Why does the eldritch altar think that the mirror shard is the basic currency?

On the mystical altar, there is a property "(1.6–3.2)% chance to drop an additional Divination Card which rewards Basic Currency". Please note that we are talking about the BASIC currency!

To quote Bex_GGG: Basic Currency is a new term we've introduced that describes currency that drops randomly from normal content. As opposed to currency items that are specific to league content or things like the Awakener's Orb.

According to this information, as well as what is written on Wikipedia, we can safely say that the mirror shard is not a BASIC currency (it is the currency of the Harbinger League).

Attention question! Why eldrich monster drop divination card “Seven Years Bad Luck” (mirror shard) with the mystical altar mod for a chance to drop a divine card on BASIC (!!!) Currency (this happened on Plateau Map)?

Id like to guess, that it is because mirrors is a basic currency drop and therefor, the shards will also be considered as such.

err cause it's basic currency?

I'd like to add the original post link and a short clarification regarding the term "basic currency" and mirror shards. According to Bex_GGG, basic currency items refer to those that drop randomly from normal content, as opposed to specific league content items like the Awakener's Orb. You can find the relevant quote here: Bex_GGG on Reddit https://old.reddit.com/r/pathofexile/comments/kunten/atlas_passive_trees_in_echoes_of_the_atlas/giszir2/?context=10

Given this definition, mirror shards are indeed not basic currency items—they are league-specific items from the Harbinger league that can be combined to form a Mirror of Kalandra, which is a basic currency item.

To address the confusion with the altar description, the "(1.6–3.2)% chance to drop an additional Divination Card which rewards Basic Currency" is particularly tricky. The Harbinger league has rewards that act as sub-basic currency items(which are league-specific item drops), where altars affecting divination cards (which are fundamental items like basic currency items) differ from altars affecting a league mechanic, which don't exist. Shard cards are in a grey zone since the altar is applied to the card item, not a league mechanic item.

I believe the real difference lies in where the drop is obtained from. On one hand, we have the Harbinger monster drops, which is a league mechanic, and on the other, we have an Eldritch minion or Atlas map boss drops. I can see why having an atlar contain a few more div cards in the drop pool is no big deal, though I can't say the same for league mechanics.

A solution might be to refine the altar description to clarify either the exception or the monster drop type. This would help ensure the mechanic is clear and accurately described without expanding the scope unintentionally.

Personally I would not mind if they removed the harbinger league rewards from the divination card drop pool for altars. This may become an interesting topic for discussion if they decide to add divine shards.

That's my take on it. I hope my perspective helps or at least opens up some new ways of thinking about it.

mixed feels like it should be basic and no... dunno

one of the Gilded Fossil implicit yield mirror shard


Unless they made a list and public it, there is no way to guess what is basic and what is not. (aka, need a text doc translation of game code)


Conqueror Exalted Orb are not drop normally (is boss drop) but also not part of a league content.


Also, Bex already left the company, and she is not dev. It happens when she try to ask the question and get an answer from a dev, and then she try to re-communicate with her own word


Lastly, in-game definition is instead



So that Awakener's Orb is also not part of a league, is it basic?