best weapon your build will ever see.