Path of Exile 3.12 Heist: Basic Guide

Welcome to the comprehensive Path of Exile Heist system breakdown. This guide will transform you from novice thief to master heister, covering everything from basic mechanics to advanced profit optimization strategies that veteran players utilize.

Before we dive deep, important disclaimers: While core mechanics remain stable, specific reward balancing often shifts throughout leagues. What’s profitable today might change tomorrow, so always monitor patch notes and community trends for updates.

The foundation of Heist revolves around three essential components: Rogue’s Markers, Contracts, and Blueprints. These items drop from any monsters outside heists or appear in “smuggler’s caches” scattered throughout campaign acts and Atlas maps.

Rogue’s Markers serve dual purposes: they create portals to Rogue Harbour from your hideout or town, and they’re required currency for all services within the thieves’ sanctuary.

Contracts function as your entry tickets to individual heists, similar to how maps work in the Atlas system. You can enhance Contracts using various Path of Exile Currency items like transmutation orbs, augmentation orbs, alteration orbs, and alchemy orbs. These modifications typically boost loot quantity and rarity while increasing the heist’s difficulty level.

Blueprints represent the pinnacle of thievery operations – these specialized items unlock Grand Heists, which consist of multiple connected heist wings with superior rewards.

Your criminal enterprise begins with assembling the perfect crew. Initially, you’ll have access to only 3 rogues, but through strategic operations, you’ll expand your team to 9 specialized operatives.

Each contract specifies exactly which rogue skill is required – whether it’s lockpicking, demolition, or other specialized abilities. Press V while in Rogue Harbour to access your crew roster and review available members.

Crew members possess between 2 and 4 distinct skills, each with predetermined maximum levels ranging from 2 to 5. These capabilities are fixed – rogues cannot learn new skills or change their existing specialization paths.

Consider Tulina as an example operative: she masters agility (capped at level 5), lockpicking (level 3 maximum), and trap disarmament (level 2 cap). Meanwhile, Nenet specializes in perception (level 5 cap) and counter-thaumaturgy (level 4 maximum). Each rogue also features unique heist perk sets that strengthen as you level their skills through contract completion.

Common mistake: New players often waste resources trying to level skills that have already reached their maximum potential. Always check skill caps before investing time in specific contract types.

Advanced strategy: Focus on contracts that utilize your rogues’ highest-capped skills first, as these provide the most significant long-term benefits.

Once you’ve secured your contract and assembled your crew, approach Adiyah – the central NPC who coordinates all heist operations. She’ll present the total marker cost breakdown: portal travel fees, rogue hiring costs, and the crew’s percentage cut. These expenses can be minimized through strategic gear selection and contract modifications.

Upon entering the heist, immediately open your map to identify reward locations and plan your route to the final objective room.

Critical distinction: Dealing with locked doors and traps doesn’t increase your alert level, nor does eliminating guards. However, opening any chests – whether small or large – will raise the alarm meter. The exact increase displays when hovering over each chest.

Pro tip: Certain rogues like Karst or Tulina possess perks allowing them to open all chests without triggering alerts.

All acquired items become marked as contraband with padlock icons, preventing use or identification until successful escape. You cannot create portals during heists and are limited to one inventory, making selective looting essential.

When reaching the final room containing the curio display, breaking it automatically maxes your alert level and initiates lockdown after a brief delay. During this countdown, you can still open additional chests.

Advanced escape technique: Leave multiple unopened chests near the final room. Clear all doors and guards first, then systematically open remaining chests starting from the farthest ones before breaking the curio display.

Once lockdown activates, significantly stronger guards spawn continuously. Your primary objective becomes reaching the exit – the same location you entered from. Fighting endlessly is futile as enemies respawn indefinitely.

As you progress through heists, you’ll accumulate specialized rogue equipment. Each crew member can equip four distinct item types: brooches, weapons, tools, and cloaks.

Tools remain skill-specific, usable only by rogues possessing those abilities, while other gear pieces work universally across your crew.

Brooches can feature modifiers providing chances to duplicate specific reward types from heist chests. For instance, one might duplicate divination cards or sextants while also increasing the heist target item’s value.

Weapons enhance both your rogue’s combat effectiveness and your character’s performance. They may provide beneficial auras, reduce operational fees, or increase rogue experience gains.

Cloaks primarily reduce overall alert levels, extend lockdown timers, and occasionally increase alert when opening chests.

Tools focus on cost reduction, experience acceleration, and improving your rogues’ job completion speed.

Optimization priority: Focus on obtaining and crafting tools first, as reduced wait times for door explosions or lockpicking can mean the difference between successful escape and catastrophic failure.

After multiple heist completions, you’ll notice consistent patterns between heist types and reward categories. Specific rogue skills correlate directly with particular loot types found within heist chests.

Grand Heists represent the elite tier of criminal operations – multi-wing complexes accessed through blueprints. Each blueprint details wing quantities, escape routes, hidden treasure rooms, and final room reward types.

By default, discovered blueprints reveal only one wing. You can unveil additional sections by consulting Whakano, though this requires both markers and reveal tokens.

Strategic planning: Gianna and Niles offer discounted reveal prices based on their rogue perks, making them valuable for blueprint preparation.

In the Planning Room, you’ll assemble your multi-rogue team for the grand operation. Unlike regular heists, grand operations demand various skills per wing, potentially requiring the same rogue to perform multiple jobs.

Advanced tactic: Deploying the same rogue multiple times in one wing applies their perks and gear bonuses multiplicatively.

The critical distinction in grand heists: Final rooms contain tangible rewards instead of quest items. These include alternate quality gems, replica unique items, enchanted gear, or specialized currency and trinkets.

Important limitation: Currently, leaving a grand heist to empty your inventory prevents returning due to a portal instance bug. Avoid this until confirmed fixed.

Trinkets represent a new equipment category unlocked through your first “Thieves’ trinkets or currency” blueprint reward. These items always drop corrupted and cannot be modified, featuring modifiers that exclusively affect heist rewards.

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