Think of Vaal Orbs as the wild cards of PoE's currency. Like Chaos Orb and Exalted Orb, they drop from almost anything in the game. But here's the twist – using a Vaal Orb can drastically change your item, for better or worse.

Getting Your Hands on Vaal Orbs

• Monster Drops and Chests: The good old-fashioned way! Slay monsters, open chests, and keep an eye out for these elusive orbs.
• Vendor Recipe Magic: Combine 7 Vaal skill gems with 1 Sacrifice Vaal Fragment to conjure up a Vaal Orb.

Empowering Your Gear

• Special Vaal Implicit: This can add a unique Vaal mod to your item but replaces any existing implicit.
• Change to White Sockets: It can turn some or all sockets white, with more sockets being rarer.
• Random Rare Item (Bricking): Your precious item can turn into a random rare, often not what you want.
• Nothing Happens: Sometimes, the only effect is the 'corrupted' status, meaning no more modifications.

Vaal Orbs on Maps

• Tier Increase: Vaaling a map can bump it up a tier.
• Up to 8 Mods: Get more mods for extra challenge and loot.
• Unidentified Bonus: Unidentified maps keep their rolls but boost drop rates.
• Nothing Changes: Sometimes, the map just gets corrupted without other changes.

Vaal Orbs on Gems

• Level Change: Increase or decrease a gem's level, even beyond the normal cap.
• Vaal Version Transformation: Transform it into its Vaal counterpart, if available.
• Quality Adjustment: Increase or decrease the quality within a 10% range.
• The 'Nothing' Outcome: As with equipment, sometimes nothing significant happens.

Incursion's Corruption Altar

• This altar in the Temple of Atzoatl offers four outcomes, but with a 15% chance to "brick" your item.
• Outcomes include: Transforming into a rare Shaper/Elder item, turning all sockets white, adding two implicits (a rare jackpot!), or the dreaded 'poof' – where your item vanishes!

Tips and Tricks for Vaal Orbing

• Vaal for Profit: Look for items where specific corruptions add significant value. Uniques are prime candidates.
• Quality and Links: Boost quality and link items before Vaaling for added value.
• Choose Wisely: Avoid Vaaling irreplaceable rares; stick to uniques or items you can afford to lose.