Cards and symbols

Every card in your deck is an Item. This page explains how to read one.

Rusted Cuirass, a normal armour card

Anatomy of an item card

Part	Where	What it tells you
Name	Banner across the top	The item’s name, e.g. Rusted Cuirass. The banner and border colour show its rarity.
Symbols	Row of round icons under the name	What the item contributes to a fight. Each icon is one symbol.
Type box	Dashed box in the middle	The item type (Weapon, Shield, Armour, …). On magic items it also holds the modifier name and its extra symbols.
Slot icons	Column down the left edge	The slot the item goes in. The highlighted icon is this item’s slot.
Durability	Column down the right edge	One pip per point of durability. Staff clip a pip when the item takes Damage.

Rarity

The frame colour shows the rarity, just like item rarity in Path of Exile.

Rarity	Frame	Notes
Normal	Grey/white	Base symbols only. Most starter cards are normal.
Magic	Blue	Has a named modifier, such as Weapon of Charging, that adds symbols in the type box.
Rare	—	Players report getting rares in some starter packs. None was photographed for this repo.
Unique	—	Exist as loot. In 2023, players got unique cards (e.g. Headhunter) signed by staff.

All item cards use Path of Exile 2 base types. Players have seen swords, spears, bows, maces, shields and body armours so far.

Symbols

Symbols are the core of the game. Every symbol on the items you use counts toward your Attack or your Defence.

Symbol	Looks like	Seen on
Sword	Gold sword. Players call it “phys”.	Shortsword, Corroded Longsword, monster Defence
Fire	Red/orange flames	Monster Defence, other players’ weapons
Cold	Blue snowflake	Monster Attack
Lightning	Purple bolt	Hardwood Spear
Life	Red heart	Rusted Cuirass
Block	Orange shield emblem	Splintered Tower Shield
Number	Grey circle with a digit (monsters only)	Monster Attack and Defence

The number only appears on monsters. It means “this many more symbols of any kind” (see Fighting monsters).

Unconfirmed: 2023 shirts also showed a purple skull symbol (probably Chaos). Nobody has reported it on a 2026 card yet. Whether Block and Life behave differently from the other symbols is also an open question.

Slot icons and one- vs two-handed weapons

The left column always shows the slots in the same order: weapon (axe), shield, armour (body armour), amulet and ring. The item’s own slot is highlighted.

One-handed weapons have a small axe icon, with the shield icon still shown below it. You can carry a shield alongside them.
Two-handed weapons have one tall axe icon that covers the space where the shield icon would be. You cannot use a shield with them.

One-handed (Shortsword)	Two-handed (Corroded Longsword)

Durability

Every card photographed so far has 2 durability pips. When a monster deals Damage to an item, the staff member clips a pip. Once an item has taken two Damage it can no longer be used.

Cards photographed for this repo

Card	Rarity	Slot	Hands	Symbols	Durability
Shortsword	Normal	Weapon	One-handed	Sword	2
Corroded Longsword	Normal	Weapon	Two-handed	Sword, Sword	2
Hardwood Spear	Magic, Weapon of Charging	Weapon	One-handed	Lightning (base) + Lightning (modifier)	2
Splintered Tower Shield	Normal	Shield	—	Block	2
Rusted Cuirass	Normal	Armour	—	Life, Life	2

Hardwood Spear, a magic weapon with the Weapon of Charging modifier

Quick Reference card

Each starter pack includes a Quick Reference card. It lists what you can fight with: a weapon, a shield (only if the weapon is one-handed), an armour, an amulet and two rings. It also reminds you that amulets and rings can count toward either Attack or Defence. The full loadout rules are in Equipment.

Quick Reference card