PoE 2 Pinnacle Keys Explained: Weathered, Ancient, and Faded

[Uriah]

The Pinnacle Keys in Path of Exile 2—namely the Weathered, Ancient, and Faded Crisis Fragments—are three special items essential for unlocking one of the game’s most challenging encounters, the Burning Monolith boss fight against the Arbiter of Ash.

What Are Pinnacle Keys (Crisis Fragments)?

Pinnacle Keys are unique, high-value items dropped by Uber Act Bosses located within special endgame areas called Citadels.

Each Crisis Fragment corresponds to a specific Citadel:

Weathered Crisis Fragment drops from the Stone Citadel.

Ancient Crisis Fragment drops from the Iron Citadel.

Faded Crisis Fragment drops from the Copper Citadel.

These Citadels appear randomly on the Atlas and only accept Tier 15 Waystones.

How to Obtain the Crisis Fragments

To obtain a Crisis Fragment, you must find and clear the appropriate Citadel, defeating both the boss’s two lieutenants and the Uber Act Boss itself.

Defeating the Uber boss in the Citadel rewards the corresponding Crisis Fragment.

Citadel spawn is random, requiring extensive map clearing and progressing outward on the Atlas to increase your chances.

Improving your Waystone Drop Chance and investing points in the Atlas passive tree that boost Waystone quantity and modifiers strongly enhance your opportunity to obtain multiple fragments per boss kill.

What to Do With the Crisis Fragments

You need to collect all three Crisis Fragments to unlock the gate inside the Burning Monolith, which initiates the encounter with the Arbiter of Ash.

Alternatively, Crisis Fragments have very high market value and can be sold for Exalted or Divine Orbs, letting you invest in other builds or gear if you prefer.

The choice between selling and using the fragments for the pinnacle boss fight depends on your goals—testing your build against the Arbiter or funding further character development.

Maximizing Fragment Drops

To maximize the number of Crisis Fragments per Citadel boss kill, stack Waystone drop chance on your maps and optimize your Atlas passive tree with nodes enhancing Waystone modifier effects.

Reaching thresholds like 300% Waystone drop chance raises the odds of obtaining multiple fragments from a single boss.

High Waystone quantity can be achieved through crafting and corruption (such as using Vaal Orbs on Waystones).

Weathered, Ancient, and Faded Crisis Fragments are the three Pinnacle Keys required to access the ultimate endgame encounter.

Each fragment is tied to a specific Citadel, and obtaining them requires defeating challenging bosses in random high-tier Atlas locations.

Collecting all three grants entry to the Burning Monolith and the Arbiter of Ash fight.

Crisis Fragments can also be valuable trade items, offering flexibility between pursuing the fight or funding other builds.

Strategic Atlas progression, Waystone management, and map crafting are vital to efficiently farming these rare and powerful keys.