Essences
An Essence is a targeted crafting currency from the Cobra faction (Cobra Reliquaries (Scarlett Etzel)). It turns a plain item into a Rare with a guaranteed affix of the family you want.
The rule. Use an essence on a Normal or Magic item you carry. It becomes a Rare with four affixes, one of which is guaranteed to be from the essence's family. The other three are random, as with an Orb of Alchemy (Currency and orbs). Sockets stay and item level is kept. Corrupted items and runeword items refuse essences.
Eight families
| Essence | Guaranteed affix | Used on |
|---|---|---|
| Flesh | Maximum life | Armour, shields, jewellery |
| Spirit | Maximum mana | Anything |
| Aegis | Armour | Armour pieces |
| Warding | One resistance | Armour, shields, jewellery |
| Haste | Attack speed, or movement speed on boots | Weapons, boots, rings |
| Edge | Critical strike chance | Weapons, amulets |
| Fury | Increased damage | Weapons, rings, amulets |
| Siphon | Life or mana leech | Weapons, rings, amulets |
Three tiers. Whispering guarantees the best affix tier the item level allows, minus two tiers. Wailing guarantees minus one tier. Screaming guarantees the best tier the item level allows. A Screaming essence is worth about as much as three Chaos Orbs; a Whispering about half of one.
Why essences. A Chaos Orb rerolls everything, hoping for the right result. An essence fixes the one affix you need and leaves the rest to chance. It is perfect for building a base into a decent item cheaply, or for starting a long crafting chain (Crafting basics).
Choosing runeword over essence. A socketed Normal base from a Lion cache can become a runeword or an essence rare, but not both (Runewords, Lion Caches (Drume)).
Where to get them. Cobra Reliquaries at higher map tiers give higher-tier essences (Cobra Reliquaries (Scarlett Etzel)).
Related: Affixes, Item rarity.