PoE 2 Overlays: Price Check, Stash Value, Timers — and Whether They're Allowed
Updated: July 2026
What an overlay is in PoE 2 and why you'd use one
An overlay is a program that draws extra information on top of the game window: an item's trade price, total stash value, mechanic timers, crafting hints. Path of Exile 2 barely helps with prices or accounting on its own — third-party overlays fill that gap. Here's what kinds exist, whether they're allowed, and where the line to a ban is.
Are overlays allowed: GGG's stance
Short version: overlays are fine as long as they don't read game memory and don't automate gameplay. GGG explicitly allows helper programs that don't interact with the client directly — for example a price check that fires on an item you've copied to the clipboard (Ctrl+C). What's banned is different: reading or writing process memory, auto-clicking, auto-pickup, botting. So "overlay" is not a synonym for "safe": what matters is how the specific tool works. A clipboard-reading price check and a process-injecting ESP are two very different things with different consequences.
Popular overlay categories
- Price check and trade. Copy an item and the overlay shows its market price and similar listings. The best-known in the Path of Exile series is Awakened PoE Trade; PoE2 support varies by project, so check what's current.
- Stash value and net worth. Tools like Exilence Next total the value of your tabs and track wealth over a league.
- Timers and mechanic hints. Overlays that count boss phases, mechanic windows, cooldowns.
- Crafting helpers. Hints on recipes and probabilities while crafting.
The PoE2 overlay ecosystem is younger than the first game's and catching up fast — some first-game tools are still adapting.
How you usually install an overlay
- Download the tool from the project page (usually a GitHub release).
- Run it — the overlay sits on top of the game, often in borderless-windowed mode.
- Set hotkeys (price check is often Ctrl+D on the hovered/copied item).
- Confirm the tool is the "reads clipboard / doesn't touch memory" kind — that's the line of what's acceptable.
Safe overlay or not: a short checklist
Before installing any overlay, understand how it gets its data. A simple sign of a safe tool: it works with what you hand it and doesn't reach into the game:
- Reads the clipboard (you copy an item) — usually fine.
- Reads the client log file (the text
Client.txt) — usually fine. - Acts on your hotkey and does nothing on its own — fine.
The warning signs, on the other hand:
- Reads or writes the game's process memory — that's the category that gets banned.
- Clicks, picks up loot, drinks flasks, or moves on its own — automation is forbidden.
- Injects into the client or demands to run as administrator "to see the game" — a reason to be wary.
If a tool only shows information in response to your action and never touches the process, the risk is minimal. If it "sees" the game by itself, without your input, that's a red flag. Not all overlays are equal, and the word "overlay" in the name guarantees nothing.
Do you even need an overlay
An overlay makes sense when the job is external data: trade price, total stash net worth, mechanic timings. For that the game genuinely needs a "second screen" on top. But if the job is different — reading what's already on screen faster (map mods, affixes, drops) — an overlay is overkill: the same thing is solved at the game's own level, with no window on top and no background process.
Readability without an overlay: a different approach
An overlay isn't the only way to make the game more comfortable. Some readability problems are solved with no window on top and no background process at all.
Prism (QoLab's flagship) draws no overlay. It edits local client files offline, with the game closed — and because of that the important stuff reads right inside the game's own interface: dangerous map mod text glows red, fat rolls turn gold, fog and excess effects are stripped for a clean screen. Nothing floats on top, nothing runs in the background while you play, process memory is never touched. It's a different route to the same goal — less visual noise, faster reading of what matters. More in the guides on mod coloring and setting up a loot filter.
Honestly about the line: GGG's rules formally forbid client modification, and Prism does that — at the level of local cosmetic files, with no memory access or automation, and with a full backup and revert. Nobody can guarantee anything; the call is yours. Details in the FAQ.
Are overlays allowed in PoE 2?
GGG permits overlays that don't read game memory and don't automate actions — for example a price check triggered by an item you copy to the clipboard. Tools that read process memory, click, or move for you are banned. An overlay isn't automatically safe — it depends on how the specific tool works.
What price-check overlay for PoE 2?
Price-check overlays work through the clipboard: copy an item and the overlay shows its trade price. The best known in the series is Awakened PoE Trade; PoE2 support varies by project, so check the current status.
How is Prism different from an overlay?
An overlay draws on top of the game and usually keeps a background process. Prism draws nothing and runs nothing in the background — it edits local client files offline, so mod text reads right inside the game itself. It's a different approach to the same readability.