In Path of Exile 2, powerful gear and unique accessories often define the strength and identity of your build. Among these accessories, the Crimson Necklace stands out as a highly coveted item due to its potent offensive bonuses and synergy with bleed, fire, and physical-based builds. Whether you're aiming to optimize a damage-over-time character or a raw physical bruiser, the Crimson Necklace offers unique mechanics that can push your build to its limits.

This guide covers everything you need to know about the Crimson Necklace in Path of Exile 2, including how to obtain it, its stats, ideal builds, and tips on maximizing its utility.

What Is the Crimson Necklace?

The Crimson Necklace is a rare or unique amulet that typically drops in the mid-to-late game and offers a blend of physical, bleed, and fire-related bonuses. While exact stats can vary depending on modifiers and item rarity (magic, rare, POE2 Currency or unique), the defining traits of the Crimson Necklace usually include:

+X% to Fire Damage

+X to Strength

Increased Physical Damage

Bleeding you inflict deals damage faster

Chance to Ignite or cause Bleeding on Hit

+X Life gained on Hit against bleeding enemies

This necklace is particularly potent for hybrid DoT builds—those that combine bleeding and ignite effects—or for pure physical attackers who want to scale their damage using multiple damage types simultaneously.

How to Obtain the Crimson Necklace

There are several ways to acquire the Crimson Necklace in Path of Exile 2, especially during the campaign's mid-to-late stages and early endgame. Below are the primary methods:

1. Zone Drops in Act 5+

The Crimson Necklace starts dropping as a zone-specific rare or unique amulet starting in Act 5 onward, particularly in areas where monsters have strong bleed or fire mechanics, such as the Scorched Wastes, Charred Ascent, or Bloody Highlands. Elite monsters and strongboxes have a higher chance of dropping it.

2. Boss Drops

Specific campaign bosses and side content have a high drop chance for the Crimson Necklace. These include:

Gore heart the Ravager- A mid-game boss known for physical and bleed damage. Often found in the Bloodsteep Hollow.

Burned Prophetess of Ash- An optional miniboss found in fire-themed side areas, often drops accessories with fire damage and ignite bonuses.

3. Vendor Recipe System

Like many items in Path of Exile 2, you can use the vendor recipe system to acquire a Crimson Necklace if you collect the right combination of components. A commonly accepted recipe includes:

1 Magic or Rare Amulet

1 Blacksmith's Whetstone

1 Ruby Ring (Fire Resistance Base)

1 Weapon with Bleed Modifier

The result has a high probability of rolling physical/fire/bleed modifiers, which can lead to a Crimson Necklace or an equivalent rare amulet with bleed/fire synergy.

4. Crafting & Tempering

Crimson Necklaces with rare modifiers can also be crafted via the Artisan's Forge or through Tempered Jewelry crafting benches. Use Tempered Blood Orbs or Runes of Combustion during crafting for a higher chance of bleed/fire bonuses.

Ideal Builds for the Crimson Necklace

The Crimson Necklace finds a natural home in a variety of mid-to-high-tier builds. Here are some of the most common archetypes that can leverage its power:

1. Bleed Gladiator (Two-Handed Melee)

This build uses heavy two-handed axes or swords with bleed multipliers, relying on Rupture, Lacerate, or Severing Strike. The Crimson Necklace's ability to accelerate bleed damage and reward hits against bleeding enemies fits perfectly here.

2. Firebrand Ignite Spell caster

Spell casters using fire spells like Flame Surge, Ignite Brand, or Combustion Totem can take advantage of the amulet's ignite chance and fire damage bonuses. It's not just for melee builds—the Crimson Necklace also synergizes with fire DoT and status builds.

3. Hybrid Damage Berserker

If you're running a Berserker or Marauder-style build that scales Strength, Fire, and Physical at the same time, the Crimson Necklace's multi-type bonuses synergize well. Add in some conversion nodes on the passive tree (e.g., converting Phys to Fire), and this necklace becomes a core part of your setup.

Best Passive Tree Synergies

To maximize the value of the Crimson Necklace, path toward the following nodes:

Crimson Dance- Allows you to stack multiple bleeds on a target.

Burning Brutality- Increases fire DoT and ignite effects.

Hemomancer- Increases bleed duration and damage.

Strength of Flame- Bonus fire damage based on Strength.

Brutal Resurgence- For life leech and bleeding synergy.

Flask and Support Synergy

Pair the Crimson Necklace with these flasks and supports for best effect:

Blood of the Karui (Life Flask)- Excellent synergy with life on hit against bleeding enemies.

Sulphur Flask- Increases damage while standing in consecrated ground.

Support Gems:

Brutality Support (no elemental, but boosts physical damage)

Deadly Ailments (enhances ignite/bleed damage over time)

Chance to Bleed or Combustion Support

Tips for Maximizing Value

Corruption- Try Vaal POE 2 Orbs corruption to add implicit mods like"+1 to all Fire Skill Gems" or"Enemies you hit are Ignited".

Anointing- Use oils to anoint notables like"Disciple of the Slaughter" (for bleed builds) or"Holy Fire" (for ignite/fire builds).

Dual Damage Scaling- Builds that scale both Physical and Elemental (Fire) damage simultaneously get the best value.

Conclusion

The Crimson Necklace is a versatile, powerful amulet that enables many different styles of gameplay in Path of Exile 2. Whether you're slicing through enemies with bleed or burning them down with fire damage over time, this item serves as a cornerstone for hybrid and DoT builds. With the right investment into passive tree synergy, crafting, and skill gem optimization, the Crimson Necklace can become a game-changing piece in your arsenal.

Keep an eye out during Act 5 and beyond, experiment with vendor recipes, and don't forget to enhance it through crafting and corruption. In the harsh world of Wraeclast, every drop of blood—and fire—counts.