An exile's power in POE 1 Currency is not worn on the surface of their armour, but within its very fabric. The system of **sockets** and **links** on gear is arguably more critical than the item's explicit stats for the majority of builds. These colored holes and the golden lines connecting them are the physical infrastructure that houses your **skill gems**, determining not only what skills you can use but how powerfully they can be enhanced. Building a character is, in large part, a puzzle of satisfying these socket requirements.

Items can have up to six **sockets**, each one colored red, green, or blue, corresponding to Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence requirements respectively. Placing a gem into a **socket** of matching color reduces its attribute requirement, a crucial consideration for meeting gem prerequisites. The real complexity arises from the **links**. Support gems only affect active gems they are directly linked to within the same item. A chest armour with three separate pairs of linked **sockets** is far weaker than one with a single set of six linked **sockets**, as the latter allows one active gem to be boosted by five supports. The hunt for the right item base with the correct number of **sockets**, the right colors, and the right links is a primary endgame pursuit.

Manipulating **sockets** and **links** is a dedicated craft using specific currency. **Jeweller's Orbs** randomly re-roll the number of **sockets** (up to the item's maximum). **Chromatic Orbs** randomly re-roll their colors, influenced by the item's attribute requirements—a pure Strength body armour is more likely to roll red **sockets**. The most fraught process is using **Orb of Fusing**, which randomly re-rolls the linking between existing **sockets**. Linking an item to six **sockets** can take just one fusing or several thousand, a notorious currency sink that embodies the game's high-risk crafting. The crafting bench offers a deterministic but extremely costly option, such as guaranteeing a five-link for 150 fusings.

This system creates a vibrant economy for pre-linked items. A mediocre rare chest with a six-link can be more valuable than a powerful unique chest without one. The unique *Tabula Rasa*, a simple robe with no defenses but an inherent six-link white **sockets** (which accept any color gem), is a rite-of-passage item for new players, enabling powerful skill setups long before a rare six-link is affordable. The constant tension between an item's explicit stats and its socket configuration forces meaningful choices and prioritization at every stage of gearing.

**sockets** and **links** are the grammar of your build's language. They are the practical constraint that gives theory-crafting its challenge. An exile's might is not measured in the shine of their plate mail, but in the intricate, golden web of connections woven within it—a lattice of potential that, when fully realized, channels destruction of a magnitude that the stats on the surface can only hint at.