Strongbox guide – get most out of them

While wandering through Wraeclast, you have definitely seen different kinds of strongboxes. They had various rarites, types and some of them contained different stuff than others. What new players might now know, they have potential to yield great items if your approach is right. In this Strongbox guide, I will tell you, what kind of currency to use on every kind of strongbox, which mods to look for and when to use Vaal Orbs on strongboxes.

Treat strongboxes as items – you can use almost all currency on them except for some pieces, whetstones, chisels or scraps for example. If you are already in merciless difficulty, my advice would be – carry stack of Orbs of Alteration, Orbs of Transmutation, Orbs of Augmentation, Scrolls of Wisdom for strongboxes. I will go more in detail further in the guide. For more in-depth explanation about currency, check this guide.

There are currently 11 different types of strongboxes:

Arcanist’s Strongbox – contains only currency. You can find every kind of currency in these boxes, even the rarest pieces. These, in my opinion, are one of the best strongboxes to apply currency on. If they are normal rarity, I like to apply Orb of Alchemy. If the strongbox does not have at least 50% item quantity or contains 5 additional items mod after turning rare, I reroll it, depending how much currency I have. It is also a good idea to just roll it with Orbs of Alteration for additonal items mod.

Armorer’s Strongbox – contains armor items. This is the best strongbox to use Vaal Orb on (applying vaal orb to a strongbox corrupts all the items inside it). Before using Vaal Orb on this box, you should definitely have one of these mods on the strongbox: increased item quantity/contains additonal items/contains 3 additional rare items. Corrupted Armorer’s strongboxes are the easiest way to obtain a 6-linked item – sure, it will be corrupted, but you will be definitely able to sell it for some decent amount of currency.

Artisan’s Strongbox – contains quality increasing currency (Armorer’s scraps, Blacksmith’s whetstones, Cartographer’s chisels and Gemcutter’s Prisms). I myself mostly do not bother using currency on these boxes. If I find it normal quality, I throw one Orb of Transmutation on it and that’s it – not worth using Orbs of Alteration on Artisan’s box.

Blacksmith’s Strongbox – contains weapons. As for artisan’s strongbox, I personally do not ever use any currency other than Orb of Transmutation on it.

Cartographer’s Strongbox – contains maps. I really like finding this type of strongbox. It is pretty rare, so I choose what currency to apply on it depending on map level I am in. If cartographer’s strongbox is in area under level 72, I just use Vaal Orb on it corrupting all the maps inside it. Worth noting, that corrupted map bosses drop Sacrifice Fragments and Vaal Skill gems. In higher level maps, I try to roll cartographer’s boxes with orb of alchemy and after that with orbs of chaos until I get desired mods on it. Good mods to look for are – contains additional items, increased item quantity and contains mirrored items.

Chemist’s Strongbox – contains flasks. I do not ever use any currency on these boxes as you can get flasks very easy from just playing the game. Update: These have been removed in Awakening expansion

Gemcutter’s Strongbox – contains skill gems. These are quite good strongboxes to use currency on if you want a lottery – you can get very lucky and roll gems have increased quality mod, although it is really rare. I myself mostly do not use a lot of currency on these boxes, but if you got some, you can try.

Jeweler’s Strongbox – contains rings/belts/amulets. These are good boxes to use Vaal Orb on. Corrupted jewelry and belts inside the box has good chance to turn into rare item with 6 affixes, which could yield you some pretty nice loot. Good mods to look for on the box are – contains additional items, increased item quantity or contains additional rare items.

Large Strongbox – contains all kinds of items. Large strongboxes have more loot in them by default. I like to roll for increased quantity using Orbs of Alteration on these boxes.

Ornate Strongbox – contains all kinds of items. Ornate strongboxes have increased item rarity in them by default. Good mods to look for is increased item quantity, contains additional items.

Strongbox – contains all kinds of items. Strongboxes are one of the most common boxes in the game. Look for increased item quantity, contains additional items mods on these boxes..

Diviner’s Strongbox – contains divination cards. These are pretty rare, so far I have encountered only 1 of these – still got pretty good amount of divination cards (a bit more than 10). Mods you want on this strongbox is increased quantity or additional items – use chaos orbs to roll these.

Please share the guide with others if you found it helpful! 🙂