Path of Exile 2 Guide: How to Import Builds with the Build Planner
Tabbing out of your game every thirty seconds to check an external skill tree layout is officially dead.
The brand new Build Planner added in the Return of the Ancients 0.5.0 patch is easily one of the best quality of life features Grinding Gear Games has ever dropped. Instead of juggling a million open browser tabs on a second monitor while monsters chew on your character, you can load a file directly into the game. The client then draws a bright blue guided line right across your Passive Skill Tree so you know exactly where to click. If you are playing on a console, I have bad news. As of patch 0.5.0, this entire system is strictly a PC feature, meaning console folks are stuck looking at their phones for build advice for the foreseeable future.
How to Get Your Build Files
Before you can actually use the overlay, you need to get your hands on the correct files. The game does not magically pull data from the internet on its own, so you have to feed it the proper formatting.
Every modern build guide that supports this system has a downloadable file ready to go. You just need to open up your guide of choice, find the planner widget that the creator embedded at the top of the page, and click into it to open the full planner interface. From there, you look for a button that says Export Build Planner (GGG). Click that, and your browser will grab the necessary file. Just make sure you pay attention to where that file actually lands on your hard drive, because you are going to have to move it manually in the next step. If you happen to have a file from an older setup and want to check it out on the web first, you can use the corresponding Import Build Planner (GGG) button to view it before doing the heavy lifting.
Navigating the Folder Maze
This is the exact spot where most people end up bricking the process. The Path of Exile 2 client is incredibly picky, and it will completely ignore your files if they are sitting in the wrong directory.
Do not leave the file in your standard downloads folder. You need to open up your file explorer and navigate to a very specific directory on your computer. Move your downloaded file into Documents > My Games > Path of Exile 2 > BuildPlanner.
Before you get creative and try to make separate subfolders inside that directory to organize your different characters, stop yourself. The game is incapable of reading subfolders inside the main folder. If you bury your files inside extra folders, the game will act like they do not exist, and you will be left staring at a blank screen. Drop them directly into the main directory.
Activating the Overlay In-Game
Once your files are resting comfortably in the correct folder, getting the overlay running inside the game takes a matter of seconds.
Fire up the game, log into your character, and press your hotkey to pull up the massive Passive Skill Tree. Look over at the top-left corner of your screen for a blue icon that houses the Build Planner dropdown menu. Click that button, and you will see a list of every single build file you dropped into your folder. Pick the one you want to follow, and the game will instantly trace a blue line across your tree. You can then follow that path node by node as you level up without needing to memorize a thing. If you click the build and nothing happens, that is your cue that you messed up the previous step and put the file in the wrong spot.
Reading the In-Game Overlay Data
The overlay does a lot more than just draw a pretty path on your passives. It actively changes how you interact with your entire inventory and skill setup as you play through the content.
The tool injects information directly into your user interface so you do not have to guess what items or skills to hunt down. It alters several different menus simultaneously to keep your character progression on track.
Tracking Level Thresholds and Skill Gems
The built-in step system is incredibly smart because it relies on minimum level thresholds set by the person who created the guide. Instead of showing you an overwhelming wall of endgame gear requirements while you are still struggling in Act 1, the overlay hides irrelevant details. You only see the campaign-specific notes while you are leveling, and the massive endgame configurations will automatically pop up once you hit maps.
The tool also hooks directly into your Gemcutting menu. It displays the exact support gems your character needs to function, which saves you from accidentally leveling up a worthless gem. Your gear slots get a nice upgrade too, as the overlay slaps stat priority icons onto your items to flag the specific affixes you should look for when trading or crafting.
Sharing Your Own Builds
If you are the type of player who likes to cook up your own insane character variants, exporting your files for other people to use uses the exact same web-based layout.
Before you click that export button and share your file with the world, make sure you actually configure the settings properly. You need to manually set the minimum level requirements on your global variants, equipment steps, and skill gem configurations. If you skip this part, anyone who imports your build is going to see every single endgame piece of data the second they start a fresh character. That completely defeats the purpose of a guided path. You can also use the eye icon inside the creator tool to hide confusing optional branches, keeping the visual overlay clean. I highly recommend exporting your file and testing it on a fresh character of your own first, just to make sure you didn't accidentally leave out an important gem link or build step.
Now that your planner is up and running, you can use it to help tackle the seasonal milestones over in my Path of Exile 2 Runes of Aldur Challenges Guide.
