The Faded Crisis Fragment: What It Is and How to Use It in PoE

The Faded Crisis Fragment is a highly sought-after pinnacle key in Path of Exile 2's endgame, essential for accessing the game's ultimate challenge. It is one of three distinct Crisis Fragments—Ancient, Faded, and Weathered—each obtained from a different Citadel and all required to unlock the final boss encounter.

What is the Faded Crisis Fragment?

This fragment serves as a special currency item used to unlock a unique endgame encounter. Its in-game description notes that "The carvings it holds are too worn to decipher." It is specifically dropped by the faction leader in the Copper Citadel.

How to Obtain the Faded Crisis Fragment

To acquire a Faded Crisis Fragment, you must first locate and clear Citadels on your Atlas map. These high-tier zones spawn randomly, requiring players to explore and clear many map nodes and towers to reveal them. Each Citadel houses an Uber boss, and to face the main boss, you must first defeat two lieutenants in adjacent zones.

While Citadels appear randomly, increasing your Waystone Drop Chance through Atlas passives and crafted modifiers on Waystones can significantly boost the likelihood of obtaining multiple Crisis Fragments from a single Citadel clear. Some players aim for over 1000% increased Waystones found in the area to reliably get three or even four fragments per Citadel.

How to Use the Faded Crisis Fragment

The Faded Crisis Fragment has two primary uses:

Accessing The Burning Monolith: Its main purpose is to serve as one of the three required keys (Ancient, Faded, and Weathered) to open the gate to The Burning Monolith. This area houses the Arbiter of Ash, Path of Exile 2’s most challenging pinnacle boss. You must have one of each type of fragment to open the door; you cannot use multiple Faded Fragments.
Trading for Wealth: If you're not ready to face the ultimate boss or prefer to invest in your character, the Faded Crisis Fragment is a highly valuable trade item. It can be sold to other players for significant amounts of high-tier currency, such as Exalted Orbs or Divine Orbs, often fetching hundreds of Exalted Orbs in the player market.

Beyond these two functions, the Faded Crisis Fragment has no other known crafting or combinatory uses.

Strategic Considerations

Endgame Content: Obtaining Crisis Fragments and challenging the Arbiter of Ash are considered late-endgame activities, typically requiring access to Tier 15 Waystones and well-optimized character builds.
Atlas Strategy: Investing Atlas passive points into nodes that increase Waystone drop quantity, such as "Spoils of War" or "Waystone Modifier Effect" nodes, can enhance your chances of acquiring more fragments from Citadel bosses.
Build Confidence: For players not fully confident in their build's ability to tackle high-difficulty content, it is possible to obtain Crisis Fragments even from lower difficulty maps with reduced challenge by focusing on Waystone drop chance, making them accessible before attempting the hardest content.

The Faded Crisis Fragment represents a significant milestone in Path of Exile 2’s endgame, offering a direct path to the game's toughest challenge or a valuable asset for economic progression.