Why this lesson matters
Path of Exile dumps a lot of junk on the ground. Without a loot filter you're either hovering every white and magic drop, or you're skipping past the pile and missing the currency, card, or base that actually mattered. You want a filter on during the campaign — definitely before maps. This is a day-one setting, not an endgame extra.
What a loot filter actually is
A loot filter is a .filter text file of Show/Hide rules the Path of Exile client reads. It changes how items look on the ground (color, beam, sound, map icon) and which ones disappear entirely. You're not writing one from scratch. You're installing someone else's file and picking a strictness level — how aggressively it hides low-value clutter.
The file itself is official filter syntax, not a hack or a mod. Drop it in the game's filter folder, pick it in Options, done. NeverSink's also ships a leveling mode and an endgame mode in the same file — it flips at item level 68, so you don't need a separate "campaign filter" unless you're on a build-specific file like Pohx's RF set.
Picking a starting filter and strictness level
Don't shop a long list yet. Start with NeverSink's Filter, 2-SEMI-STRICT. That's the default on the loot filter library — seven tiers from 0-SOFT through 6-UBER-PLUS-STRICT, updated before every league, and the one NeverSink tells new players to use.
Regular still shows a lot of rares (useful if you're doing chaos recipes). Strict and above hide those on purpose. Don't pick Very Strict or Uber while leveling unless you're in twink gear — you'll hide bases and currency you still need.
The library also lists a few alternatives with a different job: Pohx's files are Righteous Fire only; fubgun's are mapping/juice, not a campaign starter. Don't duplicate that shopping trip here — pick Semi-Strict, install it, come back to the library when you want to compare.
Installing it
Download the .filter file (or a zip of several strictness tiers) from FilterBlade, GitHub, the official Filter Ladder, or the author's forum thread. PoE Source does not host the files — they update on their own cadence, and a copy here would go stale the moment upstream ships a patch.
Put the file in the game's filter folder:
- Windows: %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Path of Exile
- Linux / Steam Deck (Proton): steamapps/compatdata/238960/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/My Games/Path of Exile
Then in-game: Escape → Options → Game → Item Filter, pick the file from the dropdown. If you subscribed via the Filter Ladder, restart once so it appears.
You can swap filters live without restarting after that. Keep Semi-Strict, Strict, and Very Strict in the folder and switch as you get faster.
GitHub copies do not auto-update. Re-download at least once a league (monthly is better) so you don't miss newly-tiered currency. The Filter Ladder subscription and FilterBlade's updater are the auto-update paths if you want that.
Adjusting strictness as you progress
Rough ladder, not a hard rule:
- Leveling / league start — 2-SEMI-STRICT (or 1-REGULAR if you still want chaos-recipe rares).
- Early maps — 3-STRICT once you're not identifying every yellow.
- Fast juiced maps — 4-VERY-STRICT or above when pickup time is slower than the next pack.
If the ground looks empty and you're worried you're hiding something valuable, step down a tier for a few maps rather than turning the filter off. FilterBlade can preview what each tier actually hides if you want to see it before you commit.
What to read next
The loot filter library is the live list — NeverSink plus the specialized alternatives, with source links. When a stock filter isn't enough (hide this base, shout that currency), FilterBlade.xyz is the usual next step: customize NeverSink rather than writing Show/Hide rules by hand.
More PoE 1 Foundations lessons are still in development. The campaign guide and gems & uniques are live now.
Sources: NeverSink's Filter — GitHub · NeverSink forum thread · FilterBlade.xyz · PoE Source — loot filter library