Path of Exile: How to Get the Hiveborn Crawler Pet

In Path of Exile, pets are more than decorative companions—they’re living trophies that show off your achievements, events, or supporter status. While pets don’t offer combat bonuses, they give a sense of identity, flair, and POE orbs prestige inside Wraeclast’s brutal world. Among the rarest and most eye-catching pets is the Hiveborn Crawler, a luminous insect creature that looks like something straight out of the Delirium or Blight realms. With its glowing carapace, segmented limbs, and eerie hive aura, it’s one of the most desired pets among Exiles seeking to stand out.

This guide covers everything you need to know to unlock the Hiveborn Crawler pet—including how to obtain it, event requirements, cosmetic details, and how to equip and showcase it in your hideout or adventure zones.

What Is the Hiveborn Crawler?

The Hiveborn Crawler is a cosmetic pet themed around the hive-dwelling monsters found in the Blight and Delirium leagues. It resembles a small, armored insect with pulsating blue-green light emanating from its thorax and wings that shimmer as it follows you. Unlike combat minions, the Hiveborn Crawler doesn’t assist in fights—it’s purely aesthetic—but its ambient animations make it feel alive, twitching and crawling across the ground as you move.

Pet Type: Cosmetic (Non-combat)

Rarity: Exclusive / Limited-Time Event Reward

Default Behavior: Crawls beside the player, occasionally burrows briefly into the ground before resurfacing with a chittering sound effect.

Sound Design: Subtle buzzing and clicking that sync with idle animation cycles.

Step 1: Understand How Pet Rewards Work in Path of Exile

Before diving into how to get the Hiveborn Crawler specifically, it helps to understand how pets are distributed in Path of Exile. Pets usually fall under one of three categories:

Microtransaction (MTX) Pets – Purchased through the official PoE Shop or supporter packs.

Event Pets – Earned by completing time-limited league events or races.

Mystery Box Exclusives – Randomly acquired through thematic loot boxes (e.g., Abyssal, Delirium, or Blight-themed boxes).

The Hiveborn Crawler belongs to the Event Pet category and was first introduced as part of the "Infestation Challenge Event" series in a recent seasonal rotation.

Step 2: Participate in the Infestation Challenge Event

The Infestation Challenge Event is the key to unlocking the Hiveborn Crawler. This limited-time event typically runs toward the end of a league cycle, offering special cosmetics for players who reach certain milestones.

Event Overview:

Name: Infestation Challenge Event

Duration: 10–14 days

Eligibility: Open to all accounts that have completed Act 10 in any league.

Goal: Earn points by completing Blight, Delirium, and Hive-related challenges.

To earn the Hiveborn Crawler, you need to accumulate 1,000 Infestation Points, which are obtained through specific event objectives.

Sample Challenge Tasks:

Defeat 100 Blight Bosses (200 points)

Clear 20 Delirium Maps (150 points)

Complete 10 Blight-Ravaged Maps (250 points)

Defeat 50 Delirium Bosses (300 points)

Kill the Delirium Herald (100 points)

Once you hit 1,000 points, the Hiveborn Crawler will automatically be unlocked in your MTX Stash.

Tip: You don’t need to complete all the challenges—just enough to reach the point threshold. You can mix Blight and Delirium content depending on your preferred build or playstyle.

Step 3: Check Alternate Methods (Past and Future Availability)

If you missed the Infestation Challenge Event, don’t worry—Grinding Gear Games (GGG) often reintroduces exclusive pets through Mystery Boxes, Twitch Drops, or Supporter Packs.

Alternate Ways to Obtain the Hiveborn Crawler:

Mystery Box Re-Runs:

Occasionally, the Infested Mystery Box returns to the store rotation. It contains themed cosmetics from the Blight and Delirium eras, including the Hiveborn Crawler as a rare drop.

Twitch Drop Campaigns:

GGG sometimes partners with Twitch for reward campaigns during major events or ExileCon streams. Watching official streams for a set duration may reward cosmetics, and in some cases, the Hiveborn Crawler appears as a drop.

MTX Shop (Rotating Availability):

Some retired event cosmetics become direct-purchase items later. Check the Microtransaction Shop → Pets tab regularly under the “Event Exclusives” section.

