This amulet does not merely provide stats. It introduces a completely new way to scale defense, offense, and sustain using a single resource: mana. By converting maximum mana into Energy Shield, Everlasting Gaze quietly changes the fundamental architecture of spell-based characters in EZNPC POE 2 items.
To understand why this item is so powerful—and why it has become one of the most important uniques in the game—we need to examine how Path of Exile 2 is designed, how defenses work, and how Everlasting Gaze exploits those systems in a way no other item does.
The Design Philosophy of PoE2
Path of Exile 2 was not built to be a faster or flashier version of PoE1. It was built to be more tactical, more resource-driven, and more deliberate.
Several major design shifts define PoE2:
Skills cost more mana
Combat lasts longer
Bosses hit harder
Defensive layers are mandatory
Aura and reservation systems are more impactful
In this environment, the traditional PoE1 solution of “stack life and kill everything instantly” no longer works. You must sustain your character over time.
That is where Everlasting Gaze fits in.
Mana Is No Longer Just a Resource
In PoE1, mana was something you tried to avoid thinking about. You either reserved it all with auras or used leech to ignore it. In PoE2, mana has become:
A limiting factor
A build-scaling stat
A survivability mechanic
Everlasting Gaze pushes this evolution to its logical conclusion by making mana your Energy Shield.
This changes the mental model of mana from “blue bar” to “defensive pool.”
Why Mana-to-Energy Shield Is So Broken
To understand why Everlasting Gaze is so powerful, you need to understand one key principle of PoE2:
Energy Shield scales harder than any other defensive stat.
Energy Shield benefits from:
Intelligence
% increased ES
Recharge mechanics
Regeneration
Conversion scaling
Everlasting Gaze takes a stat that is already heavily supported by the passive tree (mana) and turns it into another stat that is heavily supported (Energy Shield).
This creates multiplicative scaling.
Mana → Energy Shield → Recharge → Regeneration → Survivability
No armor or evasion build can match this efficiency.
Why Everlasting Gaze Enables a New Archetype
Before Everlasting Gaze, caster defenses fell into two categories:
Life-based
Energy Shield–based
Now there is a third:
Mana-based Energy Shield
This is an entirely new archetype.
You are no longer choosing between offense and defense. You are stacking mana, and it gives you both.
Why It Dominates Spellcaster Meta
Spellcasters naturally want:
Intelligence
Mana
Spell damage
Cast speed
Everlasting Gaze turns that same stat package into tankiness.
This creates builds that:
Deal high damage
Have huge Energy Shield pools
Can run many auras
Never run out of mana
That combination is absurdly powerful.
The Snowball Effect
Once a character starts scaling mana with Everlasting Gaze, the power curve becomes exponential:
More mana → more Energy Shield
More ES → more survivability
More survivability → more freedom to invest in offense
More offense → faster farming
Faster farming → better gear
Better gear → more mana
This feedback loop is why Everlasting Gaze builds dominate endgame.
Why It Warps the Economy
Everlasting Gaze is:
Always in demand
Rare
Build-defining
Endgame viable
That means it becomes one of the most traded and price-stable uniques in the game.
No matter the league, there will always be:
Sorcerers
Witches
Mana-based casters
And they all want this amulet.
Why It Will Always Be Relevant
Even if PoE2 changes:
Spell balance
Aura mechanics
Mana costs
Everlasting Gaze will remain powerful because it scales from something fundamental: maximum mana.
As long as spells cost mana, this item will be good.
Conclusion: A Design Masterpiece
Everlasting Gaze is not overpowered by accident. It is a carefully designed item that aligns perfectly with PoE2’s new systems.
It turns:
Resource management
Defensive scaling
Build identity
into one elegant mechanic.
This is why Everlasting Gaze is not just strong.
It is meta-defining.
