Drillneck is a unique Penetrating Quiver in Path of Exile 2 that offers an array of powerful benefits for projectile-based attack builds. With its focus on piercing enemies and enhancing projectiles, this item is particularly beneficial for players who focus on ranged damage and rely on projectile mechanics. As one of the most sought-after items for certain playstyles, acquiring Drillneck can be a rewarding experience, especially when you have the right POE 2 Currency to support your progression. Let's dive into its features, acquisition, and how to make the most of Drillneck in your build.

Item Overview

Drillneck is a high-level unique Penetrating Quiver with several notable modifiers that make it stand out as a prime choice for ranged attackers. The primary appeal lies in its synergy with projectile-based builds, particularly those that prioritize piercing and critical hits. Here's a breakdown of Drillneck's most important features:

100% Chance to Pierce an Enemy

This is the standout feature of Drillneck. Piercing allows your projectiles to continue through enemies, striking additional targets. This can increase your damage potential significantly, especially when combined with high-damage, multi-hit projectiles. With the ability to pierce an enemy for every shot, Drillneck opens up a variety of strategies, such as chaining damage across multiple enemies and ensuring your projectiles always hit additional targets.

+ (60-90) to Maximum Life

The life bonus on Drillneck provides a substantial increase to your character's survivability. Given the fast-paced nature of Path of Exile 2, it's crucial to have a solid life pool, especially in end-game content where high-damage enemies and bosses will punish you if you're not tanky enough. This bonus makes Drillneck a great item for balancing offense and defense.

(8-12)% Increased Attack Speed

The attack speed bonus is ideal for increasing the frequency of your projectiles, meaning more chances for piercing and applying damage. Faster attacks synergize well with Drillneck's mechanics, amplifying its effectiveness. The faster you can shoot, the more opportunities you have for your projectiles to pierce and stack damage modifiers like increased critical hit chance and damage.

Gain Deflection Rating equal to (24-32)% of Evasion Rating

This defensive modifier grants extra protection by converting a portion of your Evasion Rating into Deflection Rating. This synergy is particularly useful for builds that focus on evasion as a primary defensive mechanic. Evasion-based builds can significantly benefit from this modifier, as it increases your overall survivability and helps you avoid damage while enhancing your chance to block incoming attacks.

Attack Projectiles Return if They Pierced at Least (2-4) Times

One of Drillneck's most exciting mechanics is its projectile return effect. When your projectiles pierce at least twice, they return to you, giving you more projectiles to use. This works wonders in clearing mobs and maximizing your DPS, especially with skills like Tornado Shot or Barrage. The return mechanic ensures that your projectiles keep coming back, which increases your overall damage output and keeps your attack rotation flowing without interruption.

Projectiles Deal (42-64)% Increased Damage with Hits for Each Time They Have Pierced

This modifier increases the damage of your projectiles as they pierce more targets. The more enemies your projectiles pass through, the more damage they deal, making Drillneck perfect for builds that rely on high pierce counts. This bonus significantly boosts your damage potential, especially in crowded areas where your projectiles can pierce multiple enemies in one shot.

Projectiles Have (42-64)% Increased Critical Hit Chance for Each Time They Have Pierced

Similar to the increased damage modifier, this bonus increases the critical hit chance of your projectiles with each pierce. Critical builds will find this particularly useful, ensuring more frequent and deadly crits. Since critical hits can deal massive damage, this modifier helps maximize your damage output by boosting the frequency of critical strikes as your projectiles pass through more targets.

How to Acquire Drillneck

Drillneck is a powerful item, but its acquisition is not as simple as finding it on the ground or chancing it. Unlike many other unique items in Path of Exile 2, Drillneck cannot be acquired through a simple chance. Instead, it has a specific drop location, making it more difficult to obtain.

Drillneck can drop in Atziri's Vault, which is part of Atziri's Temple located in the Corruption area. The item only drops after defeating Atziri, the Red Queen, one of the most challenging bosses in the game. Atziri is a late-game boss, meaning acquiring Drillneck is not an easy task. You'll need to prepare well for the fight, as it is notoriously difficult, especially if you are aiming to get high-level loot. Due to this, Drillneck is a rare drop and can often be very expensive in the market, requiring a solid investment of POE 2 Currency if you are not able to defeat Atziri yourself.

Building Around Drillneck

Drillneck excels in projectile-heavy builds, particularly those that rely on multiple pierces. A few viable options for builds that synergize with Drillneck include:

Tornado Shot Builds

Tornado Shot is one of the most popular skills that benefits from Drillneck. With the quiver's high pierce chance and projectile return mechanic, this skill can wreak havoc on groups of enemies. Tornado Shot shoots projectiles in a cone, allowing you to hit many enemies at once. Drillneck's mechanics ensure that your projectiles pierce multiple times and return to you, effectively increasing your overall damage per second (DPS) and allowing you to clear large packs of enemies more efficiently.

Barrage Builds

For those who prefer single-target DPS, Barrage builds are an excellent choice. Barrage-based builds focus on rapidly firing a series of projectiles at a single target, making Drillneck a powerful option for maximizing the damage of each individual shot. As your projectiles pierce more enemies, they become increasingly lethal, and the bonus to critical hit chance ensures that you're dealing massive damage to bosses and rare enemies.

Trapper/Minion Builds

Drillneck can also be used in trap or mine-based projectile builds. These builds can stack multiple projectiles, leading to even more chances for piercing. Additionally, using Drillneck in combination with projectiles from minions can be extremely effective for enhancing the damage of your minions' projectiles while still benefiting from the increased attack speed and return mechanic.

Conclusion

Drillneck is a unique and powerful Penetrating Quiver in Path of Exile 2. Its synergy with projectile-based skills makes it an essential item for ranged damage dealers looking to optimize their builds for maximum damage output. The ability to pierce enemies and return projectiles adds a layer of utility that significantly increases both your clearing speed and single-target damage. While acquiring it may be a challenge, especially given that it drops from the end-game Atziri boss, the benefits it offers-particularly with piercing and critical hit bonuses-are well worth the effort for any serious player. If you're planning to focus on projectiles, Drillneck is an item you'll want to aim for to take your build to the next level. And if you're in need of cheap POE 2 Orbs, keep an eye on the market for a chance to acquire this coveted item and make your build even more powerful.