Step 4: Equipping the Hiveborn Crawler

Once unlocked, equipping the Hiveborn Crawler is easy.

How to Equip Your Pet:

Open your Microtransaction Stash (default hotkey: “N”).

Locate the Hiveborn Crawler Pet under the Pets tab.

Right-click the pet, then left-click your character slot to equip it.

Your Crawler will instantly appear beside your character in any outdoor area or hideout.

You can only have one pet active at a time per character, but you can freely switch between pets at any time.

Pro Tip: Pair the Hiveborn Crawler with other insect- or hive-themed cosmetics, such as the Blight Armor Set, Delirium Footprints, or the Hive Guardian Portal Effect for a fully themed aesthetic.

Step 5: Showcasing Your Hiveborn Crawler

The Hiveborn Crawler looks especially striking in darker environments and hideouts with low ambient lighting. Consider placing it in:

Overgrown Hideout: Perfect for a natural hive ambiance.

Delirium Hideout: Amplifies its glowing thorax effect.

Blight-themed Decorations: Complements the pet’s aesthetic perfectly.

Additionally, if you stream or share screenshots, you can use Hideout Editor Mode (Ctrl+Click) to position your character and pet for screenshots. The Crawler’s glow subtly reacts to nearby light sources, creating atmospheric visuals ideal for community sharing.

Tips for Future Pet Collectors

Track League Events: GGG announces new cosmetics, including pets, through their official website and Twitter before each major event.

Enable Twitch Drops: Link your PoE account to Twitch to automatically qualify for event rewards.

Save Mystery Boxes: If you receive extra cosmetics from a themed box, save them for future trade-ins when duplicates can be exchanged.

Build Themes: Pets like the Hiveborn Crawler match perfectly with thematic skill effects such as Herald of Agony, Blight, or Essence Drain.

Final Thoughts

The Hiveborn Crawler Pet isn’t just another cosmetic—it’s a living emblem of your participation in PoE’s hive-themed challenges. Its eerie beauty and glowing design make it a standout companion whether you’re running maps, farming Blight encounters, or relaxing in your hideout.

Even if you missed its original event, keep an eye on PoE’s seasonal rotations and buy POE Chaos Orbs mystery box re-releases. GGG loves bringing back fan-favorite cosmetics, and with patience, you’ll soon have your very own Hiveborn Crawler scuttling loyally by your side—proof that even in Wraeclast’s chaos, beauty can crawl out of the darkest hives.

Path of Exile: How to Get Specific Socket Colors

Socket colors in Path of Exile are one of the most important yet often misunderstood aspects of item customization. They determine which skill gems you can equip, which directly affects your build’s power and synergy. However, getting the exact combination of red, green, and POE orbs blue sockets you want can be tricky — especially when working with items that don’t naturally favor your desired colors. This guide will explain how socket colors work, the tools and methods for customizing them, and advanced strategies for efficiently rolling specific combinations.

1. Understanding How Socket Colors Work

Every item in Path of Exile has an internal bias toward certain socket colors based on its attribute requirements:

Strength-based items (e.g., armor) → Bias toward red sockets.

Dexterity-based items (e.g., evasion) → Bias toward green sockets.

Intelligence-based items (e.g., energy shield) → Bias toward blue sockets.

Hybrid items (like Strength/Dexterity or Intelligence/Strength gear) have a mixed probability of rolling both relevant colors.

For example, a pure Strength chest piece might roll 4–6 red sockets most of the time, making it hard to get blues or greens. Conversely, an Intelligence robe will naturally favor blue sockets.

Understanding this bias is crucial before you start using currency items — otherwise, you’ll waste a lot of resources chasing impossible color combinations.

2. The Basic Tool: Chromatic Orbs

The Chromatic Orb is the fundamental currency for changing socket colors. Using one on an item randomly rerolls all socket colors. While this sounds simple, the outcome is weighted heavily toward the item’s attribute bias.

Example:

If you use a Chromatic Orb on a Strength armor, you might get 5 red sockets and 1 green — but getting 3 blue sockets would be extremely rare.

When to Use:

Chromatic Orbs are best used early in progression or on low-value gear.

Avoid using them repeatedly on high-requirement items unless the color bias aligns with your goal.

3. Vendor Recipe for Chromatic Orbs

If you’re running low on Chromatics, there’s a useful vendor recipe to restock them:

Sell any item with linked red, green, and blue sockets (RGB link) to a vendor.

You’ll receive 1 Chromatic Orb in return.

This recipe works regardless of item rarity or level, so keep an eye out for RGB-linked junk gear while mapping — it adds up fast.

4. The Crafting Bench Method (Vorici Crafting)

Once you unlock the Crafting Bench in your hideout (via Einhar or Jun missions, depending on progression), you can use socket color crafting options. These were originally part of Vorici’s master crafting system and are now integrated into the bench.

Crafting Bench Options Include:

1 socket color guaranteed (e.g., “At least one red socket”) – low cost.

Multiple socket colors guaranteed (e.g., “At least two blue sockets”) – higher cost.

Exact colors (e.g., “Two red, two blue”) – very high cost in Chromatic Orbs or crafting materials.

This method is deterministic — you’re guaranteed the result — but costs scale dramatically depending on how specific you are and the item’s socket count.

Pro Tip: Use bench crafts when:

You need specific color ratios (like 3 blue, 2 red).

The item has few sockets (4 or less) — costs rise sharply beyond 5 sockets.

You’re optimizing key gear (like unique chest pieces or weapons).

5. Advanced Technique: The Jeweller’s Method (Socket Manipulation)

If Chromatic Orbs are failing you, another trick involves using Jeweller’s Orbs and socket count manipulation.

How It Works:

Each time you use a Jeweller’s Orb, it rerolls the number of sockets.

Every reroll also refreshes the colors randomly.

By adjusting socket count and using bench crafts in between, you can indirectly influence color outcomes at lower cost.

Example:

If you only need 3 blue sockets on a Strength-based chest, try rolling it down to 3 sockets, then use a color craft like “At least 2 blue.” Once you get your colors, use a Fusing Orb or bench craft to increase the number of sockets again.

This method is slower but extremely cost-efficient for tough color combinations.

6. The “Off-Color” Problem and How to Solve It

“Off-coloring” refers to trying to get sockets that don’t match an item’s natural bias — for example, 4 blue sockets on a Strength chest.

Here are ways to handle this efficiently:

A. Vorici Calculator (External Tool)

Use community tools like the Vorici Chromatic Calculator (available online) to estimate costs and success rates before spending orbs. It tells you the cheapest and most effective method for achieving specific color combos.

B. Hybrid Base Items

If you can, use hybrid bases (like Astral Plate → STR/DEX or Saintly Chainmail → INT/STR). These have more balanced color probabilities, making off-colors easier to roll.

C. Bench-Crafting Strategy

Start with a lower socket count (like 3–4).

Use a color craft like “At least two blue sockets.”

Once you get your target colors, expand to 5–6 sockets.

This dramatically cuts down on wasted Chromatic Orbs.

7. Using Corruptions for Socket Colors

Once an item is corrupted (via a Vaal Orb), you can’t modify its sockets with normal crafting or orbs. However, you can still reroll sockets using Tainted Chromatic Orbs found in endgame content like the Scourge or Corrupted Maps.

Tainted Chromatic Orbs work the same as regular Chromatics but can only be used on corrupted items — often producing results much cheaper than normal crafts.

Use them carefully, though: they are unpredictable and can also reduce socket quality or number.

8. Efficient Farming and Currency Tips

Farm Heist blueprints and Delve for crafting currencies like Chromatics and Jeweller’s Orbs.

Use the Crafting Bench wisely — save deterministic crafts for late-game uniques or six-links.

Always check the attribute requirements of an item before attempting major off-color crafts.

If in doubt, test with cheap bases to learn how color biases behave.

9. Final Thoughts

Mastering socket color manipulation in Path of Exile is both an art and a science. Understanding attribute bias, using the right orbs at the right time, and leveraging bench crafts can save you thousands of Chromatic Orbs over time. Whether you’re building a spell-slinging Marauder with blue-heavy sockets or a Strength-hungry Witch with red ones, the right approach ensures your gear aligns perfectly with your skill gems — and your build performs at its peak.

Getting specific socket colors isn’t just about luck — it’s about strategy, patience, and buy POE Chaos Orbs smart crafting